Chapter 13
(Kyle Calendar
Year 501: Age 8)
Fifth Arrow,
Strengthening Armaments
Translator : PolterGlast
"That's all for
today's training!"
"Yes! Thank you
for your guidance!"
"Thank you very
much~"
This was the temporary
training ground for the mercenary group established on the outskirts of the
town of Est.
My brother and I came
here once a week to receive sword training from Weiss-san.
Sword training itself
was held three times a week, with the other two sessions taking place in the
courtyard of the Solis baronial mansion.
My brother was full of
energy even after training, while I was battered and staggering...
I was completely
useless.
Three months had
passed since then. Weiss-san's guidance was stricter than expected, and in
response, my brother was rapidly blooming in talent.
In just a few months,
my brother had risen from [Swordsman] to surpass [Expert] and reach [Master].
Even adult regular
soldiers were no match for my brother anymore.
Father was also
wide-eyed with surprise at my brother's rapid growth.
I guess if you study
under a good teacher, your progress is fast.
In contrast to my
brother, I was more skilled with a sword than others my age, but compared to
adults, I still hadn't even graduated from [Trainee].
So, even if I crossed
swords with my brother, I would just be easily brushed aside.
Hmm...
I should have been
studying under the same good teacher as my brother...
I was a little
depressed.
This time, thanks to
Raymond-san's various arrangements, the pioneer village matter and the
swordsmanship instruction matter had progressed almost as I had hoped, and I
was relieved.
For the Teigun
development, field surveyors had been dispatched as a preliminary team to
explore the potential of the pioneer village.
Refugees were also
employed as these surveyors, conducting agricultural experiments locally.
In addition,
construction workers, mainly refugees, were carrying out the construction work
for the pioneer village.
We planned to build
inns and shops to serve as a rear base for hunters and others who entered the
demon realm, giving it the functions of a small town.
I also wanted to put
up a simple outer wall and take measures to ensure safety inside.
The mercenary group
also entered the pioneer village in shifts, working with the advance team on
preparations and maintenance.
The advance team was
the main force now, but we planned to send a construction unit in about six
months and begin full-scale settlement from the following year onwards.
Weiss-san entrusted
the pioneer land mainly to his second-in-command and traveled back and forth
between the town of Est and the pioneer land, also instructing my brother and
me.
The Solis baronial
family and the mercenary group had an initial two-year contract for the first
year, and after that, the contract would be renewed annually based on mutual
agreement.
For the time being, we
had secured Weiss-san.
Needless to say, I was
relieved.
With the Weiss-san
matter settled, I had switched gears and was now focusing on countermeasures
for the unfortunate historical changes.
Yes, because the thing
I had longed for had finally arrived.
"Master, there's
something I'd like you to take a look at today. Could I get your opinion?"
To avoid the
unfortunate event that would occur next year, something I had been carefully nurturing,
or rather, eagerly awaiting its completion, had finally been completed.
I had brought that
fifth arrow with me this time.
What I took out was a
crossbow.
It was precisely the
next arrow.
However, unlike a
normal crossbow, it had pulleys on both ends, and the bow part used a composite
material made by layering wood and other materials obtained in this world.
In other words, it
incorporated elements of both a compound bow and a composite bow into a
crossbow.
Three years had passed
since the idea, and it was finally completed by commissioning the workshop
using the reward money I received from my father.
Apparently, crossbows
originally existed in this world as well.
There seemed to be a
few instances of their use even in the Kyle Kingdom, but perhaps due to their
lack of rapid-fire capability or operational incompatibility, there were few
cases of them actually being used as weapons.
※
What I remembered from
[Nishida]'s knowledge was that crossbows, which were widely used in China and
Europe, also came to Japan, but unlike firearms, they were not valued by the
rulers of the time and disappeared from history, similar to the case here.
Historically, even in
Europe's Hundred Years' War, English soldiers equipped with longbows achieved
remarkable victories against the French army equipped with crossbows.
[History] also proves
that crossbows have their pros and cons.
In the Kyle Kingdom,
bows and arrows, which excel in rapid fire, are used, and specialized archers
operate them.
The problem is that
bows require training and proficiency, with significant differences in ability,
and they are weapons that require constant training afterward, making the
soldiers who use them close to specialists.
In the Solis baronial
family, the soldiers consist of regular soldiers and part-time soldiers, with
part-time soldiers actually making up the majority.
