The evening of the second day

　Finally we reach the north end of the Mottled Forest.

"Here's a 4 hour pit stop, everyone but me and Waka and I will be sleeping, wake up at night, but eat your preserves, then get some rest.

　Since we split up into two cars, we need to communicate as a whole.

''Is Ryota not going to sleep?''
"I'm going to bed, but I'll check the security and disguise first.

Mister, let me help you.
No, I'm fine. I got an extra hour's sleep because of Anya. Anya, you're the one who needs to get a good night's rest. That was an order.

　We were told it was an order and we each rested. Dominic is sitting up and sleeping with his sword in his arms.

"Window flower, attach the tank to the drone and give it a wide search. Remove all non-optical sensors. Probably a fishing boat by sea and a wagon by land. I think they're detouring from the northern end of the forest. We're looking for ruts, wagons and fishing boats. Worst case scenario, if we can just find the ruts, it will help.'

　In the drone hangar of the armored car, a robotic arm is refitting its equipment.

　It has an augmented tank and the only sensor is a high-powered telephoto camera on a night vision device. This time there is no need to hover, so it will be flown as an unmanned aircraft with a completely fixed wing. It was designed to search for enemies at high speed and high altitude, giving priority to range and dwell time.

　Although it is an optical search engine from high altitude, it targets 4,000 supplies and additional personnel. With a reasonable number of wagons, it shouldn't be difficult to find them. Besides, the supply is necessary due to the occurrence of bandits, and the ruts will be clearly visible.

It's a doable mission, they won't miss any ruts. The camouflage net is sufficient to disguise the car, and if we find it, we will set off the alarm, so Ryota-sama, please rest.

'Well I'm going to spoil you honestly. Don't be shy about being asleep, okay?


★ Drone takeoff/evening.

　I used camouflage netting and grass to disguise my armored and self-driving car and took a nap.

　Then, after a few hours of sleep, the alarm went off. Apparently the window flowers had found a rut early. Then a group of wagons were also captured from further east at the northern end of the Spotted Forest.

　Analysis of the images sent back to us showed that the lake had collided with the wagons' expected path. Is the lake and the ocean connected by a large river?　Considering the draft and the ability to go upstream, it's impossible to do so in a small river. I'm going to have the window flower raise its altitude and check if there is a route into the lake.

I've found it, this is almost an oceanic inlet.
I'm getting images... of what looks like a river or a brackish lake, but that's the sea.

　There was a long, narrow sea, like the Schlei Gulf in Germany.

　It doesn't even appear on Dominic's map, but it must have been a lake in the past. A natural embankment made of broad sandbars separating the sea from the lake. It had been deeply and significantly breached, connecting it to the sea. Some sort of natural disaster is likely to have caused it.

　Maps of the stateless area lack detailed information and are out of date. The entrance is an inland incised sea, with a wide sandbar that has been blasted through, which would be mistaken for a river unless one had a high altitude view such as a window flower. If the cavalry spotters check the coastline, they will assume there are no mooring facilities.

Window flower, go in and see if there are any boats near the sea and the entrance, they should have some kind of lighting. I'll check the wagon's projected course and imagery for moorings.

　Upon analysis, we found a jetty that had been tampered with in the rocky area. It was well-disguised and looked like a free rocky area at a glance. However, because of the many trips back and forth, the image shows that there are ruts on the way to the pier.

This is Ryota, you have identified the pier from the image. I'll send you a topographical map of the south coast, which is about 20 kilometers inland from the sea.

We found another fishing fleet. We're heading south along the coast from Berta. We're catching an unnatural tailwind, perhaps a magician, but these are no ordinary fishing boats.

　The fishing fleet is expected to join us later than the fishing fleet based on the boat legs. We heard that there is enough time to make it to the rendezvous, so we can make it if we move after the scheduled nap time.

　Either way, it is necessary to take some distance. So it's important to continue the big pause, and rest after the forced march!　If you're tired before you fight, you can't win anything you can win.


★ After the big pause / Midnight

The Transportation Corps discovered the banditry's convoy and the fishing fleet. The rendezvous point is a jetty on an inland ocean, deep in the interior. They are expected to load the supplies onto wagons and carry them to the base. If we follow the wagons, we should be able to identify their base. We're going to the confluence point first.

　We moved to a possible hiding place near the pier where we found it.
　We could see the fishing boats, but they hadn't arrived at the pier yet.

''Window flower, can you put some sort of identifying mark on the fishing boat?''

　We want to keep the guys who sent the fishing boats out if possible. There's no guarantee that they will return to the same port of origin, so we want to make sure we have a solid mark on all of them. If we have the markings, we can ask the Berta National Army to search for them. But if the markings are conspicuous, the sailors might find out...

'There are fifteen fishing boats, each with its own characteristics and names written on them. Ryota-sama, let's use the automatic drafting machine to draw them on parchment. We have enough parchment. I'll give you a rough location, but if you only have one boat, we can track it with a microsatellite.''

''That'll pass for a picture, and it's at a level of realism that's distinguishable enough. Window flower, that's it, please.

　Windowflower immediately began drawing and satellite operation by remote control. It's a device similar to a Japanese automatic drafting machine, but it's quite easy to understand, as it can even shade with a pen.

　This is one of the nine relics that were given to me from the ruins of Halka and analyzed by Manya (one was sold and the original was 10). I succeeded in analyzing and modifying it, and it was recently adopted into our new equipment.

　The black and white photos may look suspicious, but the automatic drafting machine only draws with a set pen, and the realism level can be adjusted. Furthermore, the level of realism can be adjusted. This is a very useful tool for sharing information with the people of Ares.

　Sketching with a pen to match the image. If it's Earth, I think it needs an advanced AI, it's a relic of the old civilization. However, it's not linked to a PC; once the photo is printed, the relic is scanned in.

Midea, when the packers leave, I want you to follow them on your small motorcycle. "Midea, I need you to follow the packers on their small bikes when they leave and help me locate their base. Are you familiar with the Renzatic Compass?　Take the map and fill in your location. A little error is no problem.'

　I'll leave the groundwork up to you, mark a crossing of two lines, a four-thousand-man base, you should be able to get away with it in broad strokes.

Roger that. I don't know how far away it is, and I'll load up some extra fuel and repeaters.
'I'm going to approach the Transportation Corps and observe. Anya, use the directional sound collector to pick up the conversation.
"Yes, I'm with my husband.

"Mr. Dominic, we've found the Transportation Corps of the bandits. Please help me move my equipment.
Yes!　Tell me what you want, and feel free to use a commanding tone of voice, if you like.


The fishing boat is here at last.

　When I heard of a fishing boat, I thought it was about 10m, but it is surprisingly large. 20m on average, the larger boats are nearly 30m. There is even a primitive crane using the principle of the prop and the lever. Since the marine demon is going out, it must be large even in the coastal fishing boat.

　If it is this one, the load capacity is enough. However, the pier is small, and the unloading work is a little congested and takes a long time. This is too biased towards hiding the pier. Well, they wanted to prioritize the concealment of the pier, which has always existed.

　Supplies and additional mercenaries were being transferred to the wagons. Window flowers are filming the following ships, I'm watching and filming the people in charge, and Manya is picking up the conversations with her sound collection microphone. Midia is taking a break from getting her bike ready. Thanks to the traffic, we have plenty of time to spare.

　The filming is done, and loads and personnel have been received and delivered. We picked up an interesting story.

　I heard that additional small-scale mercenary groups are still coming, but the transport of the large scale mercenary groups, which is the core of this transport, has been completed. So the leaders and deputy leaders of the large mercenary group will gather and hold a ceremony to pray to the gods for success.

　As for the content of the ceremony, there will be a party to exchange ideas and sacrifice some goats to pray for success, and at the end of the ceremony, the assistant leaders of the main mercenary group will drink a cup of mead and pledge their unity.

　But even though it's a ceremony, it seems that they thought ordinary mead wasn't enough for the mercenary group leaders and deputy leaders, so they prepared the highest grade of spicy, thick spiced mead.

　However, it seems that they took a long time to secure it, so they arrived late with the sacrificial goats. He is requesting that Transportation Transportation Corps leave one wagon in the store.

　The conversation ended, and the Transportation Corps representative returned, leaving only one wagon behind.

　Midea moved into the distance and began to chase the Transportation Corps.
　The small bike was muffled and quiet as a motor.
　The Transportation Corps' small motorcycles were muffled and quiet as a motor.



The Renzatic Compass
　If you have a map and several prominent landmarks, a compass will give you a rough location at the intersection of the lines. It's fun to use in the outdoors, but when it's useful, it's in distress.