CH 389

I’ve already decided on my future plans, and I’m all set for preparations… Family register surveys, land surveying, map creation, coastal area maintenance, lighthouse maintenance, nautical chart creation, tax system, promulgation of new laws… there’s just too much to do! Since when did I get a job to clean up all this paperwork!?

Well…. is this what a feudal lord or state ruler is like…?

Also, I would like to do something about the highways of the entire Caan Knight’s Nation, but I don’t have the manpower or time to suddenly start the highways of the whole country. The highest priority is given to the highway from Danzij, Koenigsvelg to Waalzaw. If this road is not possible, an expedition to the southeast direction will not be possible.

And the dragon knights… It’s good that I threw the idea up in front of everyone, but actually, I don’t have a prospect yet.

The first thing you need is a carbine. A carbine is a short-barreled rifle used on horseback. Carbines are now simply used to refer to short-barreled guns, but they originally meant short-barreled guns for cavalry.

Providing the barrel itself is not difficult. All we have to do is develop a short-barreled, easy-to-handle gun for on-horse handling. The problem isn’t the carbine… it’s the ammunition. It’s too troublesome for the front-loading type. Standing up a gun on horseback and loading the bullet from the front will probably fail, and it’s too much work and not practical.

And with a percussion lock, the detonator and cap would fall off with the horse’s running jostling the rider or the impact of their footfalls. It is difficult to affix the detonator properly.

A breech-loading bolt-action rifle must be completed in order for the dragon knights to succeed.

The basics are already done to some extent. Paper cartridges are also being put to practical use, so it will be possible with a little more improvement. The current one is simply a kit that can perform all actions with just one bullet.

In a report from Eins, he said that the research was progressing considerably, so I got carried away and announced it in front of everyone first, but… I wonder if it stopped for a while… There’s no follow-up news from Eins, no news of development success… If the Dreyse gun can’t be made, the dragon knight plan will be a setback… and alongside that…

“AAAAaaaaahhhh~~~~! I’m at my limit!”

“Um… Miss Flora?”

Katharina is flustered because I suddenly raised my voice and stood up. She’s kinda cute. Even Katharina gets flustered like this. Wait, this is not the time to say that.

“Katharina! Let’s start having some lovey-dovey time now! I’ve run out of Girl Essence and I’m at the limit of my patience! I’m having withdrawal symptoms! Haah! Haah! I can’t do this anymore!

I snuggled up to Katharina. When I step closer, Katharina steps back. But this is my office. There is no escape. Katharina found herself immediately cornered against the wall, her expression was stained with despair.

All this time, I’ve been with this old man, and that old man, and those old men, and I’ve only been with old men! I haven’t flirted with a girl in days! This is enough! What do you think I’m working for?!

Ah? For the country? There’s no way. I don’t remember swearing loyalty to the Kingdom of Ploiss… well, I swear allegiance to His Majesty the King at the ceremony for my promotion, but from the bottom of my heart, I don’t swear allegiance to the kingdom or the royal family. Because of my birth and position, I am forced to cooperate, and I am only working to make it convenient for me.

It’s no exaggeration to say that I’m doing my best just to flirt with girls and lead a modern life.

And yet! And yet I can’t enjoy my life with those important girls! For some reason, the more I try to get same-sex marriage recognized and to make our lives safer and more comfortable, the less I get to interact with my wives! Should this be allowed?!

It cannot! Absolutely not! Such a thing should not be allowed!

That’s why… Haa… Haa… Katharina, and…

“Katharina~~~~!”

I jump and dive toward Katharina. In a posture as if both hands and both feet were put together. That’s right… it’s a famous guy’s dive. Of course, I’m not as expert as he is, so I can’t take off my clothes in an instant and then launch into dive. That’s why it’s not a perfect dive…but that doesn’t matter!

“-!?”

Seeing my dive, Katharina shows a startled expression. But there is no escape. Nyohoho! She’s caught!

“Master Flora, a package has arrived…”

At that moment, the door opened without knocking. Katharina, who should have been in front of me, was hidden behind the wooden door, and the door slowly approached me like slow motion. No, I’m approaching the door at high speed.

