Chapter 15
(Kyle Calendar
Year 501: Age 8)
Preparing for Misfortune
Translator : PolterGlast
Today, my brother and
I are visiting Geld-san's workshop in the town of Est.
Come to think of it,
this workshop has become much larger and has more people than before. Compared
to when I first came here to make the waterwheel model, the number of people,
including apprentices, has tripled.
The Solis baronial
family had officially placed a large order for the new Estol Bow and the
improved crossbow, and the workshop was a mix of activity and shouting.
"Oh my, young
master, thank you for coming all this way."
Geld-san, who
originally had a stern face, came towards us with a smile.
"Everyone, the
young master has arrived!"
At Geld-san's words,
all the craftsmen stopped working and stood up...
"What's up!"
Manly... or rather, it
really feels like a sports club.
Geld-san, if you go to
so much trouble for me, it makes me feel uneasy instead.
"What can I do
for you today?"
"Ah, I just
wanted to see the production situation, show my brother around the workshop,
and also consult with you about something I thought of."
"Hey, Karl, come
over here for a moment! It's urgent!"
Barely acknowledging
my brother, Geld-san called out to Karl-san.
"Ah, no, whenever
you have time in between your work is fine. Please prioritize your work."
"No, no, you
helped us a lot with the waterwheel. And with this current project as well.
Everything is based on the young master's ideas, and we are receiving work
because of that, so please don't worry about it."
Before I knew it, I
was receiving VIP treatment at this workshop.
For some reason, Anne
was in a good mood, looking at me with a proud face.
After being led to a
separate room, I spread out the simple drawings I had made, which were too
crude to really be called blueprints.
"I'd like to try
making something like this...
But there's no rush.
Please prioritize the production of the current Estol Bows and crossbows."
I repeatedly
emphasized that there was no urgency and that they should prioritize the
current work.
Then, I explained
about another crossbow and inquired about its future development.
It was the Zhuge
crossbow that I was personally interested in.
Whether it was a
historical fact or a later creation, putting that aside, in the Romance of the
Three Kingdoms, a Chinese historical novel, the genius strategist Zhuge Liang
was said to have improved upon existing weapons to create and deploy a
rapid-fire crossbow.
A rapid-fire crossbow
that automatically loaded arrows, drew the string, and fired just by pulling a
lever.
Its rate of fire was
incredible, and I vaguely remembered its mechanism better than that of a
compound bow.
A magazine containing
multiple arrows moved back and forth by a lever, and the arrows were loaded by
the action of drawing the string, firing when the lever was fully pulled.
I remembered wanting
one myself, like a child, after watching a movie themed around the Three
Kingdoms.
Later, I was very
excited to see a video of someone imitating it and making a toy model.
I think its power
would be inferior, but even if it wasn't quite a machine gun, it would have a
rate of fire that bows couldn't match, and I think it would be worth
researching for the future.
Also, there's a part
of it that's just my personal hobby...
With the drawings and
verbal explanations, Geld-san and Karl-san seemed to have a rough idea, so I
・Also asked them to keep the development information of
this a secret.
・Asked them to develop it after completing the existing
orders.
・Emphasized that the delivery speed of the existing
orders was the top priority.
I repeatedly
emphasized these points.
Because... the
craftsmen already had their eyes sparkling at the development of new products
rather than the mass production of already developed ones.
They tried to start
immediately, so I had to hurriedly stop them.
With the business
concluded, my brother and I toured the workshop.
Apparently, some parts
had been metalized to improve productivity and durability.
Metal parts were
ordered from the blacksmith, and the workshop assembled them with the wooden
parts.
The wooden parts were
also handled by division of labor, with efforts made to enable mass production.
Somehow, I felt that
at the very least, the military-grade Estol Bows would make it in time for the
border war that would occur next year.
By the flood of the
year after next, a certain number of crossbows would probably be ready.
Feeling a little
relieved, we left the workshop.
※
Later, when the
initial production models were completed and delivered, they were also properly
deployed to Weiss-san's mercenary group.
After my brother's and
my presentation, he had apparently personally met with Father and made a
request.
Based on my proposal,
it seemed that the mercenary group was given priority for the initial
deployment on the condition that they would serve as instructors during
shooting training.
At Teigun, the
mercenary group's garrison near the Great Forest (demon realm), more practical
operations were being carried out daily against monsters, and feedback on usage
was being provided.
As for tactics, it
seemed that the three-stage firing training that Weiss-san had heard about
through Father was also being conducted within the mercenary group.
As proposed, they
divided the roles into shooter, loader, and relay, with groups of three, making
the most skilled shooter the primary shooter.
Although the number of
shots that could be fired at once decreased, this tactic of continuous firing
with high power had many uses.
The mercenary group
was working on how to fire continuously in the shortest amount of time while
maintaining accuracy.
With this, maybe we
can manage by autumn.
In the [previous
history], the next battle was a local war between border counts, and the scale
was not large at all.
But the Solis baronial
army lost 40% of its forces.
This was a huge loss
in terms of personnel.
However, this time,
the Solis baronial army had the Estol Bow, which was effective enough even
against the enemy's main force, the iron cavalry.
And the number of
archers (all soldiers) had overwhelmingly increased.
And although few in
number, there were also about 40 members of the Twin-Headed Falcon
(Doppelkopfiger Falken) mercenary group led by Weiss-san, who was called an
ever-victorious general in the [previous history].
Hmm, come to think of
it, the number of members has increased.
I'm pretty sure it
was... 30 before.
And on the
battlefield, if we knew beforehand that the Hiyorimi Viscountcy army would
collapse and deployed our troops cautiously, we could probably fight much
better, right?
However, given the
recent situation, there was also concern that the Gorman Viscountcy army might
not be on our side, so to reduce the anxiety factors even a little, I wanted
one more move.
That's what I was
thinking.
And one day, a new
move began with my brother's confession. Since I had been scolded for the Estol
Bow matter last time, I consulted with Father beforehand and got his tacit
approval before visiting Weiss-san with my brother.
It was to discuss the
effective application of my brother's recently manifested unique skill.
It was purely a
surprise attack tactic, but I was sure it would be useful as a trump card!
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