The Millenia Federation was renowned for its breathtaking scenery.
Forests cleared as part of Teo’s ecological city plan.
Flowers and trees enhancing the beauty even further.
Nature’s landscape blending harmoniously with dwarf-designed architecture.
In the case of the capital, Ermion, even the elves would exclaim “This is no different from the World Tree’s forest!” due to its sheer beauty.
[Wait a minute. This sacred energy…?]
[The World Tree should have burned down and disappeared!]
[Ah… Do they not know? This is…]
There was another reason the capital had become particularly stunning, but in any case
Millenia was a nation designed from the start with harmony between nature and civilization in mind. The complete absence of an artificial feel was one of its greatest prides.
—Chiiiiiiiiik!!!
“——So? Pretty amazing, right? This thing called a steam locomotive.”
And in this very Millenia, a massive steam locomotive had arrived.
A steel body that looked undeniably heavy at first glance.
The acrid scent of burning coal.
Steam billowing into the clear sky.
Everything about it starkly contrasted with the grand natural scenery of the Great Forest, creating an overwhelming sense of discord.
Even the five retainers were momentarily stunned.
‘That’s… Wait, is that all metal?’
‘How does that thing even move?’
The most perplexing thing was the fact that it had moved.
It was made entirely of iron, no matter how one looked at it.
It had to weigh over a hundred tons, at the very least.
And yet, it moved?
From their perspective, it was simply inconceivable.
Except for Teo, of course.
Even among the strongest warriors in Millenia or rather, across the entire continent none of them could move that thing with sheer strength alone.
“Lucia, you’re strong. Think you could push that thing to make it move?”
“Wiz is even stronger than me. But even she wouldn’t be able to move something like that.”
“Of course not. Even with wheels, the static friction of a locomotive is no joke.”
“Then how does it move? It’s not magic, and it just burns coal how does that make it move?”
Without knowledge of engineering, it was a difficult concept to grasp.
Moving that massive chunk of metal… just by boiling water?
From a medieval perspective, it was outright incomprehensible.
But not to Wiz and Teo.
“The heat from coal is still a form of power, energy. It’s just being converted into kinetic energy.”
The First Law of Thermodynamics. The Law of Conservation of Energy.
Energy in the natural world doesn’t increase or decrease; it remains constant.
If it seems to have disappeared, it has merely changed form.
“When we burn fuel to boil water, the energy in the fuel is converted into heat.”
“As we continue heating the water, it turns into steam, right? That steam disperses into the air, transforming into another form of energy.”
“The core of the steam engine is converting that steam into kinetic energy.”
The steam engine an invention refined by James Watt, utilizing steam as its power source.
Thanks to this, humanity gained the ability to convert thermal energy into motion.
Heat energy the most common yet often overlooked resource on this planet.
There’s a reason why the steam engine is credited with leading the Industrial Revolution and why coal is called the black diamond.
‘And to think, this invention will be relevant for ages to come. Even in the modern era, most electricity generation relies on it.’
For Teo, who was looking hundreds of years ahead, this invention was even more significant.
In other words, it was something he had to greatly commend.
“You really worked hard, Wiz.”
‘Sure, I sketched out some rough blueprints, but improving the conversion efficiency must have been insanely tough.’
Teo knew very well.
That steam engines powered by coal had terribly low efficiency at first.
That improving them required countless engineering refinements.
He had provided modern knowledge and the core Teories of piston structures,
but it was Wiz who had turned those Teories into reality.
“Come here for a second.”
“…Yes, Master!!!”
He turned his back toward Wiz.
Realizing his intent, she immediately dropped to the floor, lying flat.
Rustle, rustle.
A small, soft tail enthusiastically ruffled her hair.
Wiz’s voice melted into sheer bliss.
“Kihihit. I worked hard for you, Master♡ My underlings and I put our hearts together for this♡”
“Yeah. Dwarves, you all worked hard too. I’ll make sure to properly reward you later.”
“No, no, O Great Teonar! This was entirely led by Lady Wiz! All the credit rightfully belongs to her!!”
“Hmm. If that’s the case…”
Teo’s gaze rolled to the side, subtly observing the expressions of his other retainers.
As expected aside from Lucia, the others were glaring at Wiz with jealousy.
‘Do they not realize yet just how monumental this achievement is?’
“Grr… Ahem. Let’s discuss rewards in detail after we’ve actually ridden it for ourselves.”
The only way to make them understand was to let them experience it firsthand.
* * *
Slow.
That was the first thought the attendants had when they boarded the steam locomotive.
‘Does it take an entire day just to start moving? Running would be much faster.’
‘And we can’t even ride in the front because of the coal and water?’
‘It looks grand on the outside, but isn’t it more useless than a carriage?’
Quite antique-looking, and in Teo’s eyes, a retro-style vehicle interior.
Even after sitting on the wooden seats for several minutes, the outside scenery showed no sign of change.