“Buh!”

Becha!

With that sound…, I crashed into the door, destroyed it with my momentum, and ripped it off its hinges. Perhaps Katharina was the only one standing in a good position, she was safely crouched on the spot without being caught in the door’s splinters and debris.

A little while ago, I had a bad experience. That’s why I keep asking to knock when you want to open the door. Even if you knock, it doesn’t make sense if the door can be opened immediately. No, it means that you should not open it until you receive a reply from inside that you can open it. If that were the case, then the accident would not have happened.

“So, then?”

“Yes…… Master Flora…… a package has arrived for you.”

Without even trying to hide my displeasure, I glared at Kanbee and asked him his business. That’s why Katharina and I should have had some sweet time… it doesn’t matter. Did it interfere with my greedy-and-worn-out recovery time?

“For something like this…”

“But… Master Flora, you told me to give top priority to letters and parcels from Dr. Eins…”

Kanbee’s voice gradually became quieter. He is a small-minded man. If he has something to say, he should say it clearly……wait, what in the hell!? From Eins!? Say that first! You idiot!

“If it’s from Eins, hurry up and say it! Come on! Let’s head to the port!”

As soon as I said it, I opened the window and jumped on the roof of the opposite building. After that, I ran on the roofs, jumped over them, and headed straight for the port.

After receiving Eins’ package, I took my wives to a forest away from Koenigsvelg. The purpose is hunting. This time Eins sent me some prototypes of the items I ordered. I came to the forest to try them. Also, it’s an opportunity to get in touch with the wives who haven’t been in touch with me much lately.

“Haa~~! This is so good, isn’t it…? Surrounded by my lovely wives… I can’t believe I can come to a nature-rich forest for a picnic!” I said.

“This place isn’t originally a place where you can relax so leisurely, but…” Janzicka said as he acted suspiciously.

We only have a few escorts and the wives, so there’s no need to hold back too much. There’s Musashi as an escort, who is kind of freaked out too, but for the time being, I have Janzicka, so it’ll probably work out.

“The plant life is rich and the greenery is beautiful. Are you saying you can’t enjoy a picnic in a forest like this?” I asked.

“This is a forest with dangerous monsters, and no one from Polsky will dare come near it…” Janzicka said.

Ah… Come to think of it, this was a world with monsters. It was so harmless to me that I only recognized it as just a wild animal. In fact, even when we entered the forest, we weren’t attacked… I didn’t think of it as a monster, or rather, I came here to hunt prey.

“That lake is beautiful. Shall we set up near there?” I asked.

“No…, um… Miss Flora…the Lord is over there…” Janzicka mumbled, but it was not clear to me.

If you have something to say, say it clearly. A guy like this would be unpopular.

“Well, we’re here, so it’s okay if something comes out!” Mikoto said. “Come on! It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to play with Flora, so I’m going to play to my heart’s content!”

“Indeed,” Alexandra said.

“Yeah, yeah!” Louisa said.

“I’m just an escort, so everyone should enjoy themselves,” Claudia said.

“…” Katharina was silent.

For some reason, Claudia and Katharina are stubbornly remaining serious… I wish they could relax more and play like everyone else.

The escorts and luggage carriers we brought with us started to set up near the lake. Today we’re, what, what am I saying? Actually, this time it’s an overnight stay. “We have to go home today!” That’s not the case! I’ve been given a day off from work so that I can relax and play with my wives. Well, there’s no such thing as a day off from the work of a feudal lord or a state leader…

It’s okay! Just when I thought that my father and mother no longer needed to look in the direction of the Principality of Moscove and monitor them, the two of them have been flirting in Koenigsvelg all the time! I wouldn’t be surprised if I actually have a younger brother or sister someday.

“It’s a beautiful lake, isn’t it…?” I asked.

“Oh! Lord Flora! The Lord of this Forest is in that lake…”

As I approached the lake and peered into it, something crawled out from the bottom and burst through the surface.

“Well! That’s a big fish.”

I don’t know if it’s a snake, an eel, or an anago, but it’s a long, thin fish. It has horns on its head. Is it popular for monsters in this world to grow horns like mad horned bears?

“Wa-Water Dragon! Lord Flora! That’s the Lord!” Janzicka yelled.

“Ho!”

It approaches me with a wide mouth that seems to be able to swallow me whole in one bite. But that’s like exposing your weaknesses. I raise my arm, put it into its jaws, and pierce through the head of the snake that was about to swallow me whole. The snake lost momentum on the way and fell to the shore of the lake with dying jerks.

“Is this edible?” I asked.

“””…………”””

The men who were setting it up just stared blankly. I want you just to make camp properly without cutting corners.

“HUUUUHHHHHH?!” Janzicka yelled. “A water dragon with your bare hands…?!”

Janzicka had been chatting softly until just now and then raised his voice so loud it would echo throughout the forest.

I don’t know if the snake I mentioned earlier can be eaten, so I decided to leave it to Janzicka and the others for the time being. And first of all, I have to do what I came to this forest for.

“Floto, ah, Flora, what is this?”

“Are you interested in it too, Louisa?” I asked. “Hopefully you can handle it later.”

First of all, I took out something like a cylinder. Close to the so-called iron pipe. Only one side is closed. This is the simplest thing I asked Eins to make before.

“Here is gunpowder…..stuff the bullets…..ready..and…. Use Fire magic on the gunpowder in the tube…”

BAAAHNN!

A terrible sound was heard, and the gunpowder inside burned properly, and a bullet flew out from the opening. Since it wasn’t even rifled, the trajectory wasn’t stable, and although it didn’t hit the target, it hit the tree behind it and showed its power.

It’s more powerful than any previous non-rifled Caan gun. Is it because it’s completely closed? This puts a lot of load on the barrel, but since this tube was strengthened by pressing, the barrel didn’t split this time. With this, I was able to confirm that a barrel that can withstand even this method can be made for the time being.

“That scared us, don’t you know?!”

“Tha-That’s amazing…”

Everyone seemed surprised and got a little angry. I would be surprised if there was a loud noise nearby without any explanation. Well, the experiment is still going on, so I’ll make more noise.

“Then shall we go here next?”

And this time, instead of just using an iron pipe like before, I tried using a gun-like object with a stock and a shoulder strap. The barrel part is the same as before, so it’s natural that it will succeed. It’s just an experiment to see what kind of form is easiest to hold.

I tried other methods other than the muzzle-loading type, but there were difficulties in strength and gas leakage. Even if the barrel doesn’t split, the mechanical parts will break, blow off, and gas will leak out of the gaps, so you won’t get very good results. After all, if this type is to be used, it must be a muzzle-loading type for the time being.

“I think Mikoto and Louisa can do it, too, but would you like to try it?”

“I want to try!” Louisa said.

“I, I’d like to try a little…” Mikoto said.

I don’t know what it is, but Mikoto seems to be a little scared. You’d think Louisa would be more timid but she’s quite enthusiastic.

“Aren’t you afraid, Louisa?” I asked.

“Huh? Umm… I’m a little scared… but if I can help you, Floto, rather, Flora, I want to be able to use it too!”

Straight ahead… Louisa told me with her powerful eyes. I thought her personality grew up to be quiet and fearful, but… it seems that the fundamental part of her doesn’t change that easily. There was Louisa who I had seen in the past, the headstrong older sister.

“Ah! How cunning! Then I’ll do it too! For you, Flo… ra!”

“Claudia, you can’t use magic, but what about you two, Alexandra and Katharina?”

“I will refrain from doing so,” Alexandra said.

“It doesn’t seem right to me either,” Katharina said.

“Is that so…? Well then, let’s practice only with Louisa and Mikoto, who are good at magic.”

At first, it was difficult to ignite the invisible gunpowder, but as both Mikoto and Louisa practiced, they became able to ignite it. But… they can’t keep hold of the gun and aim it properly. The only thing we learned the gun would kick and go wild as soon as the powder was ignited, the bullet would go nowhere predictable, and the whole thing would fly away from the user’s hands and be useless.