A mid-level (middle-aged) office worker's laid-back industrial revolution in another world - Chapter 167

Translator: Jasper Kadowaki | Editor: NovelMultiverse

“Hmm. Takeo, what do you think should be done?” asked King Azupal. 

“Well… Do you mean as a nation? Or what I, personally, should do?” asked Takeo. 

“First off, what do you think the country can do, here?” asked the king. 

“Well, as a country, I think you should establish a plan for those people who are defending against the Katoranda Empire, at the moment. That should do, for the meantime… The real issue lies with the inventor of the rifle. If what I was thinking before was correct, then the inventor came up with his inventions on a whim, and it should be fine to leave him alone, but… If the idea that we came upon just recently is correct, then the inventor might be under persecution, right now,” said Takeo. 

“Hmm, yes. You’re right,” said the king. 

“…If possible, we should try to get that inventor to come to our side…” said Takeo. 

“You’re right. That would be the best way to eliminate our threats. Would we then deploy his weapons to the battlefield?” asked the king. 

“No. If we did that, the magicians of this country would stop our plans from succeeding, just as Alan-san said, previously. The same thing that happened over there could easily happen here,” said Takeo. 

“…That’s true,” said the king. 

“I actually quite like this world of swords and magic, so I’d like to avoid the spread of rifles,” said Takeo. 

“Is that right? With rifles, you can easily raise a country’s military strength, though, right?” asked Layla. 

“Yes, think about it. Right now, swords and magic are commonplace. Because of that, those with special skills… masters of fighting stand at the top of the hierarchy. If a weapon arises that allows anyone to wield the power equal to a mage’s fighting power, regardless of their training or innate skill… That would only threaten those currently in power,” said Takeo. 

“That’s true,” said Layla.

Everyone besides Takeo nodded in agreement. 

“Therefore, I think it’s necessary to control the evolution of rifles while observing the evolution of magic. Of course, another country might suddenly invent a weapon that has even more destructive power than the rifle, so we would have to continue our weapons research…”

“I see. You’re saying we should start managing research at the royal capital,” said the king. 

“Yes. However, the research itself can’t occur at the royal capital. Just as I mentioned before, since there will be pressure from the mages there, I’d say it would be best if the research was left up to the Elvis household, but… I’m sure that would be difficult…” said Takeo, sighing. 

“You think so? If you were to take over managing it, I think it would move in the right direction,” said the king. 

“Yes, I think the research side of things would go well, but… We already have Lady Alice and we’re researching new weaponry… Don’t you think there’s too much military responsibility being put on the Elvis house?” asked Takeo. 

“Hm? …Ah, you’re right… Military strength is indeed becoming unbalanced… Who knows what the other noble houses might do,” said the king. 

“That’s right. If the nobles and civil officials start saying things like, ‘the Elvis household intends to start a rebellion,’ things will get out of control,” said Takeo. 

“…I wouldn’t be surprised if they said something like that,” said King Azupal, sighing. 

“Yes, human society is built on envy. No matter how much people say that they would never oppose the royal government, people will later justify their treason as they see fit. People will avoid taking responsibility,” said Takeo. [Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

Everyone went silent, trying to think of a solution. 

..

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“Takeo-sama, what if we got the mages to consider accepting the rifle, and then you could manage its development at the royal capital?” asked Smith. 

“Well… That would mean starting a fight with the civil officials and military leaders at the royal capital… That would be quite an ordeal,” said Takeo. 

“Would it?” asked Smith. 

“Yes. The royal capital can be thought of as the place where all the centralized agencies of the country are located,” said Takeo. 

“Yes,” said Smith. 

“Well, then, I assume that the civil officials and military leaders there are made up of the elite class of the various districts in the kingdom,” said Takeo. 

“You’re right that most of those people come with an endorsement from the noble families of their districts,” said King Azupal, nodding.

“Do you know what the elites are like?” asked Takeo. 

“What? They are people who excel in academics and swordsmanship,” said Smith. 

“In other words, they’re all people who are confident in their swordsmanship, their skills, and their knowledge,” said Takeo. 

“Right,” said Smith. 

“I’d have to butt heads with those people who are full of pride, and come to them with opinions that directly oppose theirs, you know? Envy, offensiveness, jealousy, and putting my life in danger… That is quite an ordeal. I don’t want to go to the capital that badly,” said Takeo. 

“…You’re not entirely wrong, so I can’t refute what you’re saying,” said King Azupal, with a bitter smile. 

Everyone became silent in thought, yet again. 

..

.

“…If I remember correctly, there are three countries at war with us right now, right?” Takeo suddenly asked. 

“Yes. The Sorcerer Kingdom, the Willip Alliance, and the Katoranda Empire,” said William. 

“What if… we established an official ‘Royal Tactics Laboratory’, where research related to weapons and military tactics is done? The people in charge of the research would noble families from the three districts that are bordering countries we’re at war with,” said Takeo. 

“Hm? What do you mean?” asked the king. 

“Well… Each area has a different enemy, so we could make it a goal to help them come up with weapons and tactics to fight their battles. Each area would choose one noble family, and we would give that noble family the funds that they need to conduct their research. Then, once or twice are year, we will have those families report the results of their research. This data from each other districts will be collected at the royal capital, and the nation can use it to come up with plans on a national scale. That way, the civil officials will be comparing the findings of three districts, and even if our district comes up with the strongest research and appears to have more military power, it will come off as less of a threat to the royal capital, and they may leave us alone. On top of that, it’s possible that one of the other districts comes up with ground-breaking technology, as well,” said Takeo. 

“That… might work,” said the king. 

“It does seem like a good plan to involve other noble families,” said William. 

King Azupal and William nodded.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]