Ore No Ongaeshi: High Spec Murazukuri Chapter 8

Sorry again for the late release, one of the projects of the company I work on got accepted, and therefore, I had my workload increased for a few days. I have only received one call today to send some doc.u.ments, so I guess the worst has already pa.s.sed.

I wanted to finish this one way sooner, since many people were expecting something like traps. I giggled while reading those comments.

Enjoy the chapter, I dont want to make promises, but expect a chapter monday at the earliest. If my workload did indeed decrease, I will be able to translate faster.

-Kari

　The first practical lesson against the Big Rabbits was over.

“Wow, this is amazing! ”
“We really did manage to defeat a Big Rabbit with us alone! “

The excited pair of a boy and a girl were exclaiming excitedly after killing the Big Rabbit that was laying on the ground in front of them. They were of part of the hunter children (although they were still candidates). These children never truly dreamed of being able to defeat one with only their own power.
The children hunted this dangerous beast with my borrowed “bow”.

“Yamato-sama, that bow… that weapon called crossbow is really amazing.”

The hunter girl Leesha was surprised by the tremendous power of the crossbow, easy enough even for children to use.

That’s right… the way of teaching them to hunt the Big Rabbits was with the aid of the crossbow that I had brought from j.a.pan.

(To think that something I made solely as a hobby would be of help in this other world…)

This crossbow was something that I had in my mountaineering backpack. It was hand crafted by myself, and it could be carried compactedly by disa.s.sembling it.

I was always interested in medieval weapons from various countries all over the world.
And among them, crossbows were something I was especially fond of, so I tried to replicate making one many times, by trial and error.

What came from that was this piece, it could be said to be the final result after consulting several sources, like books and the net.
Without trying to use any synthetic material, I tried to make this crossbow only using primitive methods, and wood and metal, trying to stick with as much medieval-like materials as possible.

“It truly is amazing, Yamato-sama… there are some old crossbows in the village, but none of them have nearly the same power as this one. And it's even difficult for adults to draw it when they choose to use it.”
“Oh, I guess that was to be expected.”

After defeating another Big Rabbit, Leesha was further impressed.
Probably since she was a hunter who used a bow, she was aware of the outstanding performance of this crossbow.

(Although the power of the crossbow is indeed amazing, it is not without drawbacks. This seems to be the reason it has not spread and developed in this different world.)

Unlike a bow that required the strength to draw it, a crossbow could be easily shot with by anyone by a simple pull of a trigger. However, its shortcomings were many.
First of all, the crossbow couldn't fire continuously, it also took strength and time to wind up, and its manufacturing process was complicated. Truly many shortcomings.

Therefore, even in the history of the Earth, it was replaced by other weapons and quietly disappeared.

(The materials I used to make it were simple, but I'm confident about this crossbow that uses an ergonomic design and the latest techniques…)

But this was my special-made crossbow. Since it solved many of those shortcoming that it had since the old times, even children could use it.

“Yeah! I defeated another Big Rabbit! Yamato-niichan! ”
“Don’t let your guard down. Quickly load the next bolt.”

Just as the village children took aim and pulled the trigger as if it were a toy water gun, the dreadful crossbow was fired, and one Big Rabbit was defeated after the last one. Truly a surreal sight to behold.

Although its principle was simple, it's astounding destructive power was obvious to see.()
Even a Big Rabbit, which had a hard pelt, was being killed by a single blow. Depending on the type of bolt, it could even penetrate a metal plate.
It was easy to aim with it, and even for someone only used to play at the shooting stalls at a festival, it was possible to land a hit.

(Really, it seems I made a terrible weapon after all…)

While it was true that I made it by myself, I was still deeply amazed of what I had built.

This was the first actual fight for this crossbow, after all, since it was illegal to use it in my previous country, I never really had a chance to actually use it for its intended purpose.
At most, it was only crafting it and a.s.sembling it in the mountains to test it. I never saw it as more than a hobby.

“With this crossbow, it will be easier to secure food and furs, Yamato-sama! ”
“Yeah, that’s right…”

Next to me, Leesha seemed to be pleased showing a s.h.i.+ne in her eyes.
With the adults gone from the village, and after taking many risks by herself, she believed that the hunting efficiency would greatly improve from now on.

(But the problem is, there’s only one crossbow. Its materials are only wood, metal and string. I'm sure that if I tell them the principles and methods, they can probably produce them in bulk in this world…)

It was not too difficult to make a crossbow when you knew its principles. After all, even in the B.C. era, they were already present in continental Asia.

But mine was one that used the “lever principle” in order to increase its shooting performance. The metal part was complicated to make.
Depending on the skill and technology of the blacksmiths of this world, it would depend the success of its ma.s.s production plan.

“Now that I think of it Leesha, is there a blacksmith in Urd village? “

I asked Leesha, who was next to me.
There were only old people and children in the village, but maybe among them there might be a blacksmith. After all, there should be one in a village of this size.

“The blacksmith lives outside of the village.”
“Oh, is that so? Do you think he could craft a copy of the crossbow? “

“Yes, I think that might be possible… After all, he is an elder belonging to the cave clan.” (TN: 山穴族 = mountain cave tribe/clan/family. If you have a better name for it, I would appreciate it.)
“Cave clan… you say.”

The girl Leesha then continued to explain.
The families of the ‘Cave clan’ were born with dexterous hands, and they were loved by the G.o.d of iron and fire. Many of them lived all across the continent and were excellent smiths and miners.

“Well, I can't wait to meet him.”
“But he is a stubborn person, and he only receives jobs if they match with his unique ‘sense of values’…”

Leesha’s last words were a little hard to understand. There might be some circ.u.mstances behind that. Just what was “sense of values” be referring to?

For now, I will focus on the Inahon harvest and Big Rabbit hunting, in a couple days after this is finished I'll try and pay a visit to this cave clan’s smith.

“Ok. Pa.s.s the crossbow to the next person. We’ll aim for the next Big Rabbit group. You all need to get used to it. You have to have a strong heart too.”

I instructed the children, who were excited about the destructive power and simplicity of use of the crossbow. With it being a weapon that anybody could easily use, I had to pay close attention to how they handled it.

“Like “s.h.i.+n Gi Tai”, right?! Yamato-niichan! ”
“s.h.i.+n gi tai! ”
“Yeah, that's right. First you train your mind, then your skills and finally your body.”

Any powerful tool had the potential to become a dangerous, destructive weapon depending on the person using it.
'Mind, skill and body' (s.h.i.+n Gi Tai) … I will train the village children with an att.i.tude based on the teachings of this j.a.panese martial arts.

Thankfully, the people from Urd were wonderful, with a pure heart and straight nature.
I could tell from the fact that even though they were on the verge of starvation, they gave those precious tree nuts to a traveler.

(But even so, whether it’s because they are living in the mountains and are a village of hunters, or because it’s something inherited by the people of Urd.　These children are adapting too fast to the use of the crossbow…)

I might not put it in words, but deep inside my heart I was very surprised.
Today being the first day, I intended it to be just a trial in using the crossbow. Even if Big Rabbits did actually came out, I was planning on taking them all on with my survival knife.

“Yeah, I also took one down! ”
“Not fair!　I’ll shoot the next one! “

However, the village children were making it look very easy to draw the cord and knock a bolt, turning it into something like a light practice.
Their sense of distance and s.p.a.ce awareness ability might be excellent in the first place. Otherwise, kids the age of elementary school students wouldn't be able to hunt this easily.
It was a little frightening to see the children being all happy like this.

(Whew… I wonder if this is what teaching feels like)

Originally, I wasn't very good with children. I was always trying to avoid them back in j.a.pan.
But I was elated by watching them grow, learning and absorbing knowledge and skills like a sponge.

Perhaps if being a professor gave such a feeling, it surely was a worthwhile profession.

“Hey, over there! Don't be careless! ”
“”Yes, Yamato-niichan! “”

They all give their honest reply at the same time.
While wearing a bitter smile, I then continued to guide them while hunting for Big Rabbits.

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