Leopoldus’s actions were swiftly carried out. There was some resistance from his subordinates, but with the king’s authority, he suppressed them and pushed forward with the journey to Millenia.
This was a clear indication of how important the matter was to him.
“Hmm. Isn’t the retinue too small? We could have taken a few dozen more.”
“We’re not traveling on horseback, and if they provide the necessities, this number should be sufficient.”
Even the number of attendants accompanying him was modest. When a king leaves the country, it is typical for more than a hundred servants, nobles, and knights to accompany him.
However, only the captain of the knights, Seras, the royal court’s chief mage, and a handful of young maids made up the entourage. It was an unusually small group for those heading into the monster’s den.
‘If there are four other monsters of the same caliber as that one, bringing the entire army wouldn’t be enough.’
‘The forest is their domain. Having a knight order accompany us would be meaningless.’
‘It’s better to show a friendly attitude. There’s no need for excessive protection.’
Even though safety wasn’t guaranteed, Leopoldus was likely showing some trust toward Teo. Regardless, the group of about twenty humans reached the steam locomotive.
Leopoldus let out a gasp.
“Hooh…”
‘So this is a steam locomotive? I couldn’t tell from the magical device, but seeing it in person is impressive. It has a massive, majestic feel.’
Even the appearance of the locomotive seemed to strangely stimulate a man’s fantasies, and then…
‘They really loaded it all up. The amount of coal for several dozen carriages.’
The sheer amount of cargo was enough to make him marvel. Normally, he would have applauded if it was something truly spectacular. But this time, the reason he didn’t was that it had already entered the heart of Arkenia.
His brow furrowed.
“…Seras. You said there was nothing like this a year ago, right?”
“Yes. At least, nothing that Aurelia showed me.”
“Right, I see.”
‘When did they start preparing this, Teo?’
It couldn’t have been created in just a year. The vehicle itself could have been possible, given the dwarven artisans, but the technology to make it move wasn’t something that could be created overnight.
For Leopoldus, the steam locomotive was nothing more than a weapon Teo had been hiding.
– Clank.
‘And why is it so fast? Even if the best horses in the kingdom were used, they wouldn’t go this fast.’
His surprise grew as the locomotive began to move.
Although it took a little time to accelerate, once it reached top speed, it was about 100 km/h.
For Leopoldus, it was astonishing. Even a carriage, traveling 20 km per day, was considered a long distance. A knight changing horses could manage 100 km in a day, but horses aren’t particularly durable creatures.
Yet this steam locomotive?
It was far faster than anything he’d seen before. Even an expert knight riding all day would be overtaken in an hour.
‘And it runs day and night. With this kind of load, at this speed.’
The scariest part was that, unlike horses, it didn’t need any rest. Just thinking about it made the hair on his body stand on end. That was why the faces of the passengers in the carriage were so grim.
“Seras, what do you think? If this steam locomotive were used militarily…”
“It’s an off-track vehicle, but if the rails are destroyed, it would be neutralized. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“No, Seras.”
“Royal Mage, Bella. What does that mean?”
“Each of the rails is enchanted with a protective spell equivalent to high-tier magic. To destroy it, you’d have to cause the kind of shock that would break down castle walls.”
“…Teo. Is this his doing?”
Leopoldus suddenly mentioned Teo’s name, and the conversation naturally shifted to that topic.
The royal court’s chief mage, Bella’s voice began to grow heated.
“Yes! To have placed seventh-tier protection magic on every single one of these rails, it would be impossible without a dragon!”
“Really?”
“Yes! Ah, truly, the race called the ‘Masters of Magic’. I do hope I can have a serious discussion about magic with them someday…”
“Then is the locomotive powered by magic as well? What tier is it? Can you interpret it?”
‘How should I know, Your Majesty?’
Bella, the eccentric magic-obsessed mage, didn’t even understand how the steam locomotive worked. As she hesitated, she was interrupted by a light sound of footsteps.
It was Wiz, who had arrived after hearing Teo’s name.
“Of course, she doesn’t understand. This isn’t magic, it’s engineering.”
“Wiz!”
At her appearance, the atmosphere froze. The three of them flinched.
Even the three most prominent individuals in the kingdom were no match for her presence.
“How dare you speak so informally to His Majesty…”
“Enough, Seras. Isn’t it strange to ask an alien race to follow proper etiquette?”
“…My apologies for intruding.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, Wiz, what do you mean by that? Engineering?”
Leopoldus asked, trying to overcome his fear.
Wiz plopped down beside him, sitting down casually.
“Would you prefer a simple or a detailed explanation?”
