Japan Space-Time Strange Chronicles

To Britain of This World

Hello, Kazuhiro Kasami here.

The new era has been decided to be given the name "Reiwa." I would like to continue to live up to my predecessors and contribute this novel.

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February 15, 2024

Japan, Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama, 3rd Coast Guard District

About six years had passed since the transference, and the situation in Japan, including the continent, had become reasonably stable, so Japan decided to make contact by sending a delegation to the European equivalent in this world, which was thought to be to the east. However, it was believed that many of the countries in this world were still institutionally immature. The recon satellites launched in the year of the transference showed that the development of civilization in each country was quite varied.

The highest level of development was equivalent to World War II, the lowest to medieval Europe, and the island countries that looked like the Japanese archipelago were considered to be equivalent to the Sengoku period. Therefore, the Japanese government decided to dispatch the Kagoshima-based Shikishima, one of the Japan Coast Guard's largest patrol vessels, to escort the delegation. This was largely based on the fact that the ship was equipped with anti-air radar, which would allow it to respond to the presence of suspicious air contact.

The country they were going to contact this time is located in what is called the United Kingdom in the old world, but for some reason they saw airstrip-like facilities along its coast, so they assumed that it had some kind of air power.

Let me also explain why Japan's first point of contact was with this equivalent of UK.

There was a steel warship docked in the harbor of this country, and after analyzing its capabilities, it was found to be very similar to the battleship completed in England in 1897 and owned by Japan. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, the airstrip-like structure has been identified, and with their knowledge of aviation, they are assumed to be quite developed.

Looking at other countries by satellite, the one expected to be the most developed is Russia's equivalent, but it seems to boast a level of civilization that is only 50 years ahead of that, and Japan guessed that it was a very powerful country despite being a small island nation. The level of development in England, France and nearby Germany, Eastern Europe, and Northern Europe and the Middle East was far apart, while countries such as France and Italy's equivalents were estimated to have only medieval to early modern capabilities. But Russia and China were so far away that the decision was made to first contact the British Isles, which were considered the most developed of the nearest ones.

Two diplomats, Sonomura and Kunimoto, who were the first to conduct diplomatic activities in this part of the world, were appointed to this mission. The Shikishima made a stopover from Kagoshima to the 3rd Coast Guard District of Yokohama to replenish supplies, and then prepared itself for departure.

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February 16, 2024

50 km off the coast of the (presumed) British Isles

Diplomat Sonomura, aboard the patrol vessel Shikishima, was very nervous before the first full-scale contact between two nations. He is a serious person by nature, but since the country with which he was to make contact was expected to be highly developed and powerful enough to be classified as a "powerful country" in this world, he had to be nervous, and his stomach had been churning for the past two days.

"Senpai, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. I'm so nervous."

"It's understandable. At least, this is the first real contact with a nation since our country moved to this world."