Ch.19Steam Locomotive (1)

Elena Professor’s proposal changed my daily routine slightly. Originally, after all classes ended, I would go to the library or quickly finish my meal and head to my dormitory, but these days I visited Professor Elena’s laboratory.

Today was Friday, when all classes ended. After mailing the manuscript of Biography of Xenon Volume 8 to my parents, I headed straight to the laboratory. I didn’t forget to knock before entering.

A moment later, when I opened the door and entered the lab, the distinctive musty smell greeted me. As soon as I opened the door, I saw Cindy sitting at her desk, busily writing something.

“Hello, Cindy.”

“Helloooo…”

Anyway, when I enter the lab, Professor Elena is often away on business trips, but not Cindy. She always greeted me with her haggard, corpse-like appearance. I had become so accustomed to her appearance that I didn’t pay much attention to it.

“How are you today? Still tired?”

“Maybe a little betterrr…? I’m not sure…”

That drawling way of speaking seems impossible to fix. Well, I heard she’s been exhausted not just for months but for years, so it would be difficult to change.

If she were human, she should have died from overwork by now, but elves seem to be able to endure it sufficiently.

I stared at Cindy, who seemed to be writing a thesis at her desk, and then quietly walked over to her side.

I don’t know how to write a thesis, but Professor Elena asked me to help with the writing itself. So I observed how serious the situation was…

“…Cindy?”

“Yeees…?”

“Could you stop writing for a moment and read what you’ve written?”

“Whyyy?”

That’s how serious it is.

I suppressed those words and urged Cindy again.

“Please read it. From the middle part here.”

“Okaaay… The wars among humans after the Racial War can be said to clearly show the dark side of humans and was the reason why the Empire of Minerva has been able to establish itself as a great power until now and is the reason why many countries are still calling for independence and the Kingdom of Mechaton, which can be called the rival of the Empire of Minerva, has formed alliances with neighboring kingdoms…”

“Stop.”

That’s roughly what it’s like. It’s a complete mess with no readability whatsoever.

‘It’s like looking at my first work…’

Although I was praised for my writing skills in my previous life, they weren’t good from the beginning. Rather, my first work had such terrible readability that people would naturally ask, “What kind of story is this?”

Cindy’s current thesis is repeating the same mistakes that beginners make when writing for the first time.

Not breaking sentences in the middle for readability, connecting everything into one long sentence, or repeating the same words—these are among the most common mistakes beginners make.

Having understood the fundamental problem, I faced Cindy, who was looking puzzled, and asked her:

“Cindy. Do you understand what this means?”

“I doooo…?”

She tilted her head questioningly. I sighed deeply at Cindy’s situation, not even knowing what the problem was.

‘This is a bit too much even so…’

I may have criticized this world’s novels for being like college entrance exam English questions, but theses are an exception. Theses are records written by researchers based on their studies, so it’s fine if they contain technical terms.

However, a thesis must clearly convey what the researcher wants to say to others.

I may not know how to write a thesis, but I clearly understand what purpose it serves. At the very least, it shouldn’t be written haphazardly like Cindy’s.

After wondering where to start, I asked with a hopeful voice:

“Cindy. Have you ever read Professor Elena’s or anyone else’s thesis?”

“Many timeees…”

“And you still write like this?”

With Professor Elena’s help, I once read a thesis she wrote. Although I struggled with the technical terms scattered throughout, I was able to read it thoroughly thanks to all the books I’ve read so far.

Cindy slowly blinked her eyes at my incredulous question and quietly answered:

“Even if I try to write like thaaaat… as I keep writing, it becomes similar to the theses I’ve read…”

“And then it gets rejected for being too similar when evaluated?”

“Yes…”

Is she good at memorizing but poor at application? By human standards, she might seem foolish, but from an elven perspective, Cindy is perfectly normal.

As I’ve mentioned before, humans are inherently lacking in strength and abilities compared to other races, but they possess “learning ability” and “adaptability” to compensate. Comparing entire races, elves are normal, and humans are the abnormal ones.

