I am interested not only in world history but also in various other histories. While I may not express as deep an interest as I do in world history, I at least superficially research the parts that catch my attention.
And among the inventions representing the Industrial Revolution are the steam locomotive and the steam engine. Although I’m not an engineer and don’t know well how steam engines work, I do know the events through which they were invented.
The steam engine didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere; rather, advanced technological capabilities were gradually accumulated, and the first invention was the steam pump. However, the steam pump of that time had extremely low efficiency and quickly declined. This led to the emergence of a new steam engine.
Of course, even this new version was hardly used except in mines due to its serious flaws. While it had clear drawbacks, in the first place it was nearly impossible to manually remove cold water from deep mines. In this sense, James Watt, by improving such steam engines and widely distributing them, deserves to be called the father of the Industrial Revolution.
With just one steam engine, human civilization rapidly advanced, heralding the beginning of a new era. And the first automobile was powered by a steam engine, appearing before the invention of the steam locomotive.
Undoubtedly revolutionary to people at the time, it unfortunately caused the world’s first traffic accident because it lacked brakes.
For this reason, the inventor was sentenced to two years in prison, and the adoption of steam cars took a different turn. Fortunately, amidst this misfortune, the king recognized his merit and granted him a reward.
Following various improvements, steam power remained the sole source of propulsion until the 19th century, gradually fading into history with the advancement of internal combustion engines and the increasing demand for automobiles.
Though quickly overshadowed, unlike steam locomotives, which are hailed as representatives of the Industrial Revolution, one could argue that the history of automobiles also intertwines with steam engines.
Seeing how horse-drawn carriages were still useful during World War II, it took a considerable amount of time for their commercialization, mainly due to the poor conditions of roads, contrasting with the pre-existing rail tracks for steam locomotives.
Moreover, they were obscenely expensive. Even modern cars are not only pricey but also heavily taxed, so one can only imagine how it was back then. It was a luxury item reserved for the nobility.
Regardless, let’s move past the history lesson and return to the world I’m currently living in.
About six months have passed since the news of Ains inventing the magical engine in the Dwarven kingdom of Makina. At the time, I remember being quite bewildered by the consecutive incidents of explosions during testing.
Although it was quite perplexing at the time, upon closer inspection, it’s not entirely surprising for dwarves to invent magical engines. Dwarves inherently enjoy creating things, and consequently, mining industries have greatly flourished to obtain minerals.
Naturally, pumps would have been invented to remove water accumulating in mines. Thus, it wouldn’t have been much of a stretch to improve upon these pumps and create magical engines, considering their history of innovation.
It’s just that nobody had thought of it until then. Xenon’s Biography was merely an inspiration, nothing more.
There’s a question that arises here. If I knew so well, why didn’t I mention such historical facts in Xenon’s Biography? If I had, wouldn’t it have been invented sooner?
I will answer that question here. I really didn’t know how to make it.
Until recently, before the prophetic incidents began to burst one after another, Xenon’s Biography was nothing but a ‘novel’ that came out of my imagination.
The appearance of the steam locomotive was also just fitting for the characteristics of the dwarves, not something I inserted with any purpose.
From societal culture and incongruent scientific and technological capabilities to the inspiration gained from Xenon’s Biography, and finally, the distinctive creativity of dwarves.
The above elements formed a synergistic triad, giving birth to the ‘Magical Engine’.
And the ‘automobile’, now proudly showing its presence in front of my eyes, is one of the results.
“Hahaha! I owe you for this. I almost had to spend the night outside, what’s up with that?”
“Ah. Yes…”
I responded with a sense of melancholy as I looked at the brown-bearded dwarf laughing heartily in front of me.
True to dwarven nature, he was short and stout, with a thick beard, but his shoulders spread wide and his arms were particularly muscular.
Dwarves naturally love creating, to the point of adoring it, so they were generally blacksmiths.
The reason people call high quality items ‘Dwarf-like’ comes from here. The problem lies in the ‘greed’ that arose after experiencing the taste of money during the racial war, but it was worth it.
“You said you were the son of the lord here, didn’t you? I heard something like that earlier.”
A dwarf with a brown beard confidently asked while resting his hand on his waist. Speaking casually from the first meeting may seem rude on the surface, but that’s how their culture is.
Dwarves worship Harte, the goddess of life and nature. The culture of equality under nature prevails among them. Although there is a “king” who rules over Makina, they are regarded separately. It’s not like they spit out casual language from the first meeting either. In official situations, they politely use honorifics.
So when a dwarf with a brown beard spoke casually to me, it was a sign of gratitude and friendliness. Since I helped him in the scuffle at the entrance to the territory, it’s natural to feel grateful.
