Ch.258Three Dwarves Will Come (2)

I am a professional translator who is well-versed in various subcultural genres such as comics, animation, and games.

I have a strong interest in various histories, not just world history. While I don’t show as deep an interest as I do in world history, I still conduct at least surface-level research on topics that catch my attention.

Among these is the steam engine, the representative invention of the Industrial Revolution, along with its power source.

I’m not an engineer, and I don’t know exactly how steam engines work, but I do know the events that led to their invention.

The steam engine didn’t just appear out of nowhere with a “poof!” Rather, technological advancements accumulated gradually, with the steam water pump being invented first.

However, the early steam water pump was extremely inefficient and quickly fell out of use, though it did serve as the foundation for new steam engines.

Even these had serious flaws, so they were hardly used outside of mines. Despite their obvious shortcomings, manually removing cold water from deep mines was nearly impossible.

In that sense, James Watt deserves to be called the father of the Industrial Revolution for improving and widely distributing such steam engines.

With the steam engine alone, human civilization developed rapidly, giving birth to a new era in history.

The first automobile was a steam car powered by a steam engine, which appeared before the invention of the steam locomotive.

While it was undoubtedly a revolutionary invention for people at the time, it unfortunately caused the world’s first traffic accident because the inventor failed to include brakes.

As a result, the inventor was sentenced to two years in prison, and the adoption of steam cars was abandoned. The only silver lining was that the king recognized his achievements and awarded him a prize, from what I’ve heard.

After several improvements, steam engines remained the only power source until the 19th century, before gradually fading from history due to the development of internal combustion engines and the need for passenger cars.

Although steam cars were quickly forgotten, unlike steam locomotives which became symbols of the Industrial Revolution, the history of automobiles is still intertwined with steam engines.

Considering that horse-drawn carriages were still useful even during World War II, it took a long time for automobiles to become commonplace. While steam locomotives had pre-laid tracks, roads were in terrible condition.

Above all, they were extremely expensive. Even modern cars are costly and heavily taxed, so imagine how much worse it was back then. They truly were items only nobles could afford.

Anyway, let’s move past the history lesson and return to the world I’m living in now.

It’s been about half a year since news broke that Eins invented the Magic Engine in Makina, the country of dwarves. I recall there was quite a bit of confusion at the time due to a series of unexpected events.

I was too confused then to think clearly, but upon reflection, it’s not strange that dwarves invented the Magic Engine.

Dwarves inherently love creating things, and consequently, mining has developed significantly to obtain minerals.

Naturally, water pumps would have been invented to remove water from mines. Just like in my previous life’s history, improving those pumps to create Magic Engines would have been relatively simple.

They just hadn’t thought of making it before. The Biography of Xenon merely provided inspiration.

You might wonder why, if I knew so much, I didn’t include such historical facts in the Biography of Xenon. Wouldn’t it have been invented sooner if I had?

To that question, I would answer: I truly didn’t think they would actually make it.

Until the series of unexpected events unfolded, the Biography of Xenon was just a “novel” born from my imagination.

The appearance of the steam locomotive was included simply because it aligned with the character of dwarves, not because I had any particular purpose in mind.

Scientific and technological advancements that didn’t match the social culture, inspiration gained from the Biography of Xenon, and finally, the creative nature unique to dwarves.

These three factors combined to give birth to the “Magic Engine.”

And now, one of its products, an “automobile,” is making an impressive presence before my eyes.

“Hahaha! Thanks for this. I almost had to stay outside, you know.”

“Ah. Yes…”

I responded awkwardly to the brown-bearded dwarf laughing heartily in front of me.

True to dwarf nature, he was short with a bushy beard, but his broad shoulders and muscular arms were particularly noticeable.

Dwarves inherently love creating things to the point of obsession, so many of them tend to be blacksmiths.

This is why people often refer to items as “dwarf-made.” The only issue is that they developed “greed” after tasting money during the Racial War, but they do provide value worth the price.

“You’re the lord’s son, right? I think I heard that earlier.”

The brown-bearded dwarf asked confidently, placing his hands on his hips. Though speaking informally to a stranger might seem rude at first glance, this is their culture.

Dwarves worship Hirt, the goddess of life and nature. Their culture is permeated with the belief that everyone is equal under nature.

Although there is a “king” ruling Makina, they consider him separate. Moreover, they don’t immediately speak informally to strangers. They use polite speech with those they’re not familiar with.

So the brown-bearded dwarf speaking informally to me is a sign of gratitude and friendliness. He naturally feels grateful since I helped him when he was having an argument at the entrance to the domain.

