Episode 16 – Mary’s Hometown

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TL/ED:Quertzy | PR: Quertzy] (PEIN)

[Author’s note: I have cut out the parts of the story that might be problematic.](TLN: Trollface)

　May 1937 Portsmouth, England

　From Tokyo Bay, the ship sailed south through the Bashi Strait and down the South China Sea to Singapore. Through the Strait of Malacca into the Indian Ocean to Colombo on the island of Ceylon. From Colombo, the ship is headed westward across the Indian Ocean, through the gap between the Arabian Peninsula and the African continent, and into the Red Sea all the way to the Suez.

　Passing through the Suez Canal, the ship enters the Mediterranean Sea and makes port in Alexandria, Egypt. Continuing westward through the Mediterranean Sea, the ship passes through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic Ocean. Travelling northward with the Iberian Peninsula on the right, cross the outer rim of the Bay of Biscay.

　With the Brittany peninsula on our right, begins the Channel Approach. Isn’t it just a channel? We call it the Channel Approach because it is an approach to the Channel Islands. [1]

　Here, we are greeted by the Royal Navy. Escorting us is HMS Arethusa, also the namesake of the Arethusa-class light cruisers.

　It is a treaty type, 5200-ton class, state-of-the-art light cruiser… It is a ship where you can still feel it being freshly built. [2]

　Well, at least that’s what I received from the attendant military officer!

　My previous knowledge does not cover the Royal Navy ships in detail. I wasn’t even that heavy of a military geek. I’m still aware of some though, as  I have dipped my toes a bit on the subject. [TLN: no idea what “ライトからミドルに片足を突っ込んでいた自覚は多少なりともあるけどさ。” means here]

    All I know is the names of battleships and aircraft carriers at best, but it’s kind of cute, isn’t it?

　Then, while being escorted by HMS Arethusa, with the Isle of Wight on the left, I’m lured into Portsmouth by the Warship March(軍艦マーチ) played by the Royal Navy’s military band![3]

　The Warship March is so exciting, isn’t it! Personally, I like the majesty of it too.

　Ah, but I think my favourite is the Alte Kameraden[4]?　But I can’t get rid of Panzerlied[5] either. I also like the Badonviller Marsch[6], of course, but I also like the Guard on the Rhine(TLN:ラインの護???)[7] and Erika[8], and Lili Marlene[9] is so melancholy.

　It’s hard to pick which is the best. I mean, German military songs are the best.

　Whether its principles are good or bad, some of the Nazi songs were good too. I think Horst Wessel and others are good songs. Well, I don’t understand German, so I can’t understand the lyrics.

　Well, there’s something about music that draws people in.. So it’s no wonder why Nazi songs were banned in post-war Germany… It would be a problem if people sympathised with the Nazis.

　That being said.

　Portsmouth is Portsmouth, but it is not the Portsmouth where the peace treaty of the Russo-Japanese War was signed, right? That would be in the Portsmouth of the United States. I am ashamed to say that I was mistaken for a while in my previous life… 

　It took me almost two months to sail halfway around the world, a distance of more than 20,000 km, and I finally arrived.

　It was really long……

　Well, we were sailing at an economical speed of 14 knots, and we spent a night or two at ports along the way, so it took extra time.

　There was a Japanese cargo ship accompanying us until halfway through the Mediterranean Sea, but it seemed to have turned its course towards the land in the waters near Spain, but what was it?

　Coincidentally, Spain is currently in the midst of a civil war, so perhaps they were trying to sell something? Well, even if it was a coincidence, it would be a waste to miss the business opportunity. The poor Empire of Japan lives with a mercantile spirit![10]

　Even if the cargo ship’s cargo contained used Type 38 infantry rifles and their accompanying bullets, the rifles themselves do not shoot people. It is always the person who shoots another person by pulling the trigger at fault. It was purely economic activity based on such logic, or something.

　I’m sure the American Rifle Association will give it their stamp of approval, no doubt.

　But at which side did the arms go? The Republicans? or Franco’s nationalists?

　Well, that matter was trivial.

　But still, it sure took a while….

　In the future, it will only take half a day using a jet airliner, which makes it seem even longer.

　It seems that if we had used the Trans-Siberian Railway, we could’ve gotten to Europe in less than a month, but for the purpose of this visit to the UK, a warship was a prerequisite.

　But at last…

“Here we are in Great Britain! It’s England, Mary’s homeland!”(TLN: Mary being Queen Elizabeth II btw lmao)

　I had never been to England in my previous life, so I couldn’t help but be excited.

