NOVEL NEXT WORLD chapter 35 - Divine Cat Mii-chan looks dignified in her work attire!?
35 Divine Cat Mii-chan looks dignified in her work attire!?
My tired body feels refreshed. To be honest, I’d rather go home and sleep, but…
Mii-chan is now all glossy and was being pampered by the lady at the reception.
“This little one is really friendly and well-behaved. So different from the stray cats around here. They’ll hiss if you try to touch them, and only purr when they’re being fed.”
“Haha… Mii-chan is a pet cat, so she loves interacting with people.”
And she’s doing that as part of her job too.
“Mii~”
Returning to the Hunter Guild, Mii-chan, now dressed in her work attire, is heading towards the ladies with an air of dignity, almost like a model.
I can’t fall behind Mii-chan. I’ll have to do my best too.
“Nero-kun, you’re staying in this city for a little while longer, right?”
“Yes, I’m scheduled to return to Quart after eighteen days.”
“Hmm. That should be enough time.”
“What do you mean by enough?”
“Well, I’ve been getting home earlier lately. I’ve been able to spend more time with my family. My wife’s been saying she wants a son this time—so I’m thinking of giving it a try.”
“…Right. I should get back to work.”
“Oh, Nero-kun, you’re so distant. Was it a bit too grown-up for you?”
“Grown-up talk? I’m not a child… I’m over eighteen.”
“‘[Silence]’”
The surrounding ladies and Henry-san’s staff are frozen in time… Why is this happening?! In that case, I’ll just focus on my work!
Another busy day at the Hunter Guild.
The next morning, I went to see Sumire, gave her mineral water and cat food, and then headed to see Zelgado-san as promised.
“Ah, I’ve been waiting. Everything’s ready. Let’s go to the back.”
In the backyard of the workshop, the setup was ready.
Large boards were stacked in front of a pile of bricks, and a short and long tube were fixed on a stand at five meters from the front.
“I’ve secured it so you don’t have to hold it by hand, since there’s a risk of the tubes bursting.”
The short tube was set up with hollow-point bullets, and the long tube with rifle bullets.
I placed Mii-chan in a safe spot in her carrier bag. No peeking out, okay?
“Mii~”
And now, the experiment begins.
Zelgado-san handed me a wooden shield with a hole in the upper part, serving as a viewing window. I focused on the short tube, imagining creating two compressed air masses behind the bullet and rapidly expanding the air at the back.
Psshh, Spong! Gagag!
What is that sound? It’s like opening a soda bottle. The power is stronger than just firing, but not as much as I expected.
Trying the long tube gave similar results. The difference is that the long tube tends to hit closer to the target.
“It seems we’ve identified the issues.”
Zelgado-san seemed satisfied. He explained the problems:
There’s always a gap between the tube and the bullet, causing some of the propulsion force to escape. Additionally, because of the breech-loading design for inserting bullets, air escapes from that gap as well. Switching to a cylinder design would likely exacerbate the problem.
Also, when the tube is pointed downwards, the bullet falls out because there’s no casing to catch it. Lastly, the bullet doesn’t fly straight due to air resistance, particularly in the short tube.
Several of these issues have potential solutions, though whether they can be implemented is another matter.
One solution involves using wax, which I bought at the bazaar. Melting it in a small container and applying it to the back of the bullet would fill the gaps and prevent the bullet from falling when the tube is pointed downward.
“Indeed. That would fill the gaps and prevent the bullet from falling out when pointed downward. You’ve thought this through.”
I’ll try again. With the increased volume, loading the bullets requires a bit of force, though the surrounding wax doesn’t make it too difficult.
This time, I used a rifle bullet in the short tube and a hollow-point bullet in the long tube.
The results improved drastically. However, the short tube broke… The breech-loading mechanism broke apart and scattered.
Findings: The short tube’s metal parts need to be sturdier. Hollow-point bullets are affected more by air resistance but are destructive. Rifle bullets resist air resistance better and have better penetration. The key is to eliminate air leaks at the joints.
The major issue remains low accuracy. The bullet’s trajectory is unstable due to air resistance. Solutions might include rifling the inside of the barrel or altering the bullet shape.
Modern tanks mostly use smoothbore guns without rifling, as I read in a book. This is due to the shape of tank shells, which are long and thin like darts and have a detachable mold that comes off after firing. Adding such a feature isn’t feasible here.
So, the remaining option is to impart spin to the bullet to make it fly straight. Rifling is the only viable method. I draw and explain this to Zelgado-san.
“Hmmm. So you want to add spin to the bullet to improve its trajectory? Who came up with this idea?”
Well, I’m not sure about that.
“It’s possible. I’ll just need to make a drill for it. How many grooves should I engrave?”
“I remember something like eight grooves for every thirty centimeters to achieve one rotation…”
“Alright. I’ll give it a try. Come back in three days. I’ll prepare a new prototype by then. Also, expect the production costs to exceed the budget.”
As expected. I’ll appreciate your support.
“Mii~”