Rupegia

Chapter 184: Industry of War – Part 2

Yunia is busy researching [Spirit Magic] and [Martyrism] with Roxanne, so we send Hana and Kaatohe to talk with Hekeman, who has brought along one of the craftsmen we showed the gun to.

"Are you willing to trade this technique you've shown to our craftsmen?" the rhino-headed Prince makes his opening statement.

And Hana relays our words in her own way, which is amusing, to be honest, but it'd be even more amusing to see her use formal speech, "For sure, but we want to fund and expand our Research Institute, so we'll trade only for things that directly benefit it."

The Prince calmly hums curiously and inquires further, "Your Institute? How interesting. What are your goals for it aside from expansion?"

So Hana boastfully replies, "The creation and spread of knowledge, Wolfy's greatest gift to the humanoids. We'll push the Realm into a new age, kicking and screaming."

The craftsman seems awed, taken by her high "Charisma," but the Prince just sensibly chuckles and continues his polite questions, "That is… quite the grand goal, though it isn't unexpected, all things considered. But isn't the High Forest very rich, already?"

And that just gives her the opportunity to brag again, "Even though this is important for the progress of humanoid civilization, we can't simply do this for free. You've already seen that Wolfy can do amazing things if he has the resources, but the more he has, the bigger the returns will be to you."

Now this is the sign for Kaatohe to begin taking over the negotiations, so she preemptively explains our angle, "The benefits of receiving this technology can't be calculated with just one transaction as you'll profit from it for eternity, which is why we desire a continuous investment."

"But what if conditions change and we aren't willing to pay the investment anymore?" he wisely questions.

"Then the Institute will stop sharing its discoveries with you," Kaatohe directly answers.

"Ah… now I understand the kind of relationship you want to build," he hums with a pleased smile, and his muscular body seems to relax as a sign of trust.

Then my bronze cat clarifies an important point, "And if you don't want to talk about long-term investments, we still wish to arm your soldiers with our guns. Just the Lordsguard won't be enough to wipe out the Titans when we actually invade their territory proper."

And the Sky Lander craftsman shows a restrained reaction. He knows how powerful a gun is, so we have to work together to convince Hekeman to completely overhaul his army.

Then lunchtime arrives, and I finally greet Tinkerbell in person.

"Princess Belind, it's a pleasure to meet you again," I cheerfully state.

And she nods respectfully as she replies in kind, "Likewise, King Wolfy. I didn't expect us to meet so soon, but I'll accept it even if it's happening due to unfortunate circumstances."

Hearing her call me Wolfy makes my Cock throb in happiness, but… no hug?

I don't let that get me down and happily continue, "Indeed. Though I wish I had more time to rest at home before the Gods sent me here. I've been living a constant stream of battles for a while now."

She opens her eyes wide and asks with genuine concern, "That sounds awful. Are you alright?"

But I calmly answer, "Of course, I am. Not all of these battles are of the violent kind. Keeping a large harem happy and satisfied is a daily battle by itself."

Then I smirk, and she also smirks.

I'm gonna fuck her so fucking hard. Godsdammit, I love flirty women like her.

But we don't say anything else, so I just move on and greet Looklwind.

"Thank you for answering our invitation so quickly," I honestly state to the boy Prince.

And Belind grins as she wishes to tease her brother, but remains silent this time.

The Prince subtly stiffens up in reflex as he's already conditioned to expect teasing, but since it doesn't come, he just answers me in kind, "Thank you for the interesting invitation. I appreciate that you remembered me, even though our meeting was so brief."

"It wasn't me who suggested we invite you; it was Lina and Aoi," I clarify, feeling proud of my two gunsmith girls.

"Oh… I have to thank them, then," he rather awkwardly hums.

This Prince really is so teasable…

"Make sure you're very polite and do it in front of a lot of people just to embarrass them even further," I suggest with an "innocent" smile.

And Lina gives me a horrified look.

"I… understand they're both shy," he concernedly remarks, and I'm not sure if that's a question.

So I just confirm with a cheeky grin, "Exactly."

And he finally gets it, but he just awkwardly refuses, "Oh… I'm afraid I'm not the kind to do pranks."

"I'll do it for you…" Belind volunteers with a fake tired tone.

"We can hear you!" Lina exclaims, starting to feel exasperated at the blatant teasing.

"Then you already know what to look forward to," Belind gleefully replies, and Lina blushes at the pretty woman's gentle tone, making Ciel mildly jealous.

I'm in love with this woman!

As for today's meal, we have pan-fried top sirloin covered in a meaty sauce. It's perfect, just like everything that the Sky Landers have served us, but it makes me nostalgic for how we used to do it back home: roasted in cubes with square slices of not-bell-pepper, onions, and bacon in between the pieces. So I make this request to the chef for the next meal.