Except for a few, most of them looked disappointed.
Beside them, Teo. A transparent dragon, mini-sized, unable to show it, but—
it was hard to shake off the thought that a carriage might be better.
“Huff… Huff, huff!!!”
‘What is that? It’s tiny! So cute!’
Lucia was busy making beast-like cries at Teo, who had shrunk even more than usual. Anyway.
The five attendants sat there awkwardly for a long time…
but the moment the locomotive started moving, their reactions completely changed.
‘Hmph. It’s finally moving? It’s as slow as a snail.’
‘Now that it’s picking up speed, I guess it’s at least on par with a carriage. Well, pulling a hunk of steel must be tough…’
‘…Huh? Why is it getting faster? Wait, what?!’
The speed kept increasing. The scenery outside started changing rapidly.
At full acceleration, the locomotive reached a speed of 100 km per hour.
This heavy chunk of steel was moving at that speed.
“Why is this so fast!? I thought it would be at most as fast as a carriage!!”
” A steel carriage moving at this speed? If I get hit by this, I’d be completely crushed!”
“How in the world is this even…?”
Everyone was in shock.
Wiz’s lips curled into a smirk.
” It could go even faster, but I’m holding back because of Master’s protection magic.”
“Protection magic…?”
” We can’t have people getting hit by the locomotive, can we? So, there’s a spell that pushes away anyone near the front of the train.”
” Considering Master’s magic, it wouldn’t be a problem to accelerate more, but just in case.”
According to Wiz, this wasn’t even the locomotive’s maximum speed.
It was merely being restrained for safety. If they wanted, they could make it go even faster.
” And, this is a freight train. It wasn’t built for speed, and there’s no reason for it to reach its maximum velocity.”
“…Freight?”
” Yeah. It was designed to transport hundreds of tons of cargo.”
Even with cargo loaded, it could still reach this speed.
Considering that traditional cargo wagons could barely go 10 km per hour, this speed was nothing short of revolutionary.
No…..A cargo wagon could carry, at most, about 500 kilograms.
Taking all of this into account…
” It’s moving at ten times the speed of a carriage while carrying a thousand times the load. And it never gets tired.”
A transportation method beyond comparison to mere carriages.
A machine that once sparked the Industrial Revolution in Britain and continued to drive progress even in modern times.
This was the greatness of the steam engine.
” And steam engines can be used elsewhere too. Like in those factories Master kept emphasizing.”
” Factories? The places where machines mass-produce goods…?”
” So? Do you still think using carriages is better?”
“…No. This is incredible.”
Even Aurelia, who had tried to find faults, had to acknowledge it.
This was truly an extraordinary achievement.
Enough to earn a reward from her lord, just like Lucia before her.
Teo let out a satisfied growl.
” Grrr. So, Wiz, is there anything you want?”
” ……!!!”
Stars sparkled in Wiz’s eyes.
The reward she had been waiting for the recognition for all the time and effort she had poured into this had finally arrived.
She already knew exactly what she wanted.
‘Of course, a ring that lets me see Master! Lucia kept bragging about hers, and it was so annoying. Now I can finally…’
– Pause.
“……”
But for some reason, her lips wouldn’t move.
For a while, only the rattling of the train filled the silence.
‘If I get the same thing as Lucia now…’
[─Of course, the fact that I was the first to receive it will never change!]
‘In the end, I’ll still be behind her.’
The reason for her hesitation was simple.
A passing thought, a memory of something Lucia had said months ago.
Until now, she hadn’t really cared.
If she could see her master, she had thought it wouldn’t matter if she was second after Lucia…
‘But I don’t want to be second.’
“Would it be okay if I told you later?”
In the end, Wiz decided to postpone her reward.
Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Wiz? Why don’t you just ask for a ring like mine…?”
“I didn’t want to receive the same thing as you, Lucia. That’s all right, right, Master?”
“Of course. Just let me know whenever you’re ready.”
‘She must be putting it off because she’s busy. As expected of a workaholic engineer.’
But Teo didn’t dwell on it.
Creating the steam locomotive was only the beginning.
There was no chance that her workload would decrease anytime soon.
‘Ah, of course. She’s just addicted to work.’
“The national railway network will follow the plan Lucia and I laid out. First, we’ll establish a route around Millenia…”
“Kihit. Yes! The ground has already been prepared, so as soon as the rails are mass-produced, we’ll begin construction!”
“Good. And from there, we’ll expand into logistics and transportation…”
The great invention of the steam locomotive.
The reward for this achievement, was ultimately postponed for a long time.
* * *
And with the introduction of the steam locomotive…
“…You’re called Wiz, correct? Explain what that monstrous thing is.”
“As I said, it’s a steam locomotive. It’s similar to a carriage.”
‘I thought it was just a few more carriages running around…!’
The neighboring country, Arkenia, found itself unexpectedly caught in the flames.