CH 356

A few more days after the meeting and whatnot. I wonder if it’s been about 2 weeks since I came here? I have to go back in another week. This unit can still operate while I’m back home, but important things can’t be decided without me. In that case, it would be better to refrain from flashy actions that are unclear without direct guidance.

To be honest, I want to restore the former territory of the Kingdom of Wessek and let Harold return triumphantly to the south, and I also want to go to conquer Alvaland in the north and Welez in the west. If possible, I would like to capture the western island of Ehrland as well. But to do all this in one more week… it would be difficult.

If I take too long and go home when the situation requires my judgment, there’s a chance that communications will all be too late.

After all, we shouldn’t move too flashy this week, and after the negotiations with the Demon Country are over, we should march slowly again. I have to finish it in about a month, but if I have a month, I can go to Ehrland…

………… No, wait, wait, wait……. Am I crazy, too? I’m saying ridiculous things like, “We can take down Alvaland and Welez in another week, but let’s not,” or “If we have a month, we’ll be able to unify the Blish Isles and go to the island where Ehrland is…”

Calm down… I’ve been poisoned because so many insane things have happened lately.

In my original plan, I should have thought about whether I could build a base on the Blish Isles even if I used all the 2 months. Luckily, this time I was able to save Harold and the others and quickly gain a foothold. That’s why it’s good to revise it upwards, but it’s a big mistake to think that Alvaland, Welez, and Ehrland can have the same thing done to them.

I just happened to be able to get such a great result in about a week, just by luck and chance about the Kingdom of Wessek. If you misunderstand it as your innate strength and push forward, you will get a painful retaliation.

We have to be more careful. After all, we are doing well now just because we got lucky things went so well. Even though the meeting was supposed to be for that purpose, what should I do with my optimism and underestimating the enemy?

The plan for the next week is to first invade the south, take back the land that was stolen by Guillaume, and regain the Kingdom of Wessek. Guillaume has already been captured, and most of the enemy forces are dead and devastated. That’s why I’m just estimating that we can recapture the Wessek territories in a week. Don’t think you can beat all the other enemies in a week.

However, there is a possibility that Alvaland will attack again from the north, taking advantage of our absence when we leave this base. We will remove the defensive positions and the landed Caan Cannons and withdraw the troops, but we will need to prepare for Alvaland.

A certain amount of supplies have been accumulated, so do we still need a certain amount of defense forces here? Without completely withdrawing the position, leaving the defense force and supplies, shall we will use this as a supply base and move to recapture the southern part?

Well, unless we get another port, there’s nowhere to unload or store supplies, anyway. Should I leave it to some extent instead of completely withdrawing here? This is also a side effect of changing plans. There would have been no such worries if a unit had been dispatched to go north to conquer Alvaland in conjunction with our southward movement. On the contrary, I thought so, that I was going to leave here entirely…

Then, let’s use the troops that were scheduled to invade Alvaland to defend this place. And if you station a galleon ship as an escort, they won’t fall behind the enemy.

The future schedule is fine, but I also have to think about the reflections of the last battle. I hope that everyone who is an expert in strategy and tactics will study and consider it from now on. More importantly, I have to do what only I can do…

The most important thing I have to prioritize is improving the Caan Cannon and the flintlock musket. This can only be solved by me and Eins. I’m not much of a help, but… don’t say that.

The improvement of the Caan Cannon is already in the right direction. What we should aim for from now on is the development of rifling and high-explosive ammunition. Both have already instructed and are conducting research. It’s not as simple as saying, “Yes, we were able to create it because we were given instructions.”

A rifling has to cut several grooves accurately into a hard barrel or press a mold. But this is happening gradually. It’s difficult to carve a thin barrel like a gun, but it’s easy to process a thick cannon barrel. This could be resolved in due course. If productivity is low even now, it is not impossible.

Next is the high-explosive ammo. I remember the structure of the high-explosive shells used in rifled guns. It’s a mechanism that uses centrifugal force, so it can’t be used unless it’s rotated by a rifling… Anyway, I think I understand the structure, so as long as I can do rifling, there is no problem.

Even with the current round cannonballs, the high-explosive shell itself is not impossible. But there are safety issues. Many of you may have seen old anime, especially in American cartoons, in which a round cannonball with a fuse is fired from a black cylindrical cannon.

It’s not unique to absurd cartoons. Fill the cannonball with gunpowder and light the fuse then shoot it out of a cannon. On the way, the fuse ignites the gunpowder inside, and the cannonball explodes into shrapnel. These were how high-explosives were then. 1

If that level of high-explosive ammunition is enough, it’s not impossible to make it even now. It’s just not very safe to do so. So until the rifling is done and I can make the explosive ammo I’m thinking of, I’ll probably leave the bombs at home.

At this stage, the flintlock musket has already reached its final form. It is difficult to improve this further. But that doesn’t mean we’re helpless. We’ll go to the next step.

The mechanism itself is the same as the matchlock type or the flintlock type. The next thing I’m thinking about is a percussion lock style.

The matchlock type is a matchlock gun, which is easy to understand even for Japanese people. Load gunpowder and ammunition from the tip, replenish the ignition powder in the fire pan, pull the trigger, and the flaming rope touches the ignition powder to spread the fire. It travels to the gunpowder inside and explodes, firing a bullet. The theory itself does not change between the flintlock type and the percussion lock type.

However, the matchlock type cannot be used in wet conditions. If the match rope gets wet, the fire will go out or will not light, and since the fire pan is exposed, the ignition source will also get wet and fail to light up.

