Ore No Ongaeshi: High Spec Murazukuri

A surprise! As you know this past 27 was my b-day, and while I hoped for someone to give a donation, I never really expected it to happen.

Thank you so much for that, and for the messages, I did take it easy, I really enjoyed these past few days. But I also want to give something in return, so therefore, I"ll treat the donations as sponsored chapters.

Regular chapters are weekly, on Thursdays (Fridays for of you).

So, here"s the first one of the sponsored chapters. Second one after I finish editing it.

Also, the names of the animals are in english (katakana), so I’ve been leaving them as they are. But Yamato sometimes calls the ox, cattle, cow or buffalo. Just keep this in mind.

The next day, the old craftsman Gaton from the Mountain Clan People came to visit us.

“You really had it finished in one night.”
“Of course, different from the humans, the Mountain Clan people doesn"t tell a lie.”

While replying in a sarcastic voice, Gaton began explaining about the replicated crossbow.

“I made it one size smaller than the one you lend me. After all, it"s the brats the ones who are going to use it, right? ”
“Oh, that’s right. That indeed would be better.”

Aside from skilled, Gaton apparently was also smart. He really understood the purpose of yesterday’s request, changed it, customized it and made the prototype.

“What about the fire power? ”
“Same as yesterday’s, I tried it and it will still penetrate the metal plate.”
“If that"s the case, then there’s no problem.”

This person really paid attention to details, decreasing its size so that it would be easily usable by the village’s children. The mechanical structure was pretty much the same as the one on the crossbow I brought from j.a.pan. He said that the power hardly dropped too.

For now, I should try shooting with it. For this shooting test, all the children gathered at the village’s square.

“Alright, shoot it when you’re ready.”
“Ok, Yamato-niichan! ”

Among the children, I picked a small boy with a pet.i.te build to use it. If he succeeds, this would mean that every child in the village could use it.

“Ohh, I don"t need to use more strength than with the other one. ”
“Good, then aim at the target and shoot as I taught you before.”
“Yes! ……Ok! ”

The small boy was able to successfully draw the bowstring all by himself. He then took a stance and pulled the trigger. The arrow then flew, fired from the prototype crossbow with tremendous speed.

“Wow, amazing! ”
“It even made a hole! ”

After splendidly penetrating the metal plate, cheers resounded from the gathered children as they watched.

“The power really remains almost the same. This would be enough for beasts like the Big Rabbit and the Wild Boar.”
“I already told you that, didn"t I?”
“Well, yeah, but I still had my doubts.”

Although he speaks with a bashing tone, I really admired Gaton.
Being able to reproduce a crossbow I confidently made by combining different elements of modern science in just one night, I really take my hat off to him.

Although the size was reduced, if it still retained that much power it could very well serve to hunt the beasts in the forest.
The wild beast’s fur and fat layers were thicker and st.u.r.dier than they seemed. However, this prototype crossbow had enough power to penetrate them easily, and it was also suitable for ma.s.s production.

“Even so, reloading it seems easier to do with this one.”
“Ah, I used a little trick there, you see.”
“A trick? ”

It is a really surprising sight to see all the children trying and testing the prototype.

Crossbows were powerful weapons from the old ages on earth. With their excellent penetrating power far surpa.s.sing ordinary bows, and the advantage of not needing to be a skillful archer in order to properly use them. Truly a weapon that could be used with just a little of training.

『Pull the string, set the bolt, take aim, and pull the trigger』
With just this, one could even kill a fully plate armored knight. However, a crossbow had a drawback.

『Pulling back the string is a hard work, and time consuming』This was its main disadvantage. To solve this, the use of pulleys and the lever principle developed throughout the history of earth was needed, turning it into a complex system.

But that disadvantage was settled by this old craftsman from the Mountain Clan People. This prototype could be wound up in a short time even by the weak children, and its destructive power was sufficient.
To think that all the work I did, all those hours of work, days and nights of trying and failing were overtaken in just a single night.

If not astonished, how is it that I should be feeling?

“It amazes me that you’re feeling surprised. All I did was modifying the gear parts and adding a double "lever" principle.”

At Gaton’s happy explanation, I turned my gaze towards the prototype crossbow. Oh, I see. The parts with the gears, which were the key component of the lever principle were slightly different from the ones on the original crossbow that I gave to him.

(What is that gear?　They are interlocked in opposite directions)

At a glance, I somewhat understood the principle.
However, processing the metal to make a gear is a delicate process and cannot be rushed. There might not be a blacksmith on Earth who could reproduce it like he did.

(Indeed, “Loved by the G.o.ds of Iron and Fire” like I heard… so that"s the kind of people the Mountain Clan tribe are…)

I didn"t express it in words, but I admitted it to be the case nonetheless. It was a rare thing for me to vocally compliment others.
But this was truly a beautiful and brilliant craftsmanship.

“By the way, is there anyone else who could create this gear? ”

This was my only concern.
I wanted to prevent these crossbows, which had such power and operability, from being duplicated and landing in the hands of people who would misuse them. I want them to be used only in this village, to protect their lifestyles.

“Worry not. This was a special alloy I made from mixing some metals. Even if the continent is far and wide, there’s n.o.body else who can make it, this is a personal trade secret of mine.”

In order to dispel my worries, Gaton explained with a smile.
It could in theory be imitated by someone else, but the mechanism wouldn"t last, and it would end up breaking after several uses. At least with this, it being exploited could be prevented.

