Dominic stood beside Victor, watching the sketch develop with a slightly uneasy expression.

The Dragonia Empire had limited experience with firearms, primarily using a small number of cannons but having little to do with guns. For someone from such an empire to suddenly propose a new firearm structure sounded like empty boasting to Dominic.

While he held Victor in high regard and refrained from interrupting, he was already thinking of how to let Victor down gently without hurting his feelings too much.

“…Huh.”

However.

As Victor’s drawing began to take shape, Dominic’s expression slowly shifted to one of confusion.

“The key components are the hammer and the cover for the powder pan. The hammer is structured like this, allowing for the replacement of the flint,” Victor explained.

Dominic, having dedicated his life to firearm research, could infer the mechanism and functionality just by glancing at Victor’s detailed schematic.

“When the trigger is pulled, the hammer strikes the cover of the powder pan here, creating a spark. This spark ignites the powder in the pan, which then sets off the charge in the barrel.”
“...”
“For this to work, the hammer must be strong, and the powder pan cover needs to be precisely crafted. A single misstep in the design could lead to misfires.”

The concept of using spring tension to generate sparks was similar to the firearms Dominic had been developing, but the method was entirely different.

“This design is relatively simple but requires precision machining, which has made it difficult to produce. However, given the quality of your craftsmanship, I believe it’s entirely possible.”
“…Hmm.”

Reluctant as he was to admit it, Dominic realized that Victor’s design was intuitive enough to visualize its internal structure and feasible enough to implement. The realization even made him feel foolish for not having thought of it himself.

“This mechanism can be called a flintlock. What do you think?”
“May I see the sketch for a moment?”
“Of course.”

As Victor finished his explanation, Dominic, unaware of the sharpness in his tone, requested the sketch.

Victor handed it over, observing with a slight smile as Dominic scrutinized every detail as if trying to burn holes in the paper with his gaze.

After a moment, Dominic finally spoke.

“Ah, look at the time… I must have kept you far too long after your long journey. Perhaps you should rest tonight and we can discuss this further tomorrow?” he suggested, still fixated on the sketch.

“Very well. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Victor bowed politely, showing no reaction to Dominic’s blunt dismissal, and left the workshop.

“Phew…”

The moment Victor exited, Dominic immediately gathered his tools and components, laying them out across the desk.

Clang! Clang!

“If I adjust the hammer tension and refine the angle of the cover…”

He dismantled one of the wheellock firearms he had been working on and began assembling a prototype based on Victor’s sketch.

“...”

Dominic, who had been preparing to mass-produce the more complex wheellock mechanism, found himself amazed at how quickly he could replicate the flintlock’s working principles thanks to Victor’s detailed explanations. Within just two hours, he had crafted a functional prototype.

“Let’s see.”

Dominic cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger.

Click. Clack!

Although he hadn’t inserted a flint and had only applied minimal tension, the mechanism operated flawlessly.

With a glint in his eye, Dominic plunged himself into refining the design.

Clang!

“…Too much tension.”

Bang!

“The cover cracked. Damn… I’ll have to reheat it.”

Adjusting the spring tension, the angle and material of the powder pan cover, and the shape of the hammer, Dominic iterated relentlessly. Each adjustment brought him closer to perfection.

After approximately six hours of trial and error, Dominic finally held a fully functional flintlock prototype in his hands.

He carefully loaded a small amount of powder into the barrel, prepared for a test fire. Wrapping a piece of flint in leather, he secured it to the hammer, filled the powder pan, closed the cover, and pulled the hammer back to full cock.

“Whew…”

Taking a deep breath, he raised the firearm, aimed, and squeezed the trigger.

Bang!

“…Oh.”

The powder ignited perfectly.

“…Oh…”

Dominic’s amazement was accompanied by thoughts of Victor. Without Victor’s guidance, it would have taken him much longer to conceive and execute such a mechanism, given its divergence from the designs he was accustomed to.

Although showing off this near-revolutionary firearm to others was out of the question, Dominic resolved that Victor deserved to see it.

As the morning sun rose, Dominic continued making refinements. By the time the first rays of light illuminated the kingdom, he had perfected the prototype.

After wiping the grease from his hands, he set off toward Victor’s lodgings.

---

The morning after visiting Dominic’s workshop.

“General, did you sleep well?”

As I got up from bed, Anna’s calm voice greeted me. She was already dressed in her uniform, standing by the bedside.

“You could have rested more…”
“I woke up naturally. It’s likely just a habit now.”

Before I could fully open my eyes, she placed a basin of warm water in front of me.

“…?”

I looked at Anna, slightly surprised, and noticed her faint smile.

“You seemed very tired, so I prepared this for you.”
“…Anna. I appreciate the thought, but you really didn’t need to do this.”

Ignoring my refusal, she set the basin down and handed me a towel.

“You’ll be meeting with officials from the Anchester Kingdom again today. It’s important to leave a neat impression, isn’t it?”
“…You’re right. Thank you, Anna.”

