Learning to drive, then learning to fly, while also improving and supervising the Stormtroopers’ individual equipment.
Lelouch’s so-called vacation was, in every sense, remarkably fulfilling.
Most days he spent in Munich and Nuremberg, worrying over trivial bits of work. But during that time, he also set aside a week to visit the DWM Karlsruhe Arsenal in the neighboring Duchy of Baden, where, on behalf of the Sixth Army, he submitted a few minor customization requests to the factory—of course, all of these requests had first been reported to His Highness the Duke, and had received his approval.
In 1914, the two largest light-arms manufacturers in Demania were Mauser and DWM. The former was responsible for producing rifles and ammunition, while the latter handled production of the MG08 heavy machine gun, as well as equipment such as mortars and grenade launchers, along with their ammunition.
As for heavier equipment such as heavy artillery, that depended on Krupp and Rheinmetall in the north. Those were all in the Ruhr industrial region, beyond the reach of Duke Rupprecht’s sphere of influence. So for the development of artillery, for the time being, they could only let things take their course.
Lelouch’s visit to the Karlsruhe Arsenal was naturally for the purpose of ordering a batch of hand grenades. The stick grenades currently used by the German army had no pre-formed fragments, so their lethality against personnel was somewhat a matter of luck.
Producing pre-fragmented “pineapple” grenades like those used by Bu was still difficult for the time being; it would require fresh development and adjustments to the production line, so for now it was impossible—after all, that factory was under the administration of the Duchy of Baden, and the Balian royal family could not interfere too deeply.
At present, all Lelouch could do was customize a batch of stick grenades whose casings had simple stamped grooves, so that they would produce more fragments upon detonation. At the same time, he optimized the wooden handle of the grenades, making them suitable both for hand-throwing and for use with grenade launchers. (This modification was not difficult; historically, it was achieved after the war as well.)
Weapons such as “grenade launchers” had a long history in the German army as well, and could be considered a kind of specialized mortar.
The smaller grenade launchers had a caliber of only 50 millimeters, smaller even than the smallest mortars.
The largest could reach 280 millimeters, with the formal name of “mine thrower.” In the later Second World War, one variant of the SDK251 half-track was equipped with six 280-millimeter mine throwers. But the mine throwers it used had in fact already existed during the First World War, under the name “Nebelwerfer.” The Second World War merely made them self-propelled and mounted them on half-track armored vehicles.
This time, because time was short, Lelouch did not expect to make major improvements to the grenade launchers.
In actual combat, the precise striking range of this kind of weapon was only between 100 and 500 meters, serving as supplementary firepower between hand grenades and mortars. It fit the Stormtroopers’ role positioning extremely well.
However, the experience of both the First and Second World Wars in history had fully proven that aiming a grenade launcher was considerably more difficult than aiming a mortar. The main reason was that grenade launchers had no baseplate or gun mount, and thus could not be leveled in advance. It was very easy to introduce additional errors when aiming, and only elite soldiers could use them well—fortunately, those who could join the Stormtroopers were already elite troops to begin with.
……
In the blink of an eye, it was early December.
Early that morning, Lelouch drove back to Munich from Thuringia, with two large trunks loaded into the back seat of the BMW.
Inside were the prototype light machine guns and submachine guns made by the Bergmann Company, several of each.
Using a twenty-thousand-mark BMW to haul cargo—probably no one else would do such a thing.
The car was already rare to begin with, and pedestrians along the way all turned to look. Once they saw the back row piled full of cargo trunks, the rate of heads turning shot up to one hundred percent.
Lelouch drove all the way back to his lodging. Hearing the sound of the engine, Immelmann came out to look around. These past few days, he had been eating and drinking well, but had long since grown bored with idleness; after Lelouch learned to drive, he had been driving himself everywhere.
Seeing him, Lelouch briskly opened the trunks, drew out one gun from each side, and handed them to him.
“MG15 light machine gun, MP15 submachine gun. I said I’d do it, and I did. I even had a rotating gun mount custom-made for you. When the time comes, just bolt it beside the cockpit.”
Because there was no interrupter gear, aircraft-mounted machine guns at present certainly could not fire forward; the bullets would hit the propeller. However, the enemy still had no defenses whatsoever against air combat right now, so this kind of machine gun would suffice for the time being.
It would not be too late to install an interrupter gear next year, when there was time.
Immelmann took the machine gun, unable to keep a delighted expression from his face as he turned it over and over in his hands. “Shall we go to the shooting range and practice?”
Lelouch said, “Spare me. I drove six hours to Thuringia yesterday, and then drove back today. I’m exhausted.”
The two were chatting idly when someone suddenly came over and interrupted them. “Captain Lelouch? You’re finally back. His Highness the Duke said that you are to attend a banquet at Neuschwanstein Castle tonight, and report to him in person on the state of preparations for the individual equipment. Bring everything you ought to bring.”
The speaker was none other than the royal steward who managed this estate. Lelouch had grown quite familiar with him recently.
“His Highness has returned to Munich as well?” Lelouch was somewhat surprised to hear this. “Very well, I understand. I’ll be there on time.”
On second thought, the Duke’s side had probably already finalized the operational plan for the Battle of Ypres, and he wanted to seize the last bit of time before the fighting began to return and reunite with his family. Many senior commanders who had the means would do the same.
Thus he quickly tidied up and washed, changed into a set of steel helmet, camouflage uniform, and boots, then left Immelmann behind and drove alone straight for Neuschwanstein Castle—not that he did not want to bring his brother along to enjoy the food and drink, but the Duke simply had not invited him.
