C80- Meeting the Emperor (4)

BOOM!

The roar of the gun caused the birds on the roof of the palace to fly away. The bullet flew towards the target and opened a hole on it in the middle. The Emperor watched silently while he evaluated the weapon.

The projectile shooting out of it was too fast for most mages to stop. The loud roar would instill fear in the enemy, lowering their morale and will to fight. The range was half of that of a bow, but it's power was much higher. Considering the age of the weapon is barely some months, with enough research and development, the weapon had the power to change warfare forever, since it was easy to use, enough for a child who never held a bow in their life to shoot it relatively accurately.

The Emperor scratched his chin and nodded. The nobles whispering among each other about the weapon went quiet as if anticipating what His Highness had to say about it.

"Hmm... Can you shoot it at a standard soldier armour?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Terry waved his hand towards a butler. The old man nodded and left. A bit later, he came with a metal helmet in his hands. The helmet was a standard piece of armour every normal soldier wore during battle, with a chainmail layer under a solid metal layer. The butler placed the helmet on the target and came back.

Corvin took the empty bullet casing in the barrel and replaced the bullet. He lifted the rifle once again and shot at the helmet.

BOOM!

A bullet flew once again and in just under a fifth of a second, hit the helmet. The helmet jumped backwards as a hole was shot through it. The butler went and retrieved the helmet and handed it to the Emperor.

"Hm... It went out of the other side. The armour is completely useless against this..."

The nobles started talking about the weapon with shock. The Emperor lifted his hands to stop the talking and turned towards Corvin and Noah.

"Tell us more about this weapon."

"Yes, Your Highness. This is a gun. As you saw, it shoots really fast projectiles that can pierce through most armour. Currently, you need to reload it after every shot, but we are working on ways to load multiple bullets at once, and we have a working prototype as well. But the parts of the mechanism are small and detailed so it is hard to produce. The prototype uses smaller bullets with a quarter of the range, but eventually the type I used will also have the same mechanism.", said Corvin with a monotone voice.

"Show me the other type."

"Yes. It is this one."

Corvin took the gun, small enough to be used with a single hand. As he was checking if there were anything wrong with the handgun, the butler moved the target closer for him to shoot.

Corvin pointed the gun at the target and pulled the trigger.

Click-BOOM! Click-BOOM! Click-BOOM!

He lowered the gun and placed it back on the table. Turning back to the Emperor, he opened his mouth.

"As you saw, Your Highness, this one doesn't need a reload everytime. It can hold eight bullets inside and you only need to move this small part with your thumb before you shoot again."

The Emperor nodded thoughtfully. A nobleman slightly younger than Felyp asked for permission to talk.

"What is inside the bullets? How does the weapon work? How do you ma-"

Before the man could ask his last question, the Emperor stopped him.

"Before you ask things like that, first think if the other side wants to answer them. Do you think a merchant will give you their trade secrets?"

"I-I am sorry Your Highness! But, merchant?"

"Yes. The kids own a company independent from their parents. This is their product."

"I-I didn't know that."

"It's alright."

The Emperor turned back towards Corvin and Noah. Corvin still couldn't get used to being near the Emperor and being stared at by someone like him from such close distance.

"Your invention is great. For your great achievements, I grant your corporation the sole right to make these weapons."

"! Th-Thank you Your Highness!!", said Noah with excitement and surprize.

"But, you have to satisfy the expectations of the whole Empire."

"C-Certainly!"

"We will talk about the details later. For now, let's return to the hall and continue where we left off from there."

Returning to the hall where Clair was surrounded by elder ladies with a red face, Noah glanced at her as he entered the room.

As soon as the men left the hall, the bored ladies had quickly surrounded the pretty young girl and asked her questions about her life that left her embarassed. No matter how much she refused their "love advice", the ladies just told her more inappropriate things that she didn't wish to have heard.

She responded to his glance with a plea for help with her eyes. The women around her saw the two teens look at each other and swiftly pushed her right next to Noah while whispering good luck.

'What do you mean good luck!? I-I can't d-do th-those here, can I?!'

Unable to shout what was in her mind, all she could do was look at the ground with her blushing face. The chatter of the hall caused unnecessary things to creep into her mind on their own before the Emperor sat on his throne, and the noise died down.

"I am going to say it again now that everyone is here. The right to manufacture the new weapon is granted to the company you three founded. Unless you fail to meet expectations, no one else is allowed to make them. This was for completing a task I gave exceptionally.

Now, I grant you three to ask something from me as a gift for defeating the old and formidable enemy of the Empire."

Corvin, Noah and Clair kneeled in front of the Emperor. The Emperor pointed his finger at Noah.

"Noah Vyolor. What do you wish from the Empire?"

After a bit of thinking, Noah answered.

"Your Highness, our company is really young. We are working on a lot of projects, but that is costly. For that, I ask for less tax for our company."

The Emperor nodded.

"Very well, if that is your wish, then your corporation will pay no tax until you three graduate. Next is Clair Flarum. What is your wish?"

"I also wish the same for my father, Your Highness. The lands of Piscea currently under our family's rule are in a bad condition because of the disaster, and need a lot of funds to rehabilitate."

"Your wish shall be granted as well. The Flarum territories will only pay a quarter of the tax for three years. And lastly, Corvin Mundy... I heard you were the one that came up with the new weapon and also the one who had the biggest part in defeating the Horde Queen. For your brave and genius achievements, you can wish to be granted a noble title if you want. But I will leave that choice to you."

The nobles started whispering about what the Emperor said. The change of titles was something uncommon but normal in a noble's life, but a commoner becoming a noble wasn't. The last time a commoner was granted nobility by the Emperor was more than a century ago, and the unfortunate family couldn't stand for itself in the harsh enviroment of the time.

"Your Highness. I do not wish for a noble title, but I do wish to rent a plot of land to work on my ideas."

The Emperor thought for a bit. During his thinking, Felyp asked for permission and walked close to the Emperor. After whispering something to his ears and leaving with a slight smile, Felyp patted Corvin's head once and walked over to his table. The Emperor spoke again.

"Then, with the agreement of Margrave Vyolor, Corvin Mundy is to be a knight of the Empire and the village of Tarlen is to be his property under the Margrave. Since you need to be an adult before you can own land by law, you need to graduate first before getting the title, but you can act like you already own the village. As a knight, you have to answer when the Empire calls you for help, but otherwise you are free to do as you please in your land, without breaking the laws."

"Th-Thank you, Your Highness..."

Corvin's brain froze as he said that, trying to process what the Emperor just said.

'...Knight...Me?'