CH 390

Now then! Let’s get down to today’s main event. Igniting this gun prototype with magic is just outside the scope of my hobbies. Practicality is also unknown, and in the first place, there are almost no human resources like us who can ignite with magic.

It’s my hobby, and it’s an experiment for my dream and passion, such as the fusion of magic and science, and it’s unclear whether or not this will actually lead to weapon development.

Compared to that, what I’m going to try now is actually more likely to be House Caan’s next main weapon. The next main force that still copies the familiar knowledge of Earth is called the “Dreyse Gun”.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a movie, a drama, or a manga, but it’s something that deals with things from the old days, you’ve seen this bolt-action type somewhere. The Dreyse gun was an epoch-making rifle that developed the bolt-action mechanics that are common to modern guns.

First of all, whether it’s a flintlock type or a percussion lock type, why is it on the right side when you set it up? Because it gets in the way when you aim and fire… Because technically there was no way to safely attach it behind the middle… There will be many reasons. But I don’t care what the reason is. The problem is the deviation caused by it.

No matter how much you hold your gun and aim and the bullet flies straight, if the hammer strikes the right side with all your might, the gun you hold will definitely veer to the left. I’m telling them to anticipate that as well, but even an idiot would know that it would definitely affect your accuracy.

Even so, unlike early muskets which didn’t have accuracy from the beginning, and if it was a style that was only supposed to hit a few shots of many anyway, the slight deviation didn’t matter.

However, the more accuracy is improved by rifling, the greater the impact of the drop in accuracy due to the guns shaking. A mechanic that hits one side with its might will drop the accuracy. That’s why all modern guns have a hammer in the middle. If the ignition strike is straight down the center, you can minimize the deviation. 1

The Dreyse gun is a breech-loading type, and you open the chamber to put bullets in by operating the so-called bolt and lever on the side, put the bullets in, and then slide it back and close the chamber. Also, when you are doing this sliding, the spring inside moves, and the firing pin is cocked. Because the firing pin is in the middle of the gun, the deviation when the explosion is triggered is much lower than when it was on the right side of the barrel.

The idea itself is not that difficult. A paper cartridge is loaded into the chamber, and the firing pin strikes the detonator to ignite it. The problem is that the structure is more complicated than the simple muzzle type that has been used so far. And we have another opportunity for gas leakage.

No matter how well the seal was closed, this world, no, even on Earth, could not be completely sealed with the technology of the time. The more complex the structure and the more holes there are, the more gaps there will be and the more gas will leak, reducing the power of the bullet.

In fact, the Dreyse gun had a problem with a shorter range than other rival guns. The Chassepot gun, which is an improved version of the Dreyse gun, uses a rubber ring to prevent gas leaks. Unfortunately, rubber hasn’t been discovered here yet, and we can’t make precision things industrially. There is also the issue of strength.

Even if the airtight seal is low quality and the range is sacrificed, that is the story of the era of Dreyse and Chassepot guns, and in the current situation in this world, even this new gun has more than enough performance. Rather, it increases the effective range.

Another problem is that if you shoot a lot, the chamber will eventually jam from the residue buildup and the bolt won’t seal properly. Then the firing pin wears out or breaks. After firing a certain number of shots, the firing pin must be replaced or the barrel cleaned to sustain continuous use.

Well, it’s just that the Dreyse gun on Earth had that kind of problem. In addition, soot jamming didn’t pose much of a problem unless the soldiers shot more bullets than they were carrying, so it wasn’t much of a problem in Prussia then. In other words, you will run out of bullets before you have to worry about soot buildup.

Also, there is a spare firing pin in the equipment, and you have to replace it yourself after shooting a certain number of bullets. This is also difficult during battle, but if you prepare and take care of it properly in advance, it shouldn’t be that much of a problem. Well… if all the soldiers were the ones who properly maintained and cared for them…

“Then let’s try it, shall we?” I said.

“Is it going to make a loud noise again?” Mikoto asked, covering her ears and walking away from me.

Well, it’s probably noisy, but… do you have to be so far away? It’s good, but…

I operate the bolt handle to put the paper cartridge in and close it. Take aim…

BAAAAHN!