Not used to having servants, let alone asking my lieutenant to do such tasks, I felt a bit flustered. But since it was already prepared, it didn’t seem right to refuse.

“I’ll be in the next room waiting. Will you be heading out soon?”
“I plan to move as soon as I’m ready, but I’ll need to check if Erika and Moritz are prepared as well.”
“Understood.”

After washing up, Anna collected the basin and towel and left my room.

I changed into my uniform and was about to step out when—

Knock, knock.

“You may enter.”

Squeak.

“General, Dominic Smith is here to see you.”
“Oh?”

Anna brought good news.

“He’s asking if you could accompany him to his workshop.”
“Hmm, I’ll go right away.”
“Understood.”

Anna and I left the room together.

“Oh, Victor. My apologies if I disturbed your rest. I just couldn’t wait to show you something I’ve been working on,” Dominic said as he waited in front of the guest quarters.

“Haha, no worries. If you’re this eager so early in the morning, it must be something remarkable.”

Dominic’s formal attire, likely the same as yesterday’s, was stained with sweat and grease. His face bore traces of metal dust and oil, and his disheveled hair and faintly tired eyes hinted at an all-nighter.

“Remarkable… no, I’d say it’s an impressive design. I managed to create a prototype based on the sketch you provided yesterday. Since it was your concept, I thought it only right that you see it first.”

His unexpectedly proactive attitude brought a genuine smile to my face.

Clearly, he understood the value of the structure I had shared with him.

“To create that in just one night… it seems I was right to show you the design. You call it a design, but I simply shared an idea. The skill to turn it into reality is entirely yours.”
“…Your kind words are appreciated, but I’d rather continue this conversation in my workshop. Let’s go.”
“Haha, very well.”

We followed Dominic, who was practically half-running, to his workshop.

“This is the prototype I made. I tested it without a bullet, only using powder, and confirmed it works as intended.”
“…”

He picked up the firearm from his desk and handed it to me. Despite being based on my simple sketch, it was an exceptionally well-crafted flintlock musket.

I carefully held the musket.

“It took a long time to make it by myself, but if we move into full production, this method will be far faster than the one I was researching before.”
“May I test it?”
“Of course. I’ve cleaned the powder, so it won’t fire anything.”

I cocked the hammer, aimed the musket into the air, and pulled the trigger.

Click!

“So, this is what the finished product feels like.”
“It’s not fully refined yet, but only optimization for production remains. The final product won’t differ much.”

After I finished testing the mechanism, he took the musket back, fiddling with it for a moment before looking up at me.

“…Victor.”
“Yes?”
“May I ask why you shared this with me?”

His tone was direct, carrying the weight of a serious inquiry.

“Anchester may be an ally of the Dragonia Empire, but this isn’t the sort of technology one would share on a whim. Compared to the current matchlocks, this mechanism is far superior in bad weather and doesn’t even require carrying a fire source.”
“…”
“You said your empire lacks the technical expertise, but you have more craftsmen and resources than we do. Wouldn’t it make more sense to invest the time and money to develop it yourselves rather than sharing it with me?”

The question wasn’t just from Dominic the artisan—it was from Dominic the prince of the Anchester Kingdom.

“What are your thoughts?”

Since it was the question I had anticipated, I answered with a small smile.

“Technology, you say…”

I began.

“All I gave you was a sketch and a brief explanation. That’s not technology.”
“…?”
“Ultimately, the one who developed this mechanism wasn’t me—it was you, Dominic. Isn’t that right?”

He looked at me as if I were speaking nonsense, but I noticed the corners of his lips twitching.

“This was only possible because of your unparalleled knowledge of firearms.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“I’m not expecting anything in return. However, if my idea was helpful and you’d like to show some goodwill, there is something I’d like to ask.”

Dominic sat down, appearing deep in thought, while I waited silently for his response.

“…What is it? If you’re asking me to produce these firearms for you, that’s impossible.”

After a few minutes, he finally spoke, his voice tinged with tension.

“What I hope for is the ability for the Empire to produce matchlocks domestically. You might call it sharing expertise.”
“Sharing matchlock expertise…?”
“I’m not asking for all your accumulated knowledge. I only wish for you to share some of the lessons learned over decades of making and using firearms.”

As I elaborated, his expression softened bit by bit.

“Hmm… Is that truly all you’re asking?”
“Inviting dwarven artisans to the Empire would be ideal, but that’s not realistic, is it?”
“…”

He tapped his fingers on the desk, deliberating, before finally replying.

“Victor, your contribution is significant. I’ll think about it and give you my answer soon.”
“Understood.”

I had no doubts. The dwarves’ pride would drive them to make the right decision.

And a few hours later, during the negotiations—

“We propose sending our artisans to the Dragonia Empire to share firearm-related knowledge.”
“…Dominic?”
“…!”

His groundbreaking offer left everyone in the room stunned.