“Please give me the detailed explanation.”
“The key lies in implementing the Rankine cycle based on the second law of thermodynamics. To get as close as possible to Carnot efficiency, we minimize irreversible factors such as friction and heat loss…”
“A simpler explanation, please.”
“We boil water to turn a turbine. That’s the end of the explanation.”
“What?”
Leopoldus’s face fell, despite having heard the explanation he asked for. He couldn’t understand what she was saying.
“So you’re telling me this steam locomotive runs on boiling water?”
“Oh, correct. You’re the first non-specialist to get it right on the first try.”
“That doesn’t make sense. How can boiling water make it move…”
“Don’t you see the steam coming out the side?”
But Wiz was nonchalant. To her, this was nothing.
[Master, does this mean we need to build a power plant later? How do we do that?]
[Ah, this is called thermal power generation. You boil water and turn a turbine.]
[…Huh? Isn’t the steam engine a much earlier invention than electricity? Are we still going to use steam engines later on?]
[Of course, there will be various other fuels. For example, nuclear power, where you split atomic nuclei.]
[That’s the technology you said was used to make nuclear bombs! You’re going to make electricity with that dangerous technology?]
[Yeah, you boil water and turn a turbine.]
[…With that technology?]
[In large-scale power generation, it’s the most efficient method. This technology will be used for centuries, so make sure to develop it well.]
Teo said that, for the next few hundred years, they would still rely on steam engines.
No matter how technology evolves, even when steam locomotives fade into history and metal ships fly through the skies conquering space, Wiz and the greatest engineers of the continent would still have to boil water to turn turbines.
This future, this simple task of boiling water to make the locomotive move, seemed insignificant.
‘Teo, this monster… What exactly has he created?’
‘How did our ancestors ever defeat a race like this? Unless the dragons intentionally lost…’
‘This isn’t magic. Boiling water has nothing to do with turning wheels.’
Thanks to this, the three humans, now in a state of shock and awe, could only nod in response.
“Ah, I see. I completely understand.”
‘I’m insane. How could I belittle the dragons like that? Leopoldus, you’re unfit to be a monarch.’
It was a sudden moment of regret.
* * *
Five days passed.
The three humans had fallen into a groggy state, no longer capable of surprise.
[What’s this soup? How can it taste so gourmet with no solid ingredients in it…?]
[Ah. This is what’s called ‘delicious’.]
[…What?]
[Just kidding. It’s MSG, a seasoning that Silvi made. Everyone in Millenia uses it nowadays.]
The simple meals they served were nothing special,
[…Seras, I just closed my eyes for a moment and when I opened them, why are there orcs farming the fields?]
[The locomotive has been running nonstop overnight.]
[This is insane.]
Except for the occasional stops for maintenance, the locomotive’s speed with no rest was a constant source of surprise.
Every day was filled with astonishment. They had reached a point where they felt they would no longer be surprised no matter what happened.
But then…
– Millenia once again effortlessly surpassed their imagination.
“Everyone, wake up. We’ve arrived at the final destination. The capital, Ermion.”
“Ugh… Finally. No, we’ve already arrived.”
“Your Majesty. We shall escort you.”
The humans finally set foot in Millenia. Then, tap, a sharp, lively footstep echoed.
It sounded as if they were walking on finely polished marble.
Everyone’s gaze instinctively dropped downward.
‘This… my goodness.’
‘When did they polish such stones this finely? Magic?’
‘Even if they’re from another race, do they have the workforce to polish all of this?’
What they saw was a smooth, stone-like floor.
‘Wait, even the tracks are strange.’
‘How could they process such iron to make tracks like these? And across such a long distance, connecting Arkenia with the Great Forest?’
I’d need a thousand people for this work, even the dwarves would struggle.
The tracks stretched endlessly before them.
No matter how they looked at it, this wasn’t something that could have been built in just a year.
“What is all this…? Seras! What’s going on?”
“I… I don’t know! It was definitely just a forest until a year ago. It was, I swear!!”
The humans were stunned and panicked, but…
Wiz, as usual, wasn’t particularly surprised.
This was the change her steam engine had brought about.
“Quite a lot has changed, huh? Millenia.”
“You can’t just say ‘a lot has changed!’ How could all of this have happened in just a year?”
“This too is thanks to the steam engine. Just like the one we rode in.”
“What does that have to do with turning wheels?!”
“…Sigh. How much do I need to spell out for you?”
“It can’t be helped. Come along, I’ll give you a tour.”
“A tour? What exactly are you showing us?”
Whoosh.
– Factory.
She decided to show them another fragment of the miracle that was the Industrial Revolution.
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