Take magic, for example. As I said before, magic was historically praised as a “power” that only those chosen by the gods could use. Even as recently as 300 years ago during the Racial War, magic was an ability that only elves, demons, and a very small number of humans could use.

The Demon War 3,000 years ago? There are no records of humans using magic then—only that a very small number of elves used it. The Racial War 300 years ago marks the point when magic began to flow into human society in earnest.

Anyway, in less than 300 years, humans transformed magic into an ability that anyone could use, provided they had the right background, talent, and effort. From the perspective of long-lived elves, this is truly a terrifying rate of development.

‘I’m suddenly curious. Why are humans so quick to learn?’

This was something I took for granted when I was on Earth, a world where only humans existed. Even in fictional works, humans were usually portrayed as learning faster than other races.

But now that I’ve been reincarnated into this world, I’m genuinely curious. Why are humans faster at learning things than other races?

While I was pondering this question, Cindy asked me in her drawling voice:

“So when are you going to teach meee…?”

“Ah, yes, yes. Since Professor Elena asked me to teach you, I should. But let me ask one question first.”

“What is iiit?”

“Have you ever learned composition before?”

I needed to know if I had to teach her from the basics, but I asked just in case. If she had learned at least something, there might be some hope.

Cindy slowly blinked her eyes at my question and quietly answered:

“There were a few people who taught me compositiooon…”

“Huh? What do you mean? Didn’t Professor Elena say there wasn’t anyone?”

“Those were people who helped me, but there were a few people who taught me for moneeey…”

She continued in a more dejected voice than before. Even her pointed ears drooped downward.

“They all ran away saying they couldn’t teach me anymooore…”

“… …”

“I guess I’m… slow even by elven standards, let alone humaaaan…”

The feeling that I’ve been completely duped is certainly not my imagination.

*****

As always, Biography of Xenon caused a stir upon publication, especially Volume 7, which left many readers on edge by cutting off the story at a crucial moment.

As a result, the Crown Prince of Minerva threatened to capture the author and imprison them in the palace, while the Princess pressured for the quick release of the next volume.

Although there was quite a commotion, time heals all wounds, and gradually people calmed down, saying they should wait for the next volume. Subscribers also calmed themselves, focused on their main jobs, and simply waited for time to pass.

About a month after the release of Volume 7, news that the long-awaited Volume 8 would be published appeared in the newspapers. However, there was one sentence that caught people’s attention:

[It contains scenes that may be offensive to nobles.]

This notice was included by the publishing house that first reviewed the manuscript. This statement raised questions not only among nobles but also among most commoners.

What kind of scene would prompt a warning that it might offend nobles specifically? The answer to this question could only be found after the new volume of Biography of Xenon was published.

[“Commoners are below nobles, nobles are below kings, and kings exist because there is a nation. But what sustains that nation is clearly the commoners. In other words, whether king or noble, they are nothing before the commoners. Yet, Count Crost, you are slandering the very foundation of the nation simply because they annoy you. Truly the conduct of a genuine noble, isn’t it?”]

It was a scathing criticism, even though it was spoken by a character in the novel, and one who was also a noble. Although it was a fictional story, the creation of the story is solely the author’s responsibility.

While there have been books or pictures criticizing or satirizing the misdeeds of nobles before, Biography of Xenon was too direct. Considering the influence of Biography of Xenon, it was undoubtedly a dangerous statement, if not unprecedented.

-A scene that starkly reveals the dark side of the nobility.

-Even in reality, there are many incidents of nobles oppressing commoners. They’ve just been covered up so no one knows.

-History repeats itself. If this continues, an event like the “Jeiros Revolution” will happen again.

In fact, there was an event in this world similar to Earth’s “French Revolution.” It was the “Jeiros Revolution” that broke out in the Kingdom of Teres, which has long been considered the eternal rival of the Empire of Minerva.

It is conveniently called the Jeiros Revolution because a person named Jeiros was the leader.

That single revolution shook the Kingdom of Teres and brought down many corrupt nobles. Although the revolution itself did not succeed, its impact was truly formidable and sufficient to raise awareness.