I also find it amusing that we're served salted, roasted sunflower seeds (that taste a bit like peanuts) and some sort of edible white flower that I think was called "cup of milk" back on Earth, but I don't remember what the official name for it was. Gnomic or pixie food is always so childish-looking, as long as it isn't bugs.

The flower is actually tasty as the corn-cob-looking thing in its center has sweet pollen that tastes similar to honey, and Belind shows us how to eat it. You slice the cob, then rub it on the petals so that the pollen sticks to it. You have to do this because eating the pollen-cob-thing by itself feels like eating raw flour/sugar, unless that's your thing.

"Cup-a-milk is one of my favorites," Belind cheerily remarks as she picks another flower from the bouquet.

And I'm suddenly taken over by a silly irritation, leading me to blurt out, "Why is it called that? There's a… big yellow thing right in the middle of it."

Looklwind just turns to his sister, who's very happy to answer with a straight face, "The 'phallic' thing is called a 'spadix,' and this flower didn't use to have one, but some pixies decided to give it a penis to collect pollen. It became popular because the pollen takes on a honey-like taste with time, and if you put the flower inside a glass dome, the pollen will ferment, become dark red, and acquire a gentle alcoholic taste, which is a favorite of pixies."

Well, I shouldn't be surprised by the pixie naming sense… or the kind of shenanigans they get up to in that forest of theirs…

"There are a lot of phallic-shaped things in Betoverd Bos," Looklwind quietly remarks, sounding mildly concerned.

And his sister innocently shares salacious details, "Gnomes spend too much time working underground, so we pixies have to keep ourselves 'occupied' while we guard the forest."

Then the Prince rolls his eyes, somewhat regretting mentioning that.

"I'd love to visit Betoverd one day," I calmly remark, not one bit phased by her sneaky naughtiness.

And she does it again, making my Cock throb with the implication of her words, "I'll gladly show you around. Normally, only those married to pixies or gnomes can enter, but we can work something out."

Gods, she's such a fucking tease…

Then I return to my dark corner for the evening, but now I pay attention to Looklwind as he works with the girls, and it helps me work on my own project. Even with my degree in robotics, I lack the specialized knowledge about mechanics that I need for this.

It's clear that the Prince is a proper scientist with how easily he organizes the documentation and testing of prototypes. Of course, he's also a trained mage, so he can use custom spells to inspect or modify stuff, making him even better than an Earthling scientist.

Meanwhile, Alissa and Ciel finish the inspection of the two grenades we recovered, so they start to actually dismantle it. Each grenade has a small, cloudy gem inside with an odd, unknown enchantment, so we hand one to the Sky Landers while we give the other to Alcander because Lina is too busy building guns.

There's something about this gem that creeps them out, and it seems to be coming from the spell, even though it isn't active, or at least that's what we believe. In fact, it's starting to feel dangerous to even handle it, so the girls send a message to the Sky Landers to be careful with it. The spirit elemental-wife didn't feel anything, but if it's anything like that spell that made us all freeze, then it doesn't affect spirits, anyway.

As for the research on that spell, it isn't going very well. Spirits are difficult to handle since they're so delicate, and because they're so "abstract," all our knowledge about them is very uncertain and unreliable. And I sympathize a lot with that because even though I can look inside someone's soul, I still have no idea what 90% of what I see even is.

So I comfort myself by watching the incredible progress of the pipe gun becoming an actual rifle while I make my own little progress. Technically, I'm already done, but I want to create something better than an overengineered wunderwaffen waste of money.

There's just so much that can be improved that it's insane. Lookwlind starts by teaching the girls how to make a better engine with proper RPM control, but just to help my project, they ask about gearboxes, and I write down everything he says. I'd never get that part right by myself since I only studied small DC motors.

Then there's a bunch of stuff related to the barrel of the gun. The number of rifling channels, their width, the angle of the rifling, the material, length, thickness, and radius of the barrel, and the type of muzzle. So many different things that change the characteristics of the gun.

Next is the cartridge. Profile, length, width, material, and shape of the tip of the bullet, amount of Draconic Climax (gunpowder, but liquid), additives to the… gunliquid? Gunfluid? Yeah, gunfluid sounds good. Continuing on, sealant so that the gunfluid doesn't leak, casing size, and primer. That one is even harder since they vary wildly depending on the gun and what it's going to be used for.