The sound echoes through the forest. And the bullet had hit the target. Very easy to aim. I’ve tried other muskets in the past, but nothing hits the target like this. Is there such a difference in accuracy due to changing the position of the rifling and hammer?

“You hit it dead on!” Louisa said, excited like it was her shot.

I can’t leave this to Mikoto and Louisa, who had already had the magic-ignition guns fly out of their hands for the severity of the recoil. The same goes for Alexandra. In that case, Claudia is the only one who can be entrusted with the test firing. I don’t know about Katharina. Katharina really is quite a mystery.

“Could you try shooting as well, Claudia?” I asked. “This doesn’t require magic. I’d like to know what other people think of using it.”

“Hmm… I suppose I don’t have a choice,” Claudia said.

Fufufu! Even though she says that her expression says she is looking forward to it. I’m sure Claudia wanted to shoot, too. After explaining the procedures and tricks for loading bullets and shooting, I will leave it to Claudia. If she seems to do something dangerous, I will immediately stop her, so I will leave the rest up to her as much as possible and not say anything unnecessary.

“Let’s go…”

Everyone covered their ears with Claudia’s words. And…….

Pahn!

There was a sound and the target split. It’s a wooden board target, so if you hit it, it wouldn’t be strange to break it. Even though Claudia shouldn’t have had guns many times before, she got hit with one shot. After all, it can be said that the accuracy has improved dramatically. Also, you can easily learn how to load bullets and fire quickly. Compared to the muzzle-loading type, the rate of fire is overwhelming.

“This is amazing! Even I got it!” Claudia turned around with an adorable smile on her face.

“You’re so cute, Claudia,” I said.

She’s really cute She had the smile of a young girl suitable for her age, which made me wonder where the usual cool knight had gone.

“Ah…, no…, this is…” Claudia stammered.

It’s really cute that she’s getting more and more red and flustered. The Princely Claudia is also a feminine girl, after all.

“Me too! I want to try it too!”

“Ah… Mikoto, it’s a bit…”

Because she had the whole gun fly off during the magic ignition test just now… Of course, the more powerful the firing, the stronger the recoil, but after seeing that, I don’t think I’d entrust Mikoto with a rifle with such a massive kick.

“What are you talking about? Am I not good enough?!” Mikoto burst into a rage.

So, from now on, I would like to enter the second main event of the day instead of the Dreyse gun.

“There, there, don’t get so angry,” I said. “This gun has a strong recoil, so it’s useless, but I think you handle the next gun, Mikoto…”

“Eh! Really? Which one? Hurry! Hurry!” Mikoto pestered me.

She calmed down a bit as I pulled out the next gun.

“Huh? What’s that?” Mikoto said, her excitement dropping.

Why so…….? Because what I took out was a pistol, or a short gun, or a handgun.

The revolver that Ryoma Sakamoto had… it’s not that advanced. 2 Rather… well, yes. Kind of like the short matchlocks that pirates have in pirate movies.

It’s not the kind of small, lightweight gun that comes to mind when you think of it as a handgun. Isn’t it just a short barrel cut of the matchlock gun? It’s that kind of feeling that makes you think. But of course, it’s a gun, so it’s powerful enough. It has more than enough killing power to be used for self-defense at close range.

This is not a flintlock type or a percussion lock type. It’s a bolt-action breech-loading type that can hold paper cartridges. However, the recoil is also small because the barrel and the bullet caliber are also small. I wonder if Mikoto and Louisa can handle this.

“I’ll try it first,” I said.

With that, I load the bullet, aim at the target, and shoot. The bullet hits the target properly and destroys the wooden board it’s painted on.

“Amazing……” Louisa said.

She was surprised to see that even such a small pistol had as much power as a full-sized gun.

“I think this can be used by Louisa and Alexandra as well,” I said. “I don’t think it’ll go out of your control, would you like to try it out?”

“Yeah!” Louisa said.

“Indeed I would… if I can use this for self-defense… then I will use it, as well…” Alexandra said.

These two are aboard. If I glance at Mikoto, she was…

“Me too! I’ll do it too!” Mikoto said.

“Yes. Then let’s all take a turn practicing.”

