Rheinmetall

The moment he got the guns, Altair took them to the Army Club for testing.

The test results of the New Rifle not only satisfied Altair but also impressed Anastasia, a veteran retired from the front lines.

Anastasia gave her recommendation to produce the Winchester M1895 over the Marlin M1895, as it better suited the army's needs.

When Altair made it clear that neither model would be mass-produced and were only for daily hunting, Anastasia was left speechless with shock.

The appearance of a new, lightweight, and powerful firearm at the club piqued the curiosity of the army officers. Everyone wanted to borrow it for a test, which led to Altair being cornered at the shooting range.

The commotion only ended when Owen Donovan heard about it, came in person, and conducted his own round of testing.

After everyone left, Owen Donovan took Altair to his office and said, "Have you made any follow-up arrangements for this New Rifle?"

Hearing this, Altair directly stated that he had no intention of producing these firearms.

Although both models far outperformed the current rifles used by the Kingdom of Ruun's army, their advantage lay solely in the gunpowder. Once other factories reverse-engineered it, he would lose that edge.

After listening to Altair's explanation, Owen Donovan relaxed and said, "Since you don't want to produce these guns now, try not to show them off.

You're a count now, so you don't have to fear open threats, but you can't guard against covert ones.

Given your family's special circumstances, the army won't cause you trouble, but the navy or factory capitalists are another matter. This is cross-era technology.

"Right now, you're like a minor running down the street with a treasure trove—everyone will take a bite."

Hearing Owen Donovan's lecture, Altair regretted his actions today and thought, I was careless. I forgot the rules of this world. It seemed he had to move up his arms business plans.

So he said to Owen Donovan, "Uncle Owen, even though I won't mass-produce these two rifles, I have other types of hot weapons."

"Each of those weapons outperforms these two. They just haven't been produced yet. I have the technical drawings ready. As soon as I give the order, the factory can start production."

Hearing this, Owen loosened his grip on his pipe and stared at Altair for a long time without speaking.

Owen thought to himself, I thought Altair just stumbled upon the New Gunpowder and made two new rifles on a whim.

But who knew there were even better guns? I underestimated him. No Sheffield is ever simple.

After some deliberation, Owen said to Altair, "You'd better recall your family's guard team as soon as possible. Without Beyonders protecting your household, any accident would be a loss."

Hearing about the guard team, Altair searched his memories and recalled that his "father" did have a squad of Beyonders.

He asked doubtfully, "That squad wasn't wiped out? I remember they were always with my father, and after he died, I never heard from them again. I thought they were all gone."

Owen nodded at Altair's words and said, "Some did survive. After that battle, the survivors were mostly recovering from injuries. They sent you a telegram a month ago—I remember clearly."

"They should still be resting in Bayram. Your uncle master probably forgot. He received that telegram after you left Bexland."

"Do you want me to send them a telegram to recall them?"

After thinking it over, Altair asked skeptically, "How did they survive? I remember the battle report said no one made it out."

Seeing Altair's confusion, Owen explained, "According to their account, your father fought desperately to open an escape route. They fled and hid to recover. The search team didn't find them until half a month after the war ended."

"You can trust them. Military Intelligence Section Nine has verified their story. It's exactly as they said."

With his doubts resolved, Altair said to Owen, "Then I'll trouble Uncle Owen to send that telegram. If I did it myself, it'd take at least a month round trip."

Owen patted his chest and said, "No problem. I'll send it for you on the military line later."

At noon, Altair didn't stay for lunch and left the club on his own.

As soon as he got home, he sent Hahn to the company registration office to register two companies: Rheinmetall and Northern Industries.

Rheinmetall was meant to produce small items and exchange "shares" for High Sequence Extraordinary Traits. Northern Industries would be kept as private property, with no shares sold externally.

Once the companies were registered, he could transfer the weapon factory and some outdated technologies into them, trading for things others didn't need but he could use. Right now, Gold Pounds were the last thing he needed.

The Sheffield family hadn't had any major expenses in years. The Gold Coins piled up in Bexland Bank had already reached a million.

He'd better lie low at home for a few days. What he did today was too outrageous. By now, the whole Queen District probably knew.

He'd gotten carried away. He'd originally planned to use this time to "act" as an Assassin and digest his Potion.

By evening, Hahn returned to Sheffield Manor and introduced Altair to the housekeeper and personal maids he'd found.

"Freya Quinn, daughter of a fallen noble. Her family started declining from her grandfather's gambling. By her father's generation, the title had dropped to baronet, and he couldn't turn things around."

"Freya's appearance gave him hope, so he gave her a full noble education, molding her into a 'perfect noble lady' for marriage alliances. Half a month ago, debt collectors came and forced their way in, leading to her father's death."

"To survive, she registered with the Servant Association, hoping to live off her skills. She asks for room and board and five Gold Pounds a week."

Normally, she wouldn't have gotten the spot in their household, but "none available" and "no suitable one" were different.

For now, he'd pick someone usable and swap later if someone better came along.

"Vera and Irene are personal maids. One handles clothing, makeup, and personal items; the other handles sewing, jewelry sorting, and outings."

"They're twin sisters with elven blood. Captured and trained young, they're slaves by origin. Hahn bought them for 1,000 Gold Pounds each."

Now, the North Continent countries have abolished slavery laws, but such trades still happen in the shadows. On the surface, they're free people, but privately, they're still slaves.

If Altair had to say, they all shared one trait: they were very beautiful. Whether it was his imagination or not, Hahn had emphasized when introducing them that they were very good at "serving" people.