But there's no need to make an exhaustive list of all of the different variables, so they focus on guns for a few, specific scenarios. A pistol that will use the lightest round they can create while still being able to kill a person in the standard, unenchanted tin can; a long rifle that will use the bullet with the highest stopping power without becoming too heavy or cumbersome to use; a beast of a shotgun to kill beasts; and a big rifle with armor-piercing ammo, just in case.

And after we have the cartridges for each scenario nailed down, it's finally time to refine the breech, firing, and self-loading mechanisms. This is the most complex part and also the most important, as they'll define the viability of equipping an army with guns.

But before any of that can be made, we need springs, and lots of them. Thankfully, the gunsmith girls were researching that, so they assemble a wire extrusion machine and then hook it up to a lathe to make spring coils.

Next is another lesson in mechanics.

While making a gas-operated rifle seems possible with the level of precision that our tools are capable of, not even Lookwlind can come up with a compact mechanism for it in just a day, so bolt-action, it is. Unfortunately, a bolt-action pistol feels like a sin, so they choose to make a breechloader pistol just because, and this teaches them how to make a breechloader shotgun, as a pump-action is unnecessary for now.

And all this also helps me a lot; I just need to scale things up a bit.

"I believe this one is ready," Lina states and lets out a long sigh of relief as she pushes her chair away from the table, then stretches her little legs.

But the Prince is still pouring over the schematics and concernedly questions, "Is it, really? This 'bolt-action' feels so cumbersome. Perhaps we can refine it further. Your idea of 'gas-operated' seems so much more elegant and efficient."

The Sky Lander craftsmen are mostly just observing, but they seem to agree with him.

She isn't used to speaking out loud, so it takes her a second to gather her thoughts before she answers, "For the soldiers, this will do. It's already much faster than a windlass crossbow, and even a repeating one is less reliable than a bolt-action gun."

But he insists, "But we can achieve gas-operation in just a few days, I believe. There's no point in making bolt-action rifles when they'll become obsolete so soon!"

So Lina points with her little index finger toward somewhere behind him, and he finally notices the army of cloth dolls gathering in the workshop. They're assembling into formation in front of Aoi, who's separating them into groups in preparation for the production and assembly line that we want to create.

And it takes her another second to summon the energy to speak again, "The golems can operate the machines day and night. As long as we have the resources, we can at least arm the soldiers that will enter the extra-dimensional part of the dungeon."

So the Prince falls silent as he observes, but his expression doesn't become very positive. "Do you find it impolite of me to be frightened of the golems?" he suddenly asks with a rather nervous tone.

And the craftsmen silently agree, looking extremely creeped out by the supposedly inanimate objects that are moving with uncanny harmony.

"No. I'm also scared of Wolfy's power, but I trust we won't misuse it," Lina answers and flashes a small, gloomy smile.

Then Aoi turns around and rather sternly adds, "'We,' remember that. Wolfy is putting a lot of trust in all of you by showing you this. Machining, manufacturing, and firearms are extremely valuable technologies, but we're revealing them to save the Sky Lands."

The craftsmen seem intimidated, but the Prince is more collected and diplomatically requests, "I hope you'll allow us to create guns in Gnomeria. They'd save many lives against the swarms of monsters."

"We will. Just don't try to revolt against the Emperor now that you have guns," Lina answers honestly.

And that draws some nervous chuckles, though she's being serious. Guns are so OP that some fools might start getting some ideas, and Lookwlind seems to get that part.

But now we have a release-candidate prototype, so we make a few, and Alissa asks to take them for a spin. She invites Belind and The Four to the training yard because she wants to boast a bit, and then she'll show them to the Companions too.

"Oh, I didn't know there were gnomes here," Belind curiously remarks as she watches The Four approach.

"They're Gifted, so their presence is being kept a secret here," Alissa explains.

And the pretty pixie gives her a surprised and concerned look. "Four Gifted? I… do believe I understand… but still, that's surprising."

But Alissa realizes that this will be a pain to explain in its entirety, so she gives a brief reply, "Apparently, the Gods sent them here to deal with this dungeon threatening the Sky Lands, but explaining all of that will take time, so let's leave it for later when your brother is also present."

And the Princess is content with waiting. "Very well."

Then the greetings begin. Lily is neutral, though I'm certain she's screaming "TINKERBELL!" inside her mind; Chesa seems enchanted with the pixie, but I don't think she knows who Tinkerbell is; Thant is awkward like a virgin teen in front of a stunning beauty; and Samkelo is… drooling.

I'll enjoy NTRing you.

"What a curious name. Very unusual," she kindly remarks to him.

And the dumb gnome doesn't know how to answer, so he just makes a dumb grunt. But Belind isn't dense, so she just moves on to not torture the horny idiot further.

