Evelyn's POV
I suggested to Lucas that we take his weapon idea to Lina's father so he could produce it and sell it for profit. At first, Lucas hesitated.
"It's… dangerous," he said, frowning down at his drawing.
I raised an eyebrow. "A sword is dangerous too."
He shook his head. "But this—this has more range. It's more lethal."
I smiled and conjured a sword with my magic. With a flick, I launched a mana slash into the sky, the energy cutting through the clouds above us.
"More dangerous than a gun," I pointed out.
His eyes widened, but then he laughed softly. "You have a point. Still… if we want to make these normally, we'd need gunpowder."
"Gunpowder doesn't exist in this world," I told him flatly.
He blinked. "Wait. Then how does anyone shoot a cannon ball without gunpowder?"
That made me chuckle. "Firstly, we don't shoot cannon balls. That sounds kind of funny. We fire giant fireballs by charging mana into the cannon. The same principle can work here. Instead of gunpowder, we carve a spell spark at the base of the bullet casing. When the trigger is pulled, mana flows into the bullet and recreates the explosive effect of gunpowder."
He leaned back, impressed. "So it's… a magical cartridge. Clever."
I nodded. "But even with that, these guns won't be strong enough to hurt someone at stage three or above. They're better suited for defending a village, or for killing monsters. Even the vampire that attacked you before was no stronger than stage three."
He hesitated again. "But… what if someone uses it for evil?"
I gave him a steady look. "People already do that with swords, or bows, or arrows. Tools are never the real problem."
That silenced him, though his expression told me he was still thinking about it.
---
Together, we brought the idea to marcus's father. He studied the prototype carefully, running his calloused hands over the barrel and trigger.
"This is… ingenious," he admitted at last. "But to make it official, I'll need Lina's father to register it. He has the right connections in the merchant guild. After that, I can begin production."
We agreed easily enough. Lucas and I also made it clear that we wanted a share of the profits, since we had a hand in the weapon's creation. Marcus's father didn't object.
Afterward, we left their home, meeting Marcus on the way out. She grinned when he heard the news.
"Come to my house tomorrow," I told him. "You and Lina. We can train and hang out."
Her eyes lit up. "Deal."
---
Back at home, I reflected on the changes around me. My father had advanced to stage five—not surprising, given how dense the mana was in this region. My brother, meanwhile, had reached the peak of stage four, but his duties as a knight kept him too busy to cultivate as diligently as he wished.
As for my mother, she faced a different problem entirely. No one had reached stage seven in this age. Even if she secluded herself on the highest mountain and cultivated day and night, it would be impossible. I knew that truth all too well—when I was a hero in my past life, I had tried to force my way past stage five and failed. Stage seven would not appear for centuries yet, not until mana density itself rose across the world.
---
The very next day, Marcus's father visited us again.
"I've been thinking," he said, placing the weapon prototype on the table. "Do you really want to call it the Peacemaker? With the noise it makes, it hardly feels… peaceful."
Before I could answer, Lucas stepped forward, arms crossed with surprising conviction for a six-year-old.
"It does bring peace," he said firmly. "Peace of mind. If a goblin or monster weaker than stage two shows up, anyone with this weapon can handle it. That's peace enough."
Marus's father chuckled, shaking his head. "Spoken like someone twice your age. Very well, Peacemaker it is. With Lina's father handling the registration, I should have production started soon. In a few months, these will be on the market."
Lucas's smile was faint but proud, and I couldn't help but smile with him.