However, despite such a major event, the culture of nobles looking down on commoners remained. Rather, many cases were more viciously concealed to prevent them from becoming publicly known.

-Nobles and commoners are different beings from birth. Even the author of Biography of Xenon shouldn’t insult us like this.

-A novel is just a novel. If Xenon were a real commoner, he would have received a title rather than opposing the nobility.

Because of this, some nobles harshly criticized the early part of Volume 8. However, only a minority of nobles were issuing such severe rebukes, while most nobles simply expressed bitterness.

One critic evaluated these numerous reactions as follows:

-Most nobles who read this story and get angry probably treat commoners like slaves. And they probably openly treat beastmen as slaves too. Truly a noble mindset indeed.

With this heavy factual blow, the nobles who had been criticizing and rebuking fell silent. It was truly an unprecedented spectacle.

In any case, while countries with noble classes were temporarily in an uproar due to the early part of Volume 8, countries without such classes simply shrugged it off.

The noble who had put the protagonist Xenon in danger was eventually stripped of all positions and imprisoned, and Xenon headed to the land of dwarves for a brief rest.

For Biography of Xenon, this was the first journey to a land of a different race rather than a human country, so many subscribers were looking forward to it. Naturally, the dwarves had the greatest expectations and concerns.

“Hmm…”

“What do you think? Isn’t it worth trying to make? There’s even a rough description and drawing here.”

A dwarf with a thick gray beard, a grumpy-looking face, and a short stature was carefully examining a drawing on paper.

Next to him, a young dwarf with a beard just covering his face was urging him on with an excited expression. The gray-bearded dwarf focused only on the drawing, ignoring the chattering dwarf’s urging.

What he was looking at was a drawing that appeared in the middle to latter part of Biography of Xenon Volume 8, published this month. It was attached with something like adhesive to prevent it from falling out while reading and was discovered later.

The gray-bearded dwarf tilted his head and then muttered the name of the drawing mentioned in the book.

“This iron mass is called a steam locomotive?”

“Yes!”

“And this huge iron mass moves through a special engine? Only on a special path called ‘rails’? And it can carry various goods in carriages behind it, not just the front part?”

“Yes!”

“And the principle that moves the wheels is an amplification of the phenomenon when the lid rattles when water is boiled in a kettle?”

“Yes!”

The young dwarf cheerfully answered each time the gray-bearded dwarf asked a question. At this, the gray-bearded dwarf let out a hollow laugh.

“Hehehe. Son? Don’t talk nonsense. A novel should be viewed as a novel; applying it to reality will give you a headache. We should just focus on making better weapons.”

“But Father, it has some realism to it. Isn’t that better than nothing at all?”

In response to his son’s question, the gray-bearded dwarf waved his hand and said in a voice suggesting it was preposterous:

“Realism or not, this old man doesn’t have the energy to make such things. Rather, gather like-minded people and make it together. And coal, as they call it here? Those stones are abundant, so figure it out yourself. We need ‘magic stones’ more than black rocks.”

“So you won’t help?”

“I can’t help directly, but I can provide financial support. Finding manpower should be easy since there are plenty of reckless fools like you.”

“I understand! Please wait a moment! I’ll gather them right away!”

The young dwarf energetically replied and dashed out of the forge. The gray-bearded dwarf chuckled at his son’s passionate behavior and then looked at the paper once more.

The quality of the drawing couldn’t be called good even as a white lie, but the general appearance was clear. Moreover, the book included explanations, so one could understand its purpose.

‘The imagination is remarkable. How did someone come up with this idea?’

It was a concept that even the gray-bearded dwarf, a member of the craftsman race known as masters of creation, and one of exceptional skill among dwarves, couldn’t help but admire.

In the current situation where many people assert that nothing can replace magic, the emergence of such a “machine” would cause an enormous ripple effect.

Humans, in particular, would clearly benefit the most. Even though they lack innate abilities, their learning ability and adaptability are unparalleled.

Perhaps the moment the steam locomotive is invented, they might shift from magic to machinery.

‘Did this fellow really live in another world?’

The gray-bearded dwarf couldn’t help but genuinely wonder about this.