"So, why did you call for us… Queen Alissa?" Lily questions, struggling to be polite and earning herself a raised blonde eyebrow from the pixie.

My fox just makes a motion to Ted, who produces a rifle and dozens of magazines of ammo.

"Oh my god, you actually made a gun," Lily blurts out, both surprised and frightened.

"That looks like a Mosin, but it seems a bit smaller…" Thant curiously remarks and steps forward, eager to inspect the gun.

And Alissa relays my reply for me, "It likely is. Wolfy says that the Mosin used a much bigger round than what we're going for."

"Oh, so what are the specs?" he hums as he raises his cat eyes at her.

And she flashes a wry smile as she disappoints the teen, "They… aren't going to make any sense to you. We're using a different unit from 'millimeters.'"

"Ah, right… Well, I can tell that this seems similar to the standard 39mil bullet, but my eyes ain't good enough to make a more precise comparison than that," he awkwardly pushes his expertise with weapons to the limit.

Belind just quietly listens, a happy smile on her lips, but her blank gaze shows that she's bewildered at all the foreign terms being thrown about. Samkelo is still staring at her, though he's now focused on the thick bowl of oatmeal she carries in her ass and legs.

"You sure this won't blow up in our faces?" Lily concernedly questions.

And Alissa happily reassures the worrywart, "Yes. We fired a hundred of these rounds, and it held up perfectly. But this one is buffed with [Reinforce], so it'll last even longer."

"May I?" Thant asks with kitten eyes as he extends his furry arm toward the rifle.

"Yes," my fox magnanimously answers. She loves that he asked so politely.

So he quickly grabs the gun, then aims it, but immediately frowns. "The ergonomics aren't that good."

"Wolfy's never fired a gun before," Alissa points out.

I'm sorry…

"He was a nerd, not a gun nut," Lily defends(?) me.

"Oh…" Thant hums and hesitates, suddenly concerned about the safety of the gun, for some reason.

But Lilly forgets all about that and just encourages him, "Now, shoot it."

"Cover your ears, Princess Belind," Alissa suggests, then follows her own advice.

So Thant pulls the trigger, and he handles the recoil perfectly.

Belind is distracted, so she gets startled, even though she was covering her ears and had already seen a gun being fired before. At least now, she's over her bewilderment.

"The kick was a bit stronger than I expected," Thant remarks as he lowers the gun.

"The gunpowder, which is actually a liquid, is likely more powerful, as it was made with [Alchemy]," Alissa replies matter-of-factly.

And he snorts. "That explains things."

"Me, now," Lily eagerly requests, and I become concerned since I don't know how much she knows about gun safety. But a problem immediately becomes evident that kills her excitement and even embarrasses her. "You ain't got anything smaller…?"

"We actually don't have any dwarves in our Lordsguard, so we didn't make anything in your size," Alissa stoically answers, holding back a grin.

But Lily still gets mad. "What about Lina?! She's a dwarf!"

"And the Prince is a gnome, too. What about us small people?!" Samkelo suddenly chimes in, and I think he's faking his outrage to score points with Belind.

But this delights Alissa, as it gives her the opportunity to sternly lambast them, "Do you think making guns is easy? We won't make a gun for only four people… well, five with Princess Belind. Our priority is our men, as the guns will safeguard their lives."

This shuts them both up as yesterday's death is still fresh in their minds, so Lily humbly and begrudgingly suggests, "I can handle the recoil without any bracing. Just cut down the 'stock' for me."

So Alissa stoically delivers the kicker, "That, we can do, and Samkelo can just use a 'breechloader' pistol we made."

"What?! You had one all this time?!" Lily exclaims, her humbleness gone with the wind in an instant.

"Yes, but you needed the scolding," she smugly replies, amusing Belind.

And the two clench their jaws in frustration but shut up for good, so Ted hands Samkelo a pistol and then starts working on cutting down the stock for Lily's rifle.

But now that the banter is over, Alissa goes silent as eagerness starts to take over her mind. Thant is helping Chesa learn how to shoot (which makes me jealous), and Belind is also going for the pistol, so there's nothing left for Alissa to do.

I kiss her forehead internally and tell her to let it loose, so she [Equip]s her own rifle, which has been enchanted with a Unique Spell called [Muffle]. Then she promptly aims and fires, the enchantment turning the *bang* into a little *pop*, but the impressive part is how she hit the bullseye perfectly.

"Is this your first time using a gun?" Thant asks her, staring in awe and seemingly impressed by her form and accuracy.

"Yes…" she whispers, a vicious grin slowly growing on her pretty lips. Then she deftly racks the bolt again and quickly shoots another bullet through the same hole that the previous one made. "But I'm a sharpshooter."