CH 180

I wonder if I’m dreaming. Even if it’s a world of swords and magic, shooting down cannonballs with a spear doesn’t make any sense anymore. Is this no longer human and into the realm of superhuman?

“Come now! It’s your turn next, Flora dear!” Mother said.

Huh!? No, no! Wait! I’m just a normal human! Don’t lump me together with an inhuman monster like you, Mother!

“Ho-Hold a moment! I don’t have any weapons and I’m wearing this sort of dress today. I can’t do that,” I said.

I didn’t bring a weapon for myself and I’m wearing a skirted dress. I thought it was just an inspection, so it’s natural. It’s the same as being told to block a cannonball with your bare hands or die on the spot.

“It’s okay,” Mother said. “Mother is also dressed like this! And don’t worry, I’ve brought your sword as well, Flora dear!”

Certainly, Mother also wore a skirt dress. But I am not at all safe! Why did she even bring my sword? Mother gave it to me and brought me before the cannons’ target.

No, no, no! Wait a minute! I’m really going to die from this!

“Wait! Mother! I can’t do it yet!” I said.

In the first place, it’s hard to believe that a normal sword can block a cannonball that boasts overwhelming mass and speed. Even Father’s greatsword would break completely on the first shot.

My sword is still small compared to Father’s sword. Father’s sword is big enough to be used as a shield even if someone as large as him hides behind the blade. Compared to that, my sword is barely enough to cover me. It’s true that it’s many times thicker and heavier than a normal sword, but it’s not made to withstand cannonballs.

“Ready, Flora dear? Just remember how Mother moved earlier,” Mother said.

“You’ve gotta be…” I muttered.

Mother doesn’t seem to want to give it up anymore. Am I going to die in a place like this…?

But, yeah… I don’t know what material Mother’s spear is made of, but it’s hard, strong, and heavy, but I don’t think it can withstand a cannonball. Despite that, my mother’s spear is still whole.

I remember Mother’s movements. How did she survive? That’s…….

“FIRE~!” Eins yelled.

“-!?”

At the same time as Eins’ signal, the cannon spouted fire. If you look at it from the front, you can clearly see the gigantic cannonball approaching me. When I was watching from a safe place, I thought it was still a small cannonball, but when it was approaching me, it seemed so big.

I can’t say it’s an absolute shot because it’s got a shaky, irregular trajectory, but if it’s like this, the cannonball won’t hit me even if I’m just standing here. Aiming at a single human with the “Caan Cannon” and its low accuracy means you won’t hit very reliably.

But is it okay for me to stand still just because I won’t get hit? I don’t think my mother will forgive me for that, and the trajectory is random. Just because it probably won’t hit doesn’t mean it’s a sure miss. There is also the possibility that the trajectory will suddenly change and come here.

I have to! I have to do it! Knock it down!

Anyway, Mother will just force me to do it again and again until I knock down a cannonball. Then knock down this cannonball even though I think it won’t hit. If I had to redo it, it might be even more painful. When it looks like it’s going to work out somehow, I’ll give Mother a satisfying result!

However, standing directly in front and blocking a cannonball is the height of stupidity. I don’t think the sword would hold up if I received it from the front. It’s too scary and can lead to a terrible accident. It’s a projectile with such an irregular trajectory. If you stand in front and try to block it, the trajectory will deviate just before you do, and there is a possibility that it will develop into an unexpected accident.

I remember. Mother told me to remember her movements. How was Mother shooting cannonballs down? Was she foolish enough to take it head-on? She would, wouldn’t she?

“Haah!” I cried.

Standing next to its trajectory, I knocked down the cannonball from above the moment it passed through my side. This is it! Mother didn’t block it from the front either. Since a cannonball exudes tremendous forward force, you can’t block it from the front and only deflect its trajectory from the side.

“I did it! I actually did it!” I cried.

“You did it, Flora dear!” Mother said.

“Mother!” I cried.

Hooray! I survived! I thought being ordered to shoot down a cannonball was like being told to go die, but I managed to survive!