I was somewhat familiar with dwarf culture, so I didn’t feel particularly offended or anything. Above all, the dwarf race itself exudes cheerfulness, giving joy to those who see them.
Instead, as the son of a lord, I should show courtesy. I greeted them according to etiquette.
“Yes. I am Isaac Ducker Michelle, the youngest son of the Michelle family.”
“I am Isaac’s fiancée and the eldest daughter of the Duke of Requilis, Marie Hausen Requilis.”
Standing by my side, Marie also elegantly greeted, lifting the hem of her dress slightly. The noteworthy point here is that she mentioned my fiancée status first. For her, emphasizing that she is my fiancée rather than the daughter of the Requilis Duchy was important.
“Ah, I see. Both of you have somewhat peculiar faces, but you make a good couple!”
“… …”
Of course, dwarves don’t know about such things. By the way, dwarves’ aesthetic sense, precisely in terms of appearance, is the opposite of humans and elves. Additionally, they do not lie.
Therefore, if a dwarf says someone is ugly, you should just take it as a compliment. From the perspective of the listener, it might sound harsh, but it’s inevitable due to the racial characteristics.
Fortunately, Marie didn’t get upset, just awkwardly chuckled upon remembering about the dwarven traits. It might feel ambiguous as it walks the line between compliment and insult.
“My name is Ains Martenson. You might have heard of me, the inventor of the magical engine.”
As expected, the name of the brown-bearded dwarf was Ains. The surname Martenson, meaning “son of Marten,” as anticipated, was very similar to Norse culture.
Then, Ains called out to other dwarves behind him to introduce them.
Seeing the short and stout dwarves running over was somewhat comical, but it would be rude to burst out laughing, so I barely held it in.
‘But are my eyes playing tricks on me? Why are they all so…’
They looked similar. Not just vaguely, but all of them had strikingly similar faces, so I blinked a few times.
The only saving grace was that each had a different color of beard. Upon closer inspection, their appearances differed slightly, making it not too difficult to distinguish them.
Most notably, one of the dwarves was bald. With a full beard but a completely bald head, it was very easy to tell them apart.
“Nice to meet you, ugly human. My name is Handy Depison. I’m the friend of this idiot here.”
A dwarf, similar to Ains but with a lighter-colored beard, greeted us sternly. Despite his rough tone, there was a warmth in his face contrasting with his brash manner of speaking.
Moreover, judging by the fact that he called Ains an “idiot,” it seems like they’re close acquaintances.
“Greetings, young man. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Gias Bartson. I want to express my gratitude for your assistance.”
Lastly, the bald one. Yep. Let’s just call him the bald dwarf.
Although I don’t know if he’s aware of human culture like the other two, he politely greeted us.
“Hey. Why are you suddenly using formal language? It sounds like you’re about to throw up.”
“Shut up. You should learn to respect the cultures of other races. You bald-headed idiots.”
Of course, there’s none of that in front of friends. I chuckled weakly at Ains’s clear rebuttal to Handy’s remark.
Whether this way or that, the dwarves were still bursting with personality. It might even be difficult to find people like them.
I welcomed their greetings, then got straight to the point. Their invention, the car, was first and foremost.
“I sincerely welcome you to the Michelle estate, dwarves. Is that also brought for the exhibition?”
“Yes. Of course. Thanks to the steam locomotive mentioned in Xenon’s Biography, we were able to reveal it to the world.”
Ains answered my question with his thick arms crossed, solemnly. Confidence in his own creation was evident.
“He’s talking as if he developed everything on his own, huh? I made the braking system and the speed conversion device, didn’t I?”
“I also added the directional control and mana storage function. The guy who only developed the shell talks too much.”
Of course, two other dwarves strongly objected. Ains, however, seemed to have nothing to say on that matter and just scratched his head with a puzzled expression.
By the way, it seems that the car had brakes and gears. The first steam car from my past life didn’t have those, which caused the first traffic accident.
The design seems to be like they just took the part of the carriage where the horse leads and separated it. Instead, everything needed for the driver’s seat is there.
As I was marveling at the car, Marie seemed to become curious too and asked with an interested expression.
“Can I ride it once? I’m curious about how it feels.”
“Of course. Would you like to drive it?”
“Me?”
I was unexpectedly encouraged to drive. Perplexed, I pointed at myself with my finger and asked back.
Ains nodded at that gesture and even confirmed it.
“Yeah. Since you helped us, it’s only fair we show some kindness. Driving itself isn’t difficult; you can easily do it with just some explanation.”
“Um…”
As I listened to his explanation, I shifted my gaze to the car. Interfering with the dwarves’ cultural creations is a kind of favor.
So, I didn’t really mind being treated casually. The biggest problem was that I know what a car is.
