The Land of the Rising Sun Transfers to Another World

Chapter 3: Investigation

It might sound a bit like something out of a chuunibyou, but here comes the appearance of a sci-fi weapon. It's only natural to think that there's no way this could exist lol, but please bear with me.

- ワイアード

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Above the western edge, 850 km from Japan

An endless expanse of blue ocean stretched out. Birds, presumed to be seagulls, flew in flocks. Targeting these birds, a creature that appeared to be a combination of a turtle and a crocodile, measuring about 10 meters in length, emerged from the sea, stretching its neck to prey on the seagulls.

Click, click

Kamata, a seaman apprentice of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, was photographing this scene from inside a P-3C patrol aircraft.

"Phew, that's scary."

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Hirose announced at a press conference that Japan is currently facing a crisis regarding food and energy resources, and that to overcome this situation, the SDF would expand their reconnaissance activities beyond Japan's borders.

However, two weeks into their overseas investigation, they discovered that the Korean Peninsula and Eurasia had vanished.

Their mission was to find land. Of course, when they encounter unknown creatures like the one earlier, capturing aerial footage and reporting it back to headquarters is also part of their duties.

"Ah, is it just aerial photography today too?"

"Pull yourself together, Seaman Apprentice! We're in the middle of a mission!"

The one who scolded Kamata, who sighed and complained a bit, was Narikawa, a sub-lieutenant commanding the P-3C patrol aircraft.

"I-I'm very sorry!"

"Honestly... Utsumi, how's it going over there? Have you found anything?"

"No, nothing at all. It's just ocean everywhere I look."

"I see."

"By the way, how are the marine products in this world? I heard the seawater composition is exactly the same as Earth's."

"Oh, yeah, according to the team that was investigating marine life, they found many seafood types that have never been seen before. Of course, there were also quite a few that looked similar to fish found on Earth."

"Can we eat them?"

"They say it's totally fine for consumption. They also pass nutritional standards. It's just that their appearance is..."

Utsumi didn't want to hear any more. No, he felt he shouldn't ask; he thought it would be better not to know.

They continued their investigation, but as the day was drawing to a close without finding any land, something unexpected happened.

"Sub-Lieutenant, there's a response on the radar. Approximately 250 kilometers southwest. It seems to be a quite large flying object. Speed is about 150 kilometers per hour."

"All hands, be on alert. Keep an eye on the radar and outside."

Though a bit taken aback by the sudden occurrence, they quickly regained their composure and proceeded as trained. They sent the unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, Yatagarasu, that had been hovering 1.000 meters above in the southwest direction toward the source of the radar contact.

Yatagarasu is an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft developed jointly by Japan and the US, scaled down to less than half the size of the American RQ-4 Global Hawk. It has a cruising speed of 950 km/h and is equipped with a Vulcan cannon, anti-tank missiles, and air-to-air missiles. Due to Japanese aviation laws, the development of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft had been mostly prohibited, but changes to the constitution before the transition allowed for modifications.

As they flew Yatagarasu and reached a point where they could confirm the target through the camera, everyone was astonished.

"That's land..." someone muttered quietly.

What appeared on the monitor was land, showing forests, grasslands, and numerous mountains.

"S-Sub-Lieutenant, it's land! We've confirmed land approximately 1.200 kilometers southwest of Japan!"

"Mm-hmm... But what about the flying object captured on the radar!? Have you confirmed it?"

While they were overjoyed to have found land, Narikawa immediately remembered the flying object detected by the radar. As they piloted Yatagarasu toward the target location, the crew was once again astonished by what appeared on the screen.

"That's... d-dragon?"

"Huh?"

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I have no idea how orders are actually given at the scene T_T

- ワイアード