Since I was somewhat familiar with dwarf culture, I wasn’t particularly offended. Besides, dwarves as a race exude cheerfulness, bringing joy to those who see them.

Nevertheless, I should maintain proper etiquette as the lord’s son. I greeted him according to protocol.

“Yes. I am Issac Dukar Mayshall, the second son of the Mayshall family.”

“I am Marie Housen Reckyless, Issac’s fiancée and the eldest daughter of the Reckyless ducal family.”

Marie, standing beside me, also greeted them elegantly, slightly lifting the hem of her dress. What’s notable here is that she introduced herself as my fiancée first.

For her, being my fiancée was more important to emphasize than being the eldest daughter of the Reckyless ducal family.

“Aha. I see. Both your faces are a bit like that, but you make a very well-matched pair!”

“…”

Of course, dwarves don’t care about such things. For reference, dwarves’ aesthetic sense, specifically regarding appearance, is the opposite of humans and elves. Additionally, they don’t lie.

Therefore, if a dwarf says you’re ugly, take it as a compliment. It might be awkward for humans to hear, but that’s just their racial characteristic.

Fortunately, Marie seemed to know about this dwarf trait and merely smiled awkwardly without getting angry. She must have felt the ambiguity of being at the boundary between compliment and insult.

“My name is Eins Martison. You may have heard of me, the inventor of the Magic Engine.”

As I expected, the brown-bearded dwarf’s name was Eins. The surname Martison means “son of Martin,” confirming my suspicion that their culture is very similar to Northern European culture.

Next, Eins called over the other dwarves who had come with him to introduce them.

The dwarves who were inspecting the car stopped what they were doing and approached us when Eins called.

Watching the short dwarves scurrying over was somewhat comical, but I suppressed my laughter as it would be rude to laugh openly.

‘Is there something wrong with my eyes? Why do they all look so…’

Similar. No joke, they all looked alike, and I had to rub my eyes several times.

The only fortunate thing was that each had a different beard color. Looking closely, their appearances did differ slightly, so it wasn’t impossible to tell them apart.

Moreover, one of the dwarves was bald. He had a lush beard but no hair on his head, making him very easy to identify.

“Nice to meet you, ugly human. My name is Handai Defferson. I’m this idiot’s friend.”

A dwarf with a lighter-colored beard similar to Eins’s greeted me stiffly. Despite his rough and somewhat harsh tone, his face was full of goodwill.

Moreover, the fact that he called Eins an idiot suggests they’re close friends.

“Pleased to meet you, young human. My name is Kias Bartson. I would like to express my gratitude for helping us.”

Finally, the bald one. Yes, let’s just call him the bald dwarf.

Unlike the other two, he greeted me politely, perhaps knowing about human culture.

“Hey. Why are you suddenly using formal speech? It makes me want to throw up.”

“Shut up. You should learn to respect other races’ cultures, you ill-mannered fools.”

Of course, such formality disappears among friends. I let out a slight laugh watching Kias sharply retort to Handai’s criticism.

One way or another, these dwarves were certainly full of character. It would be difficult to find people like them elsewhere.

Having received their greetings, I decided to get straight to the point. First, their invention: the automobile.

“I sincerely welcome you to the Mayshall domain, dear dwarves. Is that also something you brought for the exhibition?”

“Of course. Thanks to the steam locomotive mentioned in the Biography of Xenon, that too could make its appearance in the world.”

Eins answered my question solemnly, crossing his thick arms. His confidence in his creation was evident.

“This guy talks like he developed it all by himself? The stopping function and speed conversion device were made by me, you know?”

“I added the steering mechanism and mana storage function. The one who only developed the shell sure talks a lot.”

Of course, the other two dwarves strongly objected. Eins seemed to have nothing to say in response and scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.

By the way, it seems this car also has brakes and gears. The steam car from my previous life didn’t have such things, which is why it caused the first traffic accident.

The design looks like a carriage with the horse-drawn part removed. Instead, it has everything needed for a driver’s seat.

While I was looking at the car with curiosity, Marie also seemed interested and asked a question with an intrigued expression.

“Could I possibly ride in it? I’m curious about what it feels like.”

“Of course. Would you like to drive it?”

“Me?”

I was suddenly offered the chance to drive. Surprised, I pointed at myself and asked again.

Eins nodded and confirmed.

“Yes. You helped us, so we should show our goodwill too. Driving itself isn’t difficult; you can do it easily after a brief explanation.”

“Hmm…”

I shifted my gaze to the car as I listened to his explanation. In dwarf culture, allowing someone to handle your creation is a form of goodwill.

So I don’t mind being treated like a driver. The biggest issue