Above all, in my past life, I was what’s known as a “sunday driver,” someone who had a license but never actually drove. I knew what a car was, so instead of excitement, I felt fear.
“Just give it a try once. I want to see Isaac driving too.”
Marie said, nudging me from the side.
Seeing the anticipation in her blue eyes, I couldn’t refuse when she looked at me like that. With a sigh, I reluctantly agreed, pretending to give in.
“Alright. But I’ll move slowly, so keep that in mind.”
“Okay!”
“And Mr. Ains, please help from the side.”
“I don’t want my masterpiece to be ruined either.”
Fortunately, the place where the car was parked was far from the town and the streets, making it a good spot for driving. It was such a conspicuous thing that there was no other choice.
Eventually, Marie settled in the backseat, or rather, the part with the roof if we were to call it a carriage, and I planted myself in the driver’s seat. Despite being a Sunday driver, there was still a faint sense of familiarity sitting in the driver’s seat, which felt strange.
From a distance, I hadn’t noticed, but as the dwarves mentioned, everything was there. Not just the steering wheel, but also the accelerator and brakes below.
The problem was…
“…My legs don’t fit in.”
“Oh. Sorry. It must seem small for humans.”
It was built based on dwarves, so it didn’t accommodate my leg length. Although it’s possible to squeeze in, driving was out of the question. Eventually, driving was left to Ains, and I had no choice but to sit in the passenger seat like Marie. Fortunately, the ceiling was high enough for comfortable seating.
Hummm…
As I sat facing Marie, noisy sounds began to emanate from behind us.
Curious about the noise, I turned around and saw a strange object installed there.
It was small and not buzzing, but vibrating like a cell phone.
“That’s the magical engine, Ains’ true masterpiece.”
Explained the bald dwarf, Gias, from beneath the carriage. It seemed like that was the engine of the car.
“But then how were the brakes, transmission, steering, and battery made?”
“All of those are contained within this. It was a bit of a challenge to miniaturize them. However, the transmission device is still incomplete…”
I had to board after hearing his words to the end.
“…Not being able to control the speed freely and having to rely on preset configurations is a flaw.”
Wooom!
If I had known that, I would have anticipated the sudden acceleration from the first ride.
“Eek!”
“Ugh!”
With a sudden start, both Marie and I screamed in surprise. And if there’s a sudden start, of course, the law of inertia follows suit.
As a reaction, my body involuntarily leaned towards Marie for a moment. Thankfully, I desperately grasped onto balance and narrowly avoided a collision.
Instead, I collided with an eco-friendly airbag. Honestly, Marie’s chest airbag is much better than getting a face full of it.
It’s not as cushy as Cecily’s, but Marie’s chest is sizable enough to absorb the impact.
Momentarily distracted by the softness, I quickly pulled away and adjusted my posture.
Marie, on the other hand, is covering her chest with both arms, her face flushed from the sudden turn of events. She seems flustered by the completely unexpected situation, though she’s seen it all before.
“Are you… okay? I’m not as big as Cecily, so…”
Typical of Marie to be embarrassed but still manage to say what needs to be said. She soon regained her composure and asked me.
Nodding in response to her question, I coughed lightly. Then, I jokingly threw a comment.
“It seems like they’ve grown since last time?”
“Pervert.”
Marie blushed bashfully at my joke. As I glanced at her, I complained to Ains, who was driving.
“Mr. Ains! You should warn us if it suddenly starts like this!”
“Sorry! Sorry! I forgot to adjust the velocity conversion device and started off like that! I’ll be more careful from now on!”
Ains immediately apologized, perhaps realizing his mistake. I accepted his apology, and Marie and I began to enjoy the feeling of our first ride.
As expected from something crafted by dwarves, the ride was quite comfortable. Moreover, the windows were open, making it easy to look around.
“It’s really amazing. How does it move without making a sound?”
“Yeah.”
In my past life, I had ridden not only cars but also airplanes. To me, magic was far more fascinating than anything else.
I wondered if someday in this world, airplanes rather than cars would be invented. And if so, when?
Airplanes were invented after steam locomotives and about a century later by the Wright brothers. In other words, it could take at least 100 years.But with the ability of magic, perhaps it could be accelerated.
I’ll just stick to writing books.
“How is it? Isn’t it great?”
“It’s amazing.”
“Hahaha! This is the power of magical engines!”
Today, I learned about the potential of dwarves.
*****
And that evening, I learned one more characteristic of the dwarf race.
“An accident?”
“Yeah. Apparently, they had a crash while driving drunk.”
“…”
“In such cases… do you have any suggestions on what to do?”
Characteristic of the dwarf race: They really enjoy drinking.
‘The world’s first traffic accident and the world’s first drunk driving…’
It’s going to leave a mark in history, isn’t it?
Translators note:
