Launching Ceremony Of The Aircraft Carrier

World Era 1912, October 29.

Ian visited one of the five shipyards located in the capital. He had come because he had been informed that construction of the long-awaited aircraft carrier had been completed.

At the shipyard called “Chilleun,” they had built the carrier, and he could now see the finished ship with his own eyes.

‘It’s a bit small.’

Called the Armin-class aircraft carrier, it was smaller than he had imagined. The flight deck looked rather narrow, and its length was not that great. It was only natural: this was an early model, and with technical limits still in place, they said it would take some time to scale up to a medium-sized carrier.

“I think twenty aircraft will be the maximum.”

The one speaking beside him—explaining as he went—was Armin, who had been in overall charge of building the carrier. Judging by his expression, he was deeply moved. Having supervised the construction of a warship at such a young age, he could not help but feel it.

“Only twenty fighters—isn’t that too few?”

“At about fifteen thousand tons, it can’t carry many. Since aircraft must launch from the deck, we also have to stow them internally, so the number we can load is limited.”

“Hmm. We would need at least fifty or more for it to be truly useful.”

“Please don’t worry. We recently completed—just a short while ago—the design for a much larger, medium-class carrier.”

“Truly?”

“I squeezed in time here and there to finish the design. In fact, by taking responsibility for this carrier’s construction, I gained a lot of experience and could draw up a more refined design.”

“Wasn’t it hard? You managed to finish despite being so busy.”

“It was hard enough to make my hair fall out, but as long as the result is good, isn’t that what matters? Haha.”

Seeing Armin laugh, Ian worried for a moment—had the stress actually made his hair thin? Feeling he had overworked him, Ian decided to give him a proper break.

“Take a good rest for a while. Go on holiday—somewhere at a resort.”

“Wow, really? May I?”

“Yes, go. I’ll see that you’re given a generous bonus as well.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

From his sparkling eyes and delighted voice, Ian could tell how hard he had worked. Looking back to the carrier, Ian felt satisfied to see it completed.

Even if it could carry only twenty aircraft, the strategic value of simply having a carrier would be considerable.

‘And we can start building know-how early.’

The other hull was also nearing completion; next would come sea trials and then assignment to a fleet. He wondered which fleet to assign it to. Everyone was so steeped in big-gun battleship doctrine that they might not want it. He could force an assignment, of course.

‘But then they wouldn’t use it properly. Maybe it’s better to stand up a new fleet entirely.’

There were currently nine fleets, with the other shipyards still building cruisers and destroyers to fill them out. The Polia Kingdom already possessed more hulls than during the war with the Doicheun Empire.

‘If I pull one battleship, a few cruisers, and fill it out with destroyers, we could form roughly one fleet.’

It seemed feasible. With production much higher than before, he could reassign units and still manage. While he considered this, a voice drew his attention.

“Brother, is it really all right if I do it?”

The girl speaking with a slightly nervous look was his younger sister, Charlotte. She had come to perform the traditional christening—smashing the bottle. It was customary for a woman to do it, and since there was no queen, he had asked his sister to accompany him.

“It will be more special because it’s you. You’ll be recorded as the princess who christened the first aircraft carrier.”

“Is that… a good thing?”

Knowing nothing about carriers, Charlotte had no particular feelings about the oddly shaped warship. Ian nodded and explained.

“Very much so. I’m sure your face will be in the history textbooks.”

“Eh? My photo too?”

“Haha, what’s there to be shy about?”

“I’m just… embarrassed.”

Ian smiled, finding her charming as she blushed. Amid this light talk, the launching ceremony began. Reporters could be seen, cameras ready to capture them. Charlotte, visibly tense, stood straighter.

‘She isn’t used to occasions like this yet.’

He hadn’t been either, once, but years as king had made him used to it. As he thought this, they walked up onto the carrier’s flight deck. Seen from up close, it felt larger than from a distance.

“Wow—it’s spacious.”

“Yes, fairly so. Aircraft will be brought up here and launched over the sea.”

“I see. Hearing the explanation up here makes it feel impressive.”

Perhaps because she could picture planes taking off at sea, her eyes now sparkled as she looked around the deck. Smiling at the sight, Ian thought: at last, the beginning of a true maritime power.

‘We may not be the strongest, but I will make us a country no one dares to challenge lightly.’

With that resolve, he watched as Charlotte raised the bottle and struck. For safety, the bottle was wrapped in cloth to keep shards from flying. As it shattered and the wine ran along the hull—BWOOONG!—the carrier sounded its horn.

They came back down, and next was the highlight of any launching: floating the ship. All the holding lines were cut; the rollers beneath began to turn, and the ship started to slide back.

KRRRRRR—!

With a hefty rumble, the carrier kissed seawater and threw up waves. She listed, then found her center and came upright. Ian let out a breath—what he had worried about had not happened.

‘If she’d capsized during the launch, it would have been a disaster—but Armin built her well.’

Grateful once more to Armin, he took in the sight of the carrier standing proud on the sea and felt content. Around the same time, submarine construction had also begun, but with higher technical difficulty, the boats were still in build.

‘They said they’ll be ready within the next year. With submarines too, I’ll feel even more secure.’

Thus the launching ceremony, which he had shared with his sister, ended safely.

A few days later, Ian set in motion exactly what he had contemplated: preparations to form a new fleet. First he had to decide whom to elevate as admiral. Then he had to choose which ships to assign and whether he had enough slack.

As he worked, a visitor came to his office. Ian welcomed him warmly—and the secretary in the room, Mardin, broke into a wide smile too. No surprise: the visitor was none other than Colonel Derian Paco.

“I came at Your Majesty’s summons.”

“My former executive officer—no, now a captain. Captain Derian, it has been a long time.”

“Yes, it has been a while, Your Majesty.”

Ian had relinquished his own captaincy at age twenty; Derian had been serving as captain for almost three years now and had carried out many missions.

“It hardly feels real that it has been three years since I stepped down.”

“For me as well, time has flown since Your Majesty left the fleet.”

“Has it? To be honest, at sea, time hardly moved—so much of it was spent underway.”

“I feel it every day.”

“You’ve worked hard—while we’ve had it easy here. Hahaha.”

With Mardin now serving at the palace, Derian alone had commanded at sea. Ian trusted his ability. He had seen his command skills up close; he judged him well-suited to be an admiral.

“We can talk about what you’ve been up to later. The reason I called you is that I would like you to take on something.”

“Take on… what would you entrust to me, Your Majesty?”

Smiling, Ian thought of the newly launched carrier and spoke.

“Take command of the aircraft carrier.”

“The aircraft carrier—Your Majesty’s ship that can launch aircraft at sea?”

“Exactly. I’d like you to take charge of it.”

“…If it is Your Majesty’s command, I will obey.”

He sounded oddly deflated. Realizing Derian had misunderstood, Ian shook his head.

“I think you misunderstood. I don’t mean transfer you as the carrier’s captain; I mean for you to command the carrier—lead it.”

“You would have me lead the carrier?”

“Yes.”

“But I am merely the captain of a battleship in the 1st Fleet. How could I lead an aircraft carrier?”

“I am creating a new formation—the 10th Fleet.”

“Pardon?! You are creating a 10th Fleet?”

Adding a new fleet to the Polia Navy, long organized as nine fleets, would cause a major stir. A new organization meant the balance among tacit factions might shift.

“I will appoint you as admiral of the 10th Fleet.”

“B-but I am a Pako (Colonel). I am far too junior to command a fleet.”

“I vouch for your ability. And if the rank is short, I will raise you to Rabiro (Brigadier General). Will that not do?”

“You mean I would be a Rabiro (Brigadier General)?”

It was wonderful news—yet very fast. Even reaching Pako (Colonel) had been swift; jumping to Rabiro in a few years would provoke talk inside the navy.

Some already said his promotions were luck from serving the now-king Ian. But Ian brushed aside such worries and asked him to take the fleet.

“I would like you to take the 10th Fleet.”

“If I, still lacking experience, become an admiral, many will resent it.”

“Resent it? Do you think there are many with more distinguished service than you?”

Though only in his early forties with a colonel’s boards, Derian had earned heavy credit. He had taken part in smashing the Doicheun colonial fleet and in the operation pressuring the Nubea Kingdom.

His most striking exploit was joining the hunt for the mythical monster, the Kraken. In recent years he had also carried out his missions steadily and built merit. He was qualified to be an admiral.

“To be clear: I, the king, am personally instructing you to become an admiral. If anyone objects, they object to me. Do they not?”

In other words: complain to the king if you dared. Naturally, none would. Derian felt deep gratitude. Truthfully, being asked to become an admiral filled him with joy.

It had been his dream since enlisting in the navy—someday to be an admiral.

‘My dream is right in front of me. Is it really all right?’

He hesitated—yet he also very much wanted it. Seeing his sovereign place trust in him, even creating a fleet for him to command, he wondered whether there was any point to hesitation.

‘There’s nothing to hesitate about. Yes—do it. Even if there’s criticism, good results will silence it.’

“Your Majesty, I accept the command of the new 10th Fleet.”

“Oh—you’ve decided? I knew you would. Then I can found the 10th Fleet and entrust it to you with an easy mind. Ah, and prepare to be raised to Rabiro (Brigadier General).”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for granting me such an opportunity.”

“Think nothing of it. As I said, I appoint by ability. If you were incompetent, no amount of past ties would make me choose you.”

At Ian’s earnest words, Derian felt both pride and a heavy sense of duty. Since his king trusted him, he resolved to prove himself as an admiral.

“Now, that settles the admiralty. How about we make up for lost time together?”

At this, the heavy mood eased. Mardin, listening nearby, smiled.

“As it happens, the afternoon schedule is open. Shall we have a drink?”

“A fine idea. What do you say?”

“How could I refuse?”

Hahaha—Ian laughed and the three began to drink together. In truth, Ian had summoned him late in the day precisely to make such a moment. The three of them shared cups as in the old days.

Even though Ian now sat on the throne, in that moment over drinks it felt like the past. He wondered—if not for what had happened with his sister, and if he had not been jilted—would he still be striving to become an admiral?

‘Or not? With the succession struggle turning harsh, perhaps I would have had no choice but to become king anyway.’

He didn’t know what future might have been—but at least in the present, he was still with these two. To Ian, they were people he could trust even without mental manipulation.