“……Huh?”

When I tried to run toward my smiling mother, I froze. Because…….

“Well then, TA-DA, let’s go, Flora Dear!”

“Hii…!” I squealed.

So many “Caan Cannons” are facing this direction. And the artillerymen were ready to fire their guns. Apparently, I hadn’t finished this just yet…

I had a rough time today. To think that my biological mother would almost kill me… huh? Isn’t that what’s always going on anyway? I’m being killed every morning…

We-Well, that’s fine. Anyway, the final test for Caan Cannon is complete. Today’s test is only for presenting it to me, and the test fires had been repeated many times already. Durability has also been measured, and some problems have been fixed after the live fires. As a result, pre-production is already underway and artillery training is also underway.

My army and navy, ah, there is no navy. The Caan Guard and the newly established artillery units of the Caan Family Merchant Fleet are undergoing repeated training. Today, if I confirm the performance of the Caan Cannon and give it the go-ahead, the Caan Cannon will be installed on the new galleon waiting at the dock and we will move on to firing drills while on board.

Since it is a pre-production model, the number of cannons has not been secured due to casting problems. Above all, there are still more problems to come out, so even if you suddenly produce hundreds of units, there is a possibility that they will be full of defects. First of all, we are only proceeding with the minimum necessary pre-production.

The guns are first installed in the docks on the galleons awaiting completion. At the same time, the caravel ships will also be refurbished and equipped with Caan guns. That the caravel ships are loaded first instead of the carracks, which have ample loading capacity, is for the next strategy.

The Hollant Kingdom’s ships blockading the Hulk Sea are mainly small, fast ships. Or rather, from my point of view, most ships look small. A large carrack ship is faster compared to its hull size, but it’s still not as fast as a small ship.

However, even though they are larger than carracks, galleons are fast. Galleons have a slimmer width-to-length ratio than carracks and a shallower draft, which allows them to reach higher speeds. Carracks are slow and only caravels can accompany galleons in a fleet action.

Therefore, the pre-production Caan Cannons will be mounted on galleons and caravels to engage in naval battles with the Kingdom of Hollant’s ships. The carrack ship will be in charge of the operation of regular flights and escort of other ships during that time.

There were no problems with the firing test of the Caan Cannon, so naturally, I immediately gave the go-ahead. It will still take time to install it on the galleon and refurbish the caravel ship, and we will also have to conduct actual shooting training on board. That’s why I’ve moved my sighting test to earlier during this holiday.

It will take some time before the ship is fully loaded, refurbished, and the crew trained in shooting, and then ready for fleet maneuvers. If I wanted to settle things while I was on vacation, the schedule would be tight. No, rather, it can even be said that the schedule for training is not enough even now.

However, if I miss this long vacation, it will be six months away, so I can’t take it easy. Lubek is still enduring it now, but it won’t be something they can endure forever.

That’s why I want to solve it as soon as possible…

“That Caan Cannon? It’s so nice, isn’t it?” Mother said. “Let’s use it during your morning training every day from now on, Flora dear.”

“Mother……”

Please let me go. If that kind of cannon was firing every morning, I’d be full of complaints from the people around us… 1 Besides, we don’t have enough cannons anyway, so we won’t have any to spare. Rather than using it for such ridiculous things, it’s better to use it for shipboard guns and land-based artillery.

In the first place, it wasn’t training or anything. Isn’t that just attempted murder? I managed to survive today, but if I did that every morning, someday I would die in an accident. If it’s a sword or a spear, I can somehow stop it, but I can’t stop a cannonball that was fired at me. A minor slip-up means instant death.

Father and I persuaded both persuaded her to give up training with the Caan Cannon, but I still can’t let my guard down. It’s with a mother like this, I don’t know what she’s going to come up with next.

“Anyway, the rest of today’s inspection is only to inspect Cien town,” I said. “Let’s take our time to see it.”