As for the dress uniform to be worn at the banquet, Lelouch was also afraid of wrinkling it in advance, so he folded it neatly and placed it in a trunk, planning to change into it after reporting on his work.
This was his first time attending a banquet at a royal castle. All he could do was try his best to be neither servile nor overbearing, while also avoiding any breach of etiquette.
……
Neuschwanstein Castle was located in the southwestern suburbs of Munich. It took a full two-plus hours to drive there, and was a snow-covered mountain castle in the Alps.
Many later readers might not be familiar with the name, but as long as they saw its appearance, they would definitely find it familiar—because the Disney castle was based on it. In later generations, virtually all prominent works in the two-dimensional sphere had, by convention, used Neuschwanstein Castle’s form when depicting castles.
It was a stereotype that had sunk so deeply into the subconscious that people were no longer aware of it.
Construction of the castle began in 1868. It took eighteen years to build, and was only completed in 1886, at a total cost of six million marks. It had 360 rooms, and at one point exhausted the private treasury of the Balian royal family. After its completion, it had always served as the royal family’s main palace.
Afraid that he would be unfamiliar with the route and arrive late, Lelouch set off very early. As it turned out, the journey went smoothly, and in the end he arrived two hours earlier than the requested time.
When the castle guards saw his car, they knew at once that he must be a guest valued by the Duke. After checking his documents and invitation, they let him in.
“It seems I’ve come too early. I might as well go report to the Duke first, then change into formal dress for the evening banquet afterward.” Thinking this, Lelouch requested that the attendant receiving him send word on his behalf.
But the attendant said that the Duke had not yet arrived. Only then did Lelouch realize that the schedules of important figures were all arranged very tightly.
He had no choice but to return to the guest waiting room, somewhat dispirited.
However, just as he was walking through the front courtyard gallery, he saw a richly dressed youth approaching from the opposite direction, about fourteen or fifteen years old. The other party was also peeking at him with a gaze both curious and unconvinced.
Not knowing the other party’s identity, Lelouch merely bowed slightly and nodded, by way of greeting.
The youth, however, brazenly looked him up and down. “Hey, what are those filthy clothes you’re wearing? How discourteous. And you’re driving a BMW too—what a waste. Even I don’t have that car.”
Lelouch froze, then subconsciously lowered his head and glanced down, only then realizing that the camouflage uniform he was wearing today had been mistaken by the other party as “disheveled clothing.”
He had worn this outfit because he wanted the Duke to see its camouflage effect with his own eyes.
Since it had been customized for the muddy environment of the Ypres battlefield, where there was already little vegetation left, Lelouch had not chosen green as the base color. Instead, he had retained the gray base color of the German army uniform, but mixed in many patches of earth yellow and white.
People of this era had never seen camouflage uniforms before. At first glance, they would think he was some slovenly fellow covered in mud.
For a moment, Lelouch did not know how to explain. But just then, from behind the youth emerged a slightly older long-haired girl. The color of her hair was very strange, probably due to some illness.
The girl wore an ornate Gothic-style gown with lace trim. The moment she glanced at Lelouch, she was struck by his tall, handsome appearance. In particular, that left eye of his, injured by poison gas and a deep red in color, gave him an air of mystery.
Thus the girl quickly stepped forward, pulled the youth back, and scolded him. “Albrecht, you mustn’t be rude to a guest! You’re only fifteen—why would you need an automobile? Father is doing it for your safety as well.”
The girl seemed rather more versed in etiquette. After scolding him a few times, she turned to Lelouch and said, “You must be a guest of my father, yes? Oh, my father is His Highness the Crown Prince. This is my younger brother, Albrecht Ferdinand Michael. My name is Irmingard Theresa Josefa Cecilia Aldegunde.”
Lelouch said, “Lelouch Hunt, Captain. I have come under orders to report on my work to His Highness. This special military uniform is only for better concealment on the battlefield; it is not filth. Mr. Albrecht merely misunderstood just now.”
Cecilia nodded. “My father has not returned yet. Perhaps you arrived too early. However, if you have matters of military affairs you wish to consult about, you can first chat with my great-uncle. Would you like me to introduce you?”
Lelouch hesitated for a moment. “Would that not be too presumptuous? After all, I do not have an appointment.”
Cecilia said, “It’s all right. Ever since the old gentleman retired the year before last, he has been bored out of his mind. He is very welcoming toward juniors in the army.”
Lelouch said, “Then I shall respectfully accept.”
Cecilia turned and left with her younger brother. A few minutes later, a castle attendant came over and invited Lelouch to another study upstairs.
Lelouch did his best to remain polite, walking lightly into the room. There he saw an old man who appeared to be around seventy, reclining on a chaise with his eyes closed in rest.
Although the old man’s beard and hair were both white, his skin remained smooth and taut. His entire body also exuded a sense of strength, and he possessed an aura of authority that inspired awe even without anger.
Lelouch’s heart tightened, and he suddenly recalled the old man’s identity.
Cecilia had called him her great-uncle. Then was he not Duke Rupprecht’s paternal uncle, the younger brother of the current King Ludwig III of Balia?
This old man was the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front in the later stage of this world war, the successor to Marshal Hindenburg, and also one of the only five recipients of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross in the empire.
In Earth’s history, it was ultimately in this old man’s hands that the Russian Empire on the Eastern Front was completely smashed.
In terms of standing within the military, this old man ranked far higher than even his nephew, the Crown Prince.