The Elf Saint is a NEET, so I Forced Her to Work in Another World

Tank (Side Chapter)

***Malvette, capital city of the Kingdom of Cherwind, three months later...***

The Royal Academy of Cherwind was a famous educational institution where many of the bright minds from all over the beastman realms and of the others were gathered to learn science, similar to the Conclave of the demon republic. It was led by the Chief Royal Scientist, Lady Salis of the Owls, and funded by the Queen of Cherwind herself, the Lady Ursura. Because of its reputation, it was the first in Kuro's mind when he created the designs for his tank, meant to be deployed by the Elvish Expeditionary Force in their invasion of Cherwoods.

"..."

Of course, anything that had connections with the King of Cherwind was personally overseen by the Chief Royal Scientist herself.

"And here it is," Salis unveiled the finished tank prototype to Kuro, in one of the hidden parts of Royal Academy. "Your very own tank, now existing in reality."

"Hoh..." he never hid his astonishment to the armored vehicle. While he always advocated peace, Kuro was still a fan of military equipment like the tank. And looking at his 'creation' in the 'flesh', the duke couldn't be anymore happier.

"The body is made from mithril, which—as we all know—is a metal sturdy enough to withstand bullet hits but light enough to make it climb to top speed in a matter of seconds," the owl-lady explained. "We also installed the cannon, as it is in your drawing—loaded via the breech, so it's pretty capable of hitting the enemy hard and fast."

"What about the propellant?"

"You mean the demon powder?"

Kuro nodded.

"As of now, we have no way of producing a smokeless powder, so the crews will have to make do with the common demon powder," then, she handed him a set of papers. "However, our scientists are already researching for ways to minimize the generation of smoke whenever a demon weapon is fired, mostly in the chemical composition of the demon powder. It will take time, but we'll eventually get there."

"I see...I think it won't be ready anytime soon," the human commented. "So, what's your solution to the smoke?"

"The top side of the tank turret can be opened, and we installed wire mesh to keep the arrows off," the owl-lady pointed. "But, it's a temporary solution. Until we developed a 'smokeless demon powder', it'll have to do. As for the crew, we'll have them wear masks to minimize the exposure of their lungs to the smoke. After a few hours, they should also be granted permission to retreat to their lines to catch some fresh air."

"Well, it's not like we can do anything about it for now," the duke gave Salis a head pat. "Still, thank you for your good work! By the way, speaking of safety features, how about the embrasures?"

"Yep, we got them," she showed him the parts where there were small holes wide enough for gun barrels to shoot from. "As for where the soldiers will look, it's the screens on the top of each embrasure."

"I see..."

"I got you covered, Kuro," Salis smiled. "There are a few design flaws in your original plan, so the genius me fixed that for you! That includes the steam engine...the one in your sketch is underpowered. We got new and better prototypes now, though yeah, it's still in testing phase. Also, I think your 'tank' needs a larger caliber of cannon, so I adjusted it for you. No worries; we tested it before creating this one, and I assure you, the recoil won't affect the vehicle that much."

The duke loved to listen to the owl-lady's explanation. They traded opinions and shared information on how it would be used in combat, as well as the better specifications, courtesy of Salis' knowledge in engineering. And finally, when they touched the matter of economy, Kuro asked...