Pump-Action Shotgun
"There wasn't no research on horseless carriages, silent and movin' on their own."
"Oh yeah?"
"Records show they even experimented with carts powered by magic stones back in the day."
Brown started paying attention to McCallson's words.
"But it all stalled out in the research phase."
Magic stone supplies had dwindled, and quality dropped too, so nations clamped down on their use. That seemed to kill the magitech cart project right after the prototypes.
"Still, the engineering crowd's tinkering with steam engines for carts these days."
"Is that so?"
Steam cars popped into Brown's mind from his past life.
I remember they didn't last long in history back home.
The first cars ever built ran on steam engines. Their inventor snagged two titles: creator of the first automobile and culprit of the first car crash. Research pushed on, even commercialized some. But you had to keep feeding the boiler fuel and water, the moving parts were heavy as hell, and startup took forever. Even later models dragged those issues along until internal combustion engines shoved 'em aside.
Early internal combustion cars had their own headaches—needed separate starters, roared like beasts, belched pollution. Cooling hot engines was a puzzle, and speed control meant inventing transmissions and such.
Despite the flaws, they took off fast across every field. Nothing could touch their power, speed, size, and weight compared to steam.
Once tech advanced, the gap would be insurmountable.
If only I knew more straight engineering beyond guns...
Brown regretted his gaps outside firearms. But he had people to make it real—like McCallson right here.
"Anyway, I've been sketchin' an internal combustion engine that burns petroleum products. Could power factory machines or vehicles, like steam engines do."
"Hmm..."
"And it'll pack way more punch, I reckon. So..."
Brown dove into explaining the basics to McCallson.
"You cram oil and air into a cylinder, compress it, and boom—explode it?"
"Exactly. And then..."
"..."
"..."
McCallson listened, face blank, then spoke up.
"...Lemme chew on that. First, though, we gotta check those petroleum extracts."
"Right. So..."
McCallson was hooked now. Success. Internal combustion would hit this world eventually, whenever that might be.
Business goldmine if I went entrepreneurial.
Still, being an imperial researcher stung a bit. Great support and rewards, sure—but regrets were regrets.
"War's got a long way to go, looks like."
A technician muttered over his newspaper.
"Whatcha readin'?"
"Paper. Wanna see?"
"Hand it over."
The other tech grabbed it and scanned. Front page: coalition forces locked in stalemate with the alliance, holding lines steady. Back: empire's home front updates.
"Economy looks..."
"Not bad right now, right?"
The young tech said to the elder.
"True enough."
Tech advances were revolutionizing industry at breakneck speed.
"Think we're hittin' magitech's golden age again?"
"Nah. Even then, magic stones weren't for casual use—limited to niche fields. Now tech's spreading faster than back then."
"So that's good, yeah?"
The elder pushed back.
"Not entirely. Folks who can't keep up get left behind. Could bite us later."
"Really...?"
"Yeah. Market boom's masking issues for now, but who knows how long."
"Ahh..."
They chatted more, then buckled down to work.
"Hmm..."
In front of the young tech sat a cart—but where the horse should've been hitched, a steam engine squatted.
"How to boost output's the puzzle."
"Tell me about it."
A downsized big steam engine. Power tanked, speed sucked, fuel efficiency worse.
"Ugh... Let's tweak the design."
They huddled over the steam car, swapping ideas.
"Hey, heard that? Someone cracked petroleum distillation."
"Yeah. Looks like he pulled it off."
"Why not try it instead of coal?"
"...Worth a shot."
While McCallson obsessed over the internal combustion idea, a pump-action shotgun arrived at the lab.
Ka-chunk.
Every pump of the action handle clacked through the internals meshing smoothly.
"Oho..."
Ka-chunk. Ka-chunk. Ka-chunk. Tick. Ka-chunk.
Brown toyed with it, mesmerized, till a voice broke through.
"Brown...?"
"...Ah."
Too fixated on the gun, he'd missed Luna Karen approaching.
"Uh... um... wanna check it out?"
To smooth the awkwardness, Brown showed her the shotgun.
"Ooh... This the one designed for knights?"
"Yup."
"Finally here. Headin' to test it now?"
"Yeah. Wanna come watch?"
He wanted her take too.
"...Sure."
Heading to the range, they chatted.
"Where's the loading port?"
"Bottom tube—shove shells in. Or speedloader for quick reloads."
Brown showed her the speedloader.
"Slot that in and pump the handle?"
"Spot on."
Talking as they walked, they hit the range.
Rrrack.
Speedloader dump, rope on trigger, pump the action. Locked it down, yanked the rope.
BOOM!
"Hmm."
A few more checks—no issues. Unlocked, reloaded with speedloader, pumped and fired.
BOOM!
Heavy recoil thumped his shoulder.
Works great.
Speedloader seated fine, firing and cycling smooth.
Now test greatsword mount and knight-special ammo.
Glancing over, Karen stared at the gun, eyes lit with interest.
"Wanna shoot?"
"Yes!"
"Watch the kick."
"I've fired guns. I know."
"Hah."
She'd watched him load, so no explanation needed—she pumped it herself.
Ka-chunk. BOOM!
"Eek."
Karen startled by the stout recoil.
"...Still, feels solid-built."
"Right?"
"Agreed. You think so too?"
"Yeah. Sure."
"?"
Voices from behind—the knights who'd commissioned knight firearms.
"How'd you know?"
"We got ways."
"Pass this path daily... mph."
One knight shushed the other.
"Haha. This the knight gun you mentioned? Mind if we check it now?"
"Of course. First, the loading..."
Loading methods. Shell insertion. Greatsword mounting. Knight ammo last.
The knights inspected as Brown explained.
Ka-chunk.
"With gauntlets, hand might slip off the pump."
"We'll reshape the handle."
"Speedloader's good. Lock it like... ah, bit long. Shorten the..."
"Cuts shells per load, that okay?"
"Fine. And that by the ejection port..."
"Spare ammo holder for fast reloads."
"Oho..."
"Front takes a greatsword..."
"Hmm. Where's the knight ammo?"
"Make it on-site. See how it holds up..."
"Knight rounds later then. Gun first..."
They circled it, mounted up, pumped.
BOOM!
After repeats, the knights went quiet.
"How is... it?"
Brown asked carefully.
"Pfft-haha."
The knights looked plenty satisfied.