Part-time soldiers
usually have other jobs and participate in regular military training. And in
times of war, they are conscripted and participate in the war.
Therefore, with the
exception of hunters and others who use bows on a regular basis, the skill
level of the majority of soldiers (part-time) is not high.
It's more about having
numbers for suppressive fire... that kind of thing.
Compared to bows,
crossbows are easy to master and have the advantage that even part-time
soldiers can shoot with a certain degree of accuracy without daily training or
proficiency.
However, they had the
disadvantages of increased weight and bulk, as well as inferior power, range,
and rate of fire.
Therefore, while large
crossbows and ballistae were used as stationary and siege weapons, crossbows
were not highly valued.
※
The leaf spring I had
been researching since the age of five was primarily aimed at creating a
composite bow using the materials of this world, rather than making a model of
a metal leaf spring for a carriage suspension.
Borrowing the
knowledge and skills of a professional craftsman and being taught by them, I
prototyped a leaf spring for a bow by combining different types of wood.
Using that, I made a
model of a crossbow and researched various aspects.
As for the pulleys
themselves, when I conveyed the image to Karl-san, he made several of different
sizes in his spare time.
The difficulty lay
beyond that.
To make it a compound
bow, there were so many things I didn't know, such as the size and combination
of pulleys, their ratio, mounting position, and how to string it.
So, with Karl-san's
help, I created a prototype for research by assembling a composite bow with two
pulleys of different sizes on each end onto a crossbow mount.
And then, I researched
alone every day... struggling intensely.
After that, the lord
placed an order for a waterwheel at the workshop, and the master craftsman and
other artisans at the workshop were busy with its production, so they had
forgotten about the strange bow I was making.
Since the research
prototype was completed, I spent every day tinkering with the model I had
brought back to the mansion, repeating trial and error.
I tried to remember
how to string a crossbow that I had seen in a video long ago and tested it,
repeatedly changing the mounting position of the string.
And finally, although
I didn't know if it was correct, I reached a mounting position and a way to string
it on the pulleys that made me think that the bow could be strongly bent even
with relatively little force.
Finally, based on this
prototype, once the reward money was in hand, I formally requested the workshop
to improve and develop it.
With Karl-san's
craftsmanship-based ideas and improvements, such as a composite bow with
greater power than a regular bow and a more efficient arrangement and size of
pulleys, a prototype was completed.
Isn't its power and
performance much better than a common crossbow?
Like a child who had
been given a desired toy, I was delighted and satisfied.
Through Raymond-san, I
also asked the master craftsman and Karl-san to thoroughly keep the information
about this crossbow secret.
※
"That's a
crossbow with a unique shape."
Even though crossbows
were rarely used in the Kyle Kingdom, Weiss-san knew about them.
Judging from the way
he looked at the crossbow with suspicion, he probably knew both its advantages
and disadvantages.
"Yes, I had a
craftsman improve a model I made by combining various things I read in a book.
Could you try shooting
it? I'd like to hear your impressions, Weiss-san..."
Taking the crossbow
handed to him by me, Weiss-san looked at it with interest before taking aim at
the target.
"Shoop!"
The arrow, fired with
tremendous force, flew as if cutting through the air and easily pierced the
metal target.
"This is..."
After being speechless
and dumbfounded, I think he rushed towards the target, and then he dashed back
here.
"Young master, if
you have another one, please let me have it! Or rather, I definitely want our
mercenary group to equip these!"
Weiss-san, your face
is too close, and you're kind of scary with that intense look.
"This is the only
finished product so far. I wanted to hear your impressions, Weiss-san, and then
propose it to my father as equipment for the Solis baronial army..."
"I see. Please
forgive my outburst. With this power, it could even pierce the armor of the
iron cavalry, said to be the strongest in the Griffonia Empire.
Could you please
convey to your father that I myself would definitely want to purchase this
equipment?"
My brother, who had
been watching this from the side, interjected.
"Takuhir, you're
so unfair! I want one too! Or rather, won't you let me shoot it? Please!"
My brother also leaned
forward quite eagerly.
From then on, my
brother test-fired it until he was satisfied, so needless to say, I was quite
bored.
In the end, my brother
didn't get tired of it, and it didn't end until Anne said,
"Dalek-sama, we
should probably head back soon, or you'll be scolded by Madam."
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