    I’m looking forward to visiting the British Museum, also ridiculed as a loot and grave robbing museum!

　I also want to try fish and chips at an authentic pub.

　But I don’t want to eat Jellied eels…

“Fujimiya-sama, who is Mary?”

“Huh? I don’t know. I just sort of said it naturally.”

　It’s a thing like John Bull or Uncle Sam, maybe. I don’t know. (TLN: Kinda like mascots of countries)

　But aside from that.

　Instead of Edward VIII, my father and mother attended the coronation of King George VI of the United Kingdom and the naval review to commemorate the coronation of George VI as representatives of His Majesty the Emperor, And so, I, as their daughter, accompanied them!

　The George VI Coronation Naval Fleet Review. This is why we went through the trouble of bringing a warship all the way from Japan to the other side of the world.

　So, what did we use to travel all the way to England on?

　Did you think it was one of the Myōkō class heavy cruisers? Ashigara, which took part in the spectator ship ceremony in historical fact?

　Boo-hoo!

　Too bad!　This is not the same one.

　The correct answer will be revealed… after the commercials.

　IJN Hiei

　Imperial Japanese Navy Battlecruiser Kongo class Hiei.

    The official name is Hiei, a Kongo class battlecruiser, second ship of the Kongo class, belonging to the Imperial Japanese Navy.

　This should be the official name. Maybe.

　Battleships are cool, aren’t they!　I can feel the romance. A man’s romance!

   Well, the Hiei is a battlecruiser, but a battlecruiser is still (kind of) a battleship!

　The 14-inch twin guns, which are the main guns, are powerful, aren’t they?. The bridge also stands tall like a building. Well, I think I will lose to illegal ships like Fuso and Yamashiro.. It just got hit by a cannonball and I’m afraid it’s about to collapse.

　However, Hiei is nominally a training ship now, with the fourth turret removed and the engine replaced with a low-powered one, in accordance with the agreement with other countries at the London Conference on Disarmament held in 1930.

　However, Hiei has been used as a commissioned ship many times, so it was convenient for this visit to England, as it has an onboard throne room and living quarters for nobles.

　If I had visited using the Ashigara, I would have been called a “hungry wolf,” and I would have been called a fool, mistaking it for a compliment and innocently rejoicing. I would have been a fool to think that I was being praised for it, when in fact, I was being ridiculed.

　Or perhaps the Myoko class could be called a hungry wolf because of the difference in military philosophy between England and Japan.

　Since Hiei is a sister ship of Kongo, whose design is British, so it would not be called a hungry wolf. For Hiei, it would be like a half homecoming.　For Kongo, her birthplace is England, so it is completely a homecoming.

　After returning to Japan after the ceremony, she is scheduled to undergo a major refit to make her battleworthy and return to the role of a battle cruiser, but I wonder if that will be done while keeping an eye on the British?

　If the Kongo class had been sent to Europe in World War I, it would have been a different story.

　We don’t need an outdated 15.2cm single-barrel secondary gun that must be manually loaded; it would be more effective to get rid of all 16 guns and instead equip them with a 12.7cm or 10cm double-barrel high-angle gun and a number of Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns.

　I feel that a fast-firing amphibious gun would be more useful as a secondary gun and a high-angle gun, and I would like to increase the number of guns and prevent the death circles around in the Solomon Sea, as in historical fact.

　But George VI never thought he would become king. His brother, Edward VIII, is suddenly abdicating. For George VI, I think it just felt like something that came out of the blue.

　By the way, I knew about it because I am familiar with HOI’s events. (TLN: Hearts of Iron pog)

　His father was even funkier. He was even involved in an outrageous plan to make all the colonies of the British Empire independent, but was this still the game’s story?

　It had such an impact on me that I can’t distinguish it from my current reality, and it remains in my memory so vividly.

　For more information, see the British Empire Mayhem or something like that: ……

　But I digress.

　Still, you wouldn’t normally think that he would choose love over a crown, would you?

　However, Edward VIII was able to be with the love of his life and live a comfortable life, so I guess it was a happy life for him.

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References: 

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Islands
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Naval_Treaty
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunkan_k%C5%8Dshinkyoku
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alte_Kameraden
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzerlied 
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badonviller_Marsch
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Wacht_am_Rhein
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_(song)
9. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AB%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War 

TLN: This was a pain to TL(MTL)… I need to see some Fujimiya and Mary interactions lol