I Became a Witch and Started an Industrial Revolution

‘Da-da-da-da-da...’

“Your Majesty, look, using the principle of the explosion-generated air pressure driving back the spring to reset, it can also achieve Maxim’s continuous firing ability.”

“It’s just that because part of the kinetic energy is used elsewhere, the rate of fire and power are somewhat lacking.”

“And another thing, the springs we produce seem to have a usage limit.

The more it shoots, the slower the repeated work becomes afterward...”

Watching Grace cycle between excitement, disappointment, and then reviving at full energy, Mitia wore a complicated expression: “The problem with the spring can be solved. Grace... what rank of worker are you?”

“Replying to Your Majesty, rank two.”

Grace scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed as he answered.

In the current artisan ranking system of Seris, apprentices were rank 0.

Rank one meant a junior full worker, only doing simple assembly tasks.

Rank two was like Grace—taking a step beyond assembly, able to test-fire firearms for inspection.

At rank three, one would begin formally producing specific components.

Each rank meant contact with a new process.

In this way, the artisans trained from nothing, deeply involved from start to finish, and ended up proficient in their field, with no freeloaders among them.

What luck...

Mitia didn’t know what to say about herself.

She had randomly picked a rank two worker and happened to find a genius.

No—that wasn’t right.

Grace seemed more like a victim of the slow evaluation system! If he had been admitted to the Academy to study further, the master craftsmen there could never have failed to spot his talent.

It was clear that the training of talent had to be accelerated again and again, otherwise who knew how many such good seedlings would be worn away by time.

Although in terms of manufacturing difficulty, the Sten-type submachine gun was practically zero, its craftsmanship and design as a firearm were, to put it bluntly, at the level of industrial garbage—making tires was more technically demanding.

But even Mitia herself had never expected this.

She had instinctively thought it shouldn’t even be possible to make!

This just proved that one couldn’t judge things by appearance.

Grace’s gift of breaking through fixed ways of thinking was what mattered most.

“A very great work. You can continue improving and optimizing it, hmm... Grace.”

After thinking for a moment, Mitia said to him: “Our army needs this kind of gun very much, so I now have two options for you to consider.”

“First, you can authorize the Seris Kingdom’s military factories to produce this type of weapon you have in your hands. For every unit produced, you’ll receive 10% of the production cost as a patent royalty.”

Grace hurriedly bowed when he heard this: “My Empress, this is my gift to you. For Your Majesty to like it is my honor! I cannot take money!”

Beside him, Haji’s eyes turned red with envy.

Mitia shook her head: “If it is just this one piece as a gift, I will gladly accept it. But no more than that.”

“You may not want it, but I cannot fail to give. What is owed to you cannot be shorted. A warrior daring to create must be rewarded, and 10% royalties are not much at all.”

“Second, you can resign from the factory and establish a new factory independently. The Seris army would place orders with you, and you would be responsible for production.”

“As for the funding, equipment, and workers for setting up the factory, you need not worry. The Federal government can provide them, but in return, it would take part of the shares.”

“Grace, which do you choose?”

Grace said blankly: “I... I don’t know. Whatever Your Majesty says, that’s what I’ll do.”

He had only wanted to share something he loved with the Empress, but things had developed completely beyond his expectations.

He hadn’t even fully understood the meaning of the conditions she had listed.

Picking up the crude submachine gun from the ground and playing with it in her hand, Mitia said: “Emotionally, I would like you to stay in the factory. When the time is right, I will transfer you to a new region to focus on design.”

“But rationally, I think if I let you go develop freely, you might bring even more surprises. So I suggest you go out and try. The country will be your firmest backing.”

She tossed the firearm to Grace, who fumbled to catch it.

Smiling, Mitia said:

“If you fail, you can always come back. You’re still young—everything is worth trying. Go.”

In terms of the broader direction, she had the information in her mind, meaning she didn’t need to worry about straying from the right path.

A genius need not be kept under her control as a puppet.

The greatest value of a genius was in the boundless creativity within their mind, not as an echoing yes-man.

That would be an immense waste of resources.

And in fact, she was truly, deeply looking forward to seeing what kind of marvelous reactions would spark when the natives of this magical world absorbed industrial thinking.

【Sendegas Harbor】

“Ahhhh!!! Finally, we’re here!!!”

Seeing the coastline gradually becoming clearer in the distance, Knight Commander Unica McMillan cheered loudly, dancing about on the deck.

Her fluffy golden hair flew wildly in the strong sea breeze, making her look just like a golden-haired monkey.

A brown-haired young man in fitted plate armor inside the cabin couldn’t help but cover his face at the sight: “Sigh, why did I have to be assigned under her...”

Next to him, a man with his hair tied in a ponytail complained: “Damn, finally we’re here. I really don’t get why they sent us to such a backward place. Is this because the Knight Commander offended someone and we got exiled with her?”

“Don’t say it, really don’t say it—it’s not impossible~”

A charming female voice drifted into their ears.

The speaker herself, dressed in a tight-fitting nun’s garb, was straddling the bar table.

Her bare feet dangled, swaying idly in the air.

The two men glanced once, then quickly turned away, their discussion halting at once.

Such a woman from the Inquisition—no matter how pretty, they dared not look more.

Who knew what crime she might accuse them of and have them executed for.

Seeing their cowardice, the woman curled her lip, flipped back her fiery red hair, and continued sipping her wine.

‘Splash...’

From afar came the sound of water being poured.

A burly man put down an empty bucket and shouted to the three of them: “Brothers, I’m climbing up now, fetch me two buckets of water.”

With that, he carefully propped the iron ladder he had been holding against the three-meter-tall humanoid machine before him, still half-crouching as he did so.

The machine was entirely white, its edges traced with dense golden holy script, giving it a sense of sacred beauty.

At its side stood four more machines of the same design.

“Damn, is he washing it again? Does he think drinking water is free?!”

“That’s normal. He’s always treated the machine like this—he says it’s his eternal wife~”

“Can that even be allowed? I remember the Church’s canon forbids taking a wife, doesn’t it?”

“Huh?”

While they were discussing, out on the sea’s horizon, a massive ship gleaming with metallic light was quickly closing in on their wooden vessel.

Escorting it were more than a dozen smaller warships.

This was the ten-thousand-ton oil tanker Mitia had once ordered built.

But because of the war, once launched, it had been pulled away for refitting.

Now its wide deck was packed with light and heavy cannons of all sizes.

It had transformed into a seaborne firepower delivery platform~