In this way, let’s use pistols, no, short guns for Mikoto and the others. I’ll teach them how to use a short gun. Everyone seems to be able to withstand the recoil if they hold it properly with both hands. After everyone tried everything, Katharina seemed to want to try it too, so I told her too. Claudia continued practicing her Dreyse gun alone. She seemed to take a particular liking to it.

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“Then let’s go back to base camp,” I said.

“””””Alright!”””””

After a lot of trial shooting and shooting training, we returned to the base camp where Janzicka and the others were. Something smells good. It looks like they’re cooking something.

“Welcome back, Lord Flora,” Janzicka said.

“Thank you,” I said. “Now then… something smells good.”

When I glanced at the stone-laden hearth, I saw something being grilled with nets and skewers. I’m hungry, but my appetite is piqued now.

“Yeah… we didn’t know if the water dragon would be edible or not… so, um… we thought we’d try grilling it first…”

Janzicka says it with his eyes swimming as if he’s making a crappy excuse. Is something wrong?

“Isn’t that a good thing? And what is that attitude? Is there something wrong?” I asked.

“Ah…, no…, that’s…”

When I pursue him, he becomes more and more confused and his gaze flees from me. It seems that something is wrong. What in the hell is that?

“Musashi? What is Janzicka hiding?”

“Master,” Musashi said. “The rest of them couldn’t resist the smell of the cooking food, so they grabbed and ate it before you arrived, Master Flora.”

“Ah~~~…………”

Is that so? It certainly smells delicious. Do you give in to that temptation and feel guilty about eating it without my permission? Well, I can’t laugh if it’s true that everyone eats just because it smells good, even though I don’t know if it’s edible. If this were the military, it would be a big problem.

But how about today? It’s not enough to accuse him of insubordination if I think I’ve let him taste it for poison. Janzicka and the others seem to be fine, and unless it’s a slow-acting poison or a type of poison that accumulates in the body, it won’t be resolved soon.

“Is that so? Thank you for your hard work in tasting it. It looks like it’s fine, so is it okay if we eat it too?”

“Yes! It’s already quite delicious! Ah…”

“”””Ahaha!”””””

Laughter bursts out. Well, today is not a picnic with the wives, but a camp. I’m here at camp, so I won’t go into details. Everyone should have fun and have a campfire.

And at night, when everyone is asleep… I wake up slowly. I was waiting for this moment. There are no noisy guys or surveillance eyes here. The escorts I brought were all trustworthy. Can you trust Janzicka? You can trust his skill and stupidity. He doesn’t have the capacity to do behind-the-scenes plots. That’s all I can trust.

What did I come to this place for? If it’s just a test shot of the new guns, it’s a story that could have been done closer to home. The reason why I bothered to come all this way… that’s…

“Nufufufu!”

I approach the place where the wives are sleeping. yes! My aim is night crawling! We’re in this vast wilderness because if you do it in a castle or a mansion and sneak around, even the House Servants will find out. But here you don’t have to worry about that! If it’s here, even if I attack the brides and drag them into the world of dazzling sensuality, they won’t get in the way…

“…… Huh?”

Even though I approached the place where the wives were asleep… they’re not here? Where did they go?

“…-!? Nn! Nn!”

My mouth is covered from behind. A lot of hands are coming all over my body…

“Shhh! Be quiet…”

“Hmm?”

Mikoto? I wanted to say it, but all I could hear was my muffled voice. Apparently, Mikoto had my mouth covered. I was in a panic and lost. Well then, the continuation of the night crawling… that’s why… this situation can’t be…

“Fufu. Floto~… you’re here night crawling, aren’t you?!”

“I was aiming for a moment like this.”

“Rather careless of you wasn’t it, Flora?”

“Um… I’m sorry. You’re going to be our target tonight, Floto…”

“Well then, Miss Flora, today is the culmination…”

“Hmm~~~~!?”

In the end, there was no chance of winning in a one-on-five match… and I was exhausted the next morning. I don’t want you to ask me why…

T/N: With this, Louisa is getting that American Country Gal experience, milking cows, plowing fields, and shooting guns.

Also, for those who forgot, night crawling is sneaking into someone’s bedroom at night and asking for (consensual) sex. For those of you doubting if the author will actually go through this time, wait till the next chapter tomorrow for your answer.