“If that"s the case, are you not planning on pa.s.sing down the technique to one of your grandchildren?”
“Well, that"s a different matter.”

By Gaton’s side, there were a pair of Mountain Clan children.
A male and female twin pair, who were helping him at his workshop as apprentice craftworkers. At a glance, it felt difficult to judge which one was the boy and which on was the girl. The Mountain Clan are really strange people.

“Then please, make as many prototypes according to what we spoke yesterday. You can, right? Gaton ji-san. ”
“You really are rough at treating people working for you. I already got my ‘compensation’, so don"t worry, I"ll work hard on that. Leave it to me.”

At my request, Gaton snorted while answering. Although the number of crossbows to make was large, the materials used weren"t that rare, so it seemed like we could agree on a date.

“Ok, the shooting test isn"t finished yet. Let move to the forest for now. Everyone, hurry up and get ready, be sure to not be left behind.”

At my words, the children who were currently playing with the prototype, replied and started to get prepared.

“You guys, lets hurry up！”
"Don"t forget to bring the cart! ”

The villagers felt more energetic this morning after having eaten a hot pot of Big Rabbit and wild vegetables. No trace of the sullen expression they had back when I first arrived remained on their faces.
Their eyes were shining, gleaming in antic.i.p.ation of today’s harvest. The expectation of being able to once again secure food, had relit the light of hope in their eyes, the hope in living.

“Village chief, I"m sorry, but I ask you to take care of the village’s work again today, with everyone else.”

Before leaving, I went to greet Liscia’s grandfather, the village chief. During our absence, they took on the job of cleaning and drying the Inahon we harvested, and also, they took care of the drying of the meat.

“No problem, leave it to us, Yamato-dono. I also ask you to take care of my granddaughter and the children in my stead.”
“Ok. Well then, we’re leaving.”

With this exchange, along with Liscia, I led the village children into the shallow part of the forest.

The work in the forest progressed smoothly today as well, after dividing the group.
The farming team was reaping the Inahon from the natural paddy fields.
And two hunting teams were hunting Big Rabbits with the crossbows.

Currently we have two crossbows, counting mine and the prototype. Practicing in order for everyone to get used to it was the main point. They were hunting wild beasts while at the same time patrolling the paddy fields. Guarding the farming team was an important job too, so this was like killing two birds with one stone.
Thanks to this, recently the number of wild beast that appeared close to the paddy fields had decreased.

As usual, I accompanied the hunting group, since they were the most p.r.o.ne to encounter a dangerous situation.

“You guys, don"t let your guard down. Even if you’re carrying a crossbow, your body is weak. Deal with the Big Rabbits in sets of three like I taught you.”
“Understood, Yamato-niichan! ”

As they’ve gotten used to it, these days, the children were the ones hunting the Big Rabbits all by themselves.” The organization I came up with was to pair them up in sets of three people.()
Two of them were the vanguard, and wielding some big shields, they coped up with the charge of the Big Rabbit. The one in the rear was the crossbow wielder, aiming at the beast while making sure not misfire at the other two.

The shields were ones the adults who guarded the village used.
It was useful that when used by the children, they covered their whole body. If the children devoted themselves solely to defend with the shield with both hands, the Big Rabbit charge could be deflected.

The children living in this remote village grew up surrounded by nature, so at least their legs were somewhat st.u.r.dy. But as expected, asking them to guard against the Wild Boar’s charge was impossible.

“The next one is me! ”
“I want to shoot too! ”
“You guys, respect the order!　Don"t give Yamato-niichan more trouble! ”

The children always followed my instructions, but occasionally, they argued and wanted to be the next one with the crossbow.
At those times, the oldest and tallest of the children, Guts called to them to behave. Because of his hot-blooded personality, he behaved like the children’s leader.
He’s surely will become a reliable guy in the future.

“Yamato-niichan, we spotted another huge beast! ”

It was at that moment.

The voice of one of the children watching the surrounding echoed. Apparently, another big beast had come out from the forest.
It couldn"t be that another Wild Boar had appeared, right?

“Yamato-sama, that one is a Wild Ox.”
“So this place also has wild cattle.”
“That big cow is usually calm Yamato-niichan, is you use a crossbow, I’m sure you can"t take it down easily. ”

The kid’s leader Guts told me while excitedly looking at the beast.
Despite their size, cattle-like animals were slow, and easier to deal with than something like a Wild Boar. Their fur was also thinner, and it seemed they could be killed more easily.

“Good！　Aren’t I lucky!? ”
“Hey, wait.”

I calmed this child who was apparently trying to hunt it.
I came up with a better idea.

"Liscisan, do you know what kind of temper these Oxen have? ”
“Yes. Their temper is mild, not so rough. But I heard that once you try to capture them, they go wild and cannot be controlled.”
“I see… ok, guys, leave this one to me.”

After listening to Liscia’s explanation, I devised a little plan. I’m going to try and get all the things I want for the village.

“I’m going to capture this big cow, and we’re going to bring it back to the village.”
“Such a!?　It’s dangerous, Yamato-sama! ”
"That’s reckless, Yamato-niichan! ”

Every single child was opposed to my plan.
No matter how calm it may seem, this was a wild animal. If it decides that I"m trying to harm it, it might start to run amuck.

And an ox out of control was way more dangerous than a Wild Boar.

“Well, just stay there and quietly look. I’ll show you my ‘magic’.”

After trying to calm their worries, I decided to execute my strategy to capture this Wild Ox.