The flintlock type that we are currently putting into practical use substitutes this, so to speak, with a flint. The grill part is covered. Then, when the trigger is pulled and the hammer goes down, the lid rubs against it, and sparks fly. On the way, the lid opens and the fire is transferred to the ignition powder inside. And when the hammer is completely lowered, the lid closes again, so it is more resistant to bad weather than the matchlock type.

But this is also not perfect if the fire does not transfer to the ignition properly, and the lid is usually closed, so it is more resistant to rain than the matchlock type, but it still exposes itself during firing so it cannot be used in a downpour. Even if it rains a little, if you are unlucky, it will not move or cause problems. The percussion lock type is superior to them.

The percussion lock type is called the detonator type in Japanese. Even the bullets used today are detonator types. A hammer strikes the detonator like a percussion cap, lighting up the ignition inside it. Modern bullets also have a detonator in the round part that is hit by the hammer, and if you strike it, the ignition powder will light up, and the gunpowder further in will burn and fire the bullet.

In the early percussion lock type, only the detonator part was put on like a cap, and it was struck with a hammer, and the gunpowder was ignited through the lead wire. So the structure itself is exactly the same. The only problem is the ignition method.

The sole issue that makes it difficult to develop a percussion lock type, is the detonator. It is not difficult to process industrially. All you have to do is fill the metal cap with igniting powder so that when you strike it, the fire spreads inside. It’s not something that our processing technology can’t do. The problem is how you get this heat.

An ignition charge that can be easily ignited by striking with a hammer must be developed and stored in a cap. It shouldn’t be too sensitive so that it explodes on its own, or too insensitive so that it doesn’t catch fire when you hit it. Something that is reasonably easy to ignite at a practical level and can be lit up just by impact…

Once stuffed in the detonator, the amount of ignition powder is small, so I don’t think there will be a big accident for the operators. The problem is the factory that processes it. There is a high probability that an accident will occur in a factory and an employee will be injured.

However, the percussion lock system is not affected by the weather, so now that the flintlock system has reached its limit, there is no choice but to move to the percussion lock system. Moreover, since the structure is basically the same, the current gun production line can be reused, and it is not so difficult to modify the existing flint lock type to the percussion lock type.

The barrel is so thin that it would be impossible to rifle it accurately by hand. As far as rifling is not possible, the only part that can be improved is to improve the percussion lock type.

In both cases, I told Eins the specifications long ago and let him study them. I still can’t do it, so it’s not that easy. I can only give him a rough idea, but I can’t teach him the techniques and methods you need to actually do it. It’s easy to say but hard to make…

… But that’s all it is, right? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to ignite the gunpowder in the barrel or bullet? On Earth, we’re just trying to ignite it with fire, or ignite it with the heat of impact, and detonate the gunpowder that way. But… for example… in a world with magic? Shouldn’t we ignite gunpowder with magic?

“………… Perhaps I should try it out for a while?”

I left my room on the Santa Maria and headed for the top deck. On the way, I grabbed a spare flintlock musket… loaded it with gunpowder and bullets… and took a stance toward the empty sea.

But how do you set it on fire? Can you suddenly start a fire inside? It’s not impossible, but it’s a bit difficult. It’s very difficult to activate magic remotely in places you can’t see. Even if I can do it, if the difficulty is too high, the units won’t be able to use it themselves.

Then… for example… sparks? That’s right… Can you create electricity and ignite it with a spark? I don’t need the grill part. Even if it was a little, the combustion gas leaked from there and the power only decreased. So I’m going to block the section where the firing pan is introduced to heat.

If you could ignite the gunpowder inside with this… wouldn’t the expanding energy of the explosion be transmitted to the bullet more efficiently than before, increasing the power of the bullet? Depending on how it hits, it may compensate for the weak point of not being able to penetrate the enemy’s armor, and the lack of power overall.

“Young Miss? What in the hell are you doing…?” someone called out from far away.

“Firing!” I yelled.

I couldn’t stop so close to the edge of pulling the trigger. Besides, if they find out that I am doing this without proper permission, I may be stopped and scolded. Just do it already! To pass electricity through the musket gun…….

BAKAAAHNN!

And the musket burst right next to my face. I immediately throw the gun away and dodge. If it wasn’t for my reflexes, my face might have become a bloody mess. I could clearly see the iron shards flying toward my face. Very scary…….

“Wha!?”

“What’s going on!?”

“Young Miss! Are you okay!”

“The enemy!? Watch your surroundings!”

As expected of our excellent soldiers. They must have thought that I was attacked, and in no time they were ready for battle. But for me, it’s very embarrassing…

“I’m fine… I experimented a little and got unexpected results…”

I was really surprised. The gun I threw dropped into the sea. I wanted to find out what happened to it… No, I should just destroy another one and make sure it can be properly recovered. Why did the barrel split? what happened to the bullet? If you think about the future, I definitely want to study it.

“…………Maybe the Young Miss intended to do this by herself?”

“Ah~…, eh~… I did it by myself, or did I do an experiment and it turned out like this…”

Schwartz looks at me with intense eyes. This guy has no reservations about me. Do you know that I am his master and he is my admiral? I am the Lord here!

“Haa… AHOY!” Schwartz yelled out. “All you bastards! Enough! That was all just in your imagination!”

“What in the hell…?”

“You should have told us that first, damn it.”

""

The soldiers are returning to their posts. Sorry…….

“So then… what in the hell is going on?” Schwartz asked.

“Ah~… about that~~~…”

After this, I was scolded by Schwartz until I properly explained the situation.