Yes, the rest of today’s inspection is walking the streets. There shouldn’t be any danger with this, and there’s no secret. Let’s take a look around the market unique to a port town.

“Wow! So many fish!” Louisa said.

“Isn’t it the same in Carruzan?” I asked.

When I was looking around the port market, Louisa looked at the fish with curiosity. However, similar fish should have been circulating in Carruzan, where fish are brought in from the Dierbe River. The royal capital is far from the harbor, so there was a limit to the amount of fish that could be brought in, but Cien, Caanburg, and Carruzan weren’t that different.

“I was poor and still a child when I was in Carruzan… I’ve never had the opportunity to see something as expensive as fish,” Louisa said.

“Is that so……?” I said.

I see ……. Louisa was raised in a poor family and had no money for herself during her time in Carruzan. After she moved to the royal capital, she became a managerial employee and her income would have increased, but when she was here in Carruzan, her life was still difficult.

“The type of fish you sell is the same as in my hometown,” Mikoto said.

“I thought so, as well……” I said.

From here, the Demon Country is just around the corner. Since they are supposed to be fishing in the same sea, the fish they catch will be the same. I don’t know why Mikoto said such a thing so proudly.

“A big ship in a great port… there’s plenty of seafood, too,” Alexandra said.

She praises Cien as she looks at the market stalls fearfully, I wonder if she’s afraid of the fish that are still alive. It’s a port that I’m proud of, so I don’t feel bad about it being complimented.

“Besides that, I still can’t believe the Caan Cannon from earlier…” Claudia said.

She still hasn’t recovered from the shock of the test firing just now. Any soldier would know what it was it could do. Even I would want to cry if only the enemy brought out such a thing against us.

“By the way, I can’t believe that a flesh-and-blood human could shoot something like that down,” Claudia said.

“Hahaha…” I went.

I can’t help but do that. My mother looks so young and beautiful, but I’m sure she’s not human. I still feel more reassured when she says that.

After visiting the port and market, we head to the salt factory. Salt making is also a little secret, but it’s not so much that you have to hide it. The salt production itself is done here and there, and even if the production method spreads, it is good that the distribution volume of salt will increase and the price will fall.

In the first place, it is not something that can be imitated just by looking at it, and it is impossible to make salt in the same way unless you understand the theory. This salt factory also has a work process established by various theories, so it’s not so simple that you can imitate it just by looking at it without knowing the meaning behind each action.

After inspecting Cien all day today, we return to the villa and have dinner. I don’t have time to go home. There is a lot of paperwork left for House Caan and Caanza Trading Firm. Also, school homework… I do my homework when I have time, but I can’t say it’s going very well.

“You were planning to head to the pioneer village tomorrow morning, right?” Katharina said.

“Yes. We are planning to arrive at the village tomorrow and open it to the public,” I said, disappointed.

Cleaning up and clearing things off the list doesn’t reduce the problem at all. The work is piling up, and the work will increase even if you don’t skip it. There should be an increase in the number of talented people and I should be allocating work to them, but why is my work not decreasing?

“There’s got to be a more fundamental solution…” I said.

Even if I only make all the final decisions, it will be a considerable amount of work. On top of that, there are too many things to do. I’d rather have another person… no, if that’s the case, it would be nice if there were about 10 staff already…

“Wouldn’t you be able to free up a little more if you stop doing things related to school?” Katharina asked.

“That may be so…” I said.

Certainly, even if you don’t attend school on any of the days, you can graduate with 100 points on all exams. I don’t know, but there may be some first-year students this year who have never attended any classes. But still…

“Well… youth only comes once…” I said.

Katharina made a strange face at my words. You don’t go to school just to study. You can only enjoy your youth when you are a student. In my previous life, I didn’t enjoy my youth when I was a student, so if I could live a student life again, I would like to enjoy my youth as much as possible.

As a student, I want to enjoy my youth with everyone. With classmates like Mikoto and Alexandra, of course, with Louisa and Claudia, even with Katharina… whether or not someone like me who is so busy with work can enjoy my youth is another matter…