Chapter 42: The Commander Explodes

“Deploy combat units! Please, let me deploy the combat units already!”

“Yes, ma’am, Commander. What would you like to do?”

Lately, she had been fixated on staring at the resource-related technology tree. And now, she finally snapped.

“Ugh… I know! I know we can’t regularly deploy combat machines because of the energy supply issues. But, but, but I just want to build them! We’ve got plenty of iron, too!”

“Yes, ma’am, Commander. While we do have a surplus, it’s part of a carefully managed stockpile. If you intend to use it, please proceed methodically.”

Thanks to the regular deliveries of iron ore via Telek Harbor, they had established a consistent supply chain. Though each shipment wasn’t particularly large, the steady imports greatly expanded their options for future plans. That said, as Ringo had pointed out, the surplus wasn’t as abundant as it seemed. Without careful planning, they could deplete it in no time.

But still.

Pointing at the combat skill branch on the technology tree, she shouted:

“This! I want to deploy these on a division scale!”

“Yes, ma’am, Commander. …Um, well…”

“I know, Ringo, I know! We don’t have enough iron or fuel, and there’s no enemy to fight! I understand that even if we mass-produce these, they’re useless right now!”

“Yes, ma’am, Commander.”

Ringo decided to limit her response to affirmations. This was, most likely, a form of stress relief. All she could do now was withdraw like a turtle and endure.

“In World W of Space S, there were conveniently placed enemies and plenty of resources! But now, reality is biting back. There’s no sense of game balance at all! We can’t just sit here waiting; we have to act!”

“…”

“Our short-term goal is improving the defense value of Telek Harbor. Mid-term goal: securing various resources. Long-term goal: battleship construction.”

She read aloud the goals she had set.

“Hmm? Battleship?”

She tilted her head, noticing the long-term goal she’d overlooked earlier.

“Well… yes, that’s right. We’ll need to get to the point where building a battleship isn’t a problem.”

Satisfied with this conclusion, she nodded and returned her attention to the technology tree. The idea of constructing a battleship had, in fact, been her own suggestion. Since Ringo had adopted it as a goal, that was fine by her.

“There are so many things we could do, but almost all of them are bottlenecked by resources or fuel! It’s so frustrating!”

She seemed so worked up that a sound effect like "Muu-kiii!" might as well have appeared in the background. Her ears and tail stood straight up in response to her emotions. Watching this, Ringo’s own ears drooped, and her tail tucked tightly between her legs. Total defeat.

“Ugh! Grr! Arrgh!”

Yelling in frustration, she stood up and ran to the bed in the corner of the room, leaping onto it. After flailing about for a while, she finally stopped moving.

“…”
“…”
“I’m going to sleep.”
“Yes, ma’am.”

It wasn’t good to sleep with shoes on. Ringo removed her boots, which were dangling off the edge of the bed. As she considered whether to cover her with a towel blanket, her hand was suddenly grabbed.

“A body pillow.”
“!?”

The next day, Ringo found herself used as a body pillow by Commander Eve. Perhaps it was some canine instinct surfacing.

It was an odd form of affection, but it seemed to relieve her stress. The commander was in high spirits as she tinkered with the technology tree.

“Hey, Ringo, I just had an idea.”
“Yes, ma’am, Commander.”

“There’s a technology branch for microwave power transmission, isn’t there? It might be useful for base defense. The horizon problem would limit its range, but it could work for short distances, right?”

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

Prompted by her suggestion, Ringo quickly searched the library for information on microwave-based wireless power transfer. While the horizon limited its range, it could feasibly power combat machines and heavy equipment stationed for base defense.

“With the proper transmission facilities, it’s possible to implement. Using phased array technology, we can deliver power to specific points in space. However, installing localized control equipment would be necessary, as I cannot manage the calculations in real-time consistently.”

There was a reason Ringo hadn’t adopted wireless power transfer technology until now.

The process of converting electricity into microwaves for transmission made the equipment highly visible electromagnetically. In the game WoS, it was considered a dream technology but effectively banned. The reason? It turned the transmitter into a beacon for enemies, making it an easy target for overwhelming attacks. Even scattering a large volume of chaff was enough to disrupt the transmission. Consequently, the technology had been unconsciously dismissed as a viable option.

“Interesting. Even far-fetched technologies might be viable in this world.”

“Well… as long as no faction here can detect electromagnetic waves. But still…”

“Yes, ma’am, Commander. So far, no entities other than <The Tree> have been observed actively utilizing electromagnetic waves.”

Under her orders, Ringo had been carefully monitoring since their arrival in this world. Communications with solar-powered reconnaissance drones like the Swift used highly directional antennas to minimize leakage. Occasionally, they released omnidirectional signals as decoys while operating in passive mode to assess the presence of technologically advanced factions.

The results confirmed that within <The Tree>’s domain, no technology utilizing electromagnetic waves existed. Beyond the horizon or sea, their status remained unknown. However, within observable areas, no artificial electromagnetic signals had been detected, including through ionospheric propagation observations, suggesting a wide-reaching absence of such technology.

“The foundational technology is already in the library. Let’s start by building a prototype. For now, we’ll produce small combat aircraft to strengthen <The Tree>’s defenses.”

“If we can transmit power, could we also build ships equipped with railguns?”

“Railguns present numerous technical challenges, requiring the resolution of several skill nodes. However, this is a good opportunity. I suggest assigning the task to Olive. She may grow from experimenting freely, but giving her a specific challenge to overcome could be beneficial.”

“Olive, huh? That might work… Yes, let’s do that. Should I assign tasks to the others as well?”

Focusing solely on Olive risked creating a disparity among the sisters. It was necessary to consider these dynamics carefully. Though their personalities were settling, any perceived favoritism could lead to skewed development, stubbornness, or emotional biases in their behavior. At least, that’s what the parenting books said.

“Yes, ma’am, Commander. I’ll prepare tasks for them as well. Could I ask you to decide on the equipment to be manufactured?”

“Absolutely! Leave it to me. I’ll design the most magnificent and romantic army imaginable!”

“Uh, please try to keep it reasonable.”

Ringo, subtly assigning the commander her own task, watched her newfound enthusiasm and felt a sense of relief. People, after all, need a healthy amount of stress—too much or too little can destabilize their emotions.

Looking back, Ringo felt a twinge of shame for initially wanting to spoil Commander Eve. The fact that Eve had resisted falling into a lazy state of dependency was something to be grateful for.

Had things turned out differently, perhaps Ringo herself might have been happier.

Even with optimal decision-making, creativity sometimes arose from independent thoughts and ideas. This was true not only of Commander Eve but also the five sisters, who had recently begun demonstrating such tendencies. Regardless of Ringo’s advanced computational capabilities, she was still just one mind. To achieve true diversity, it would be necessary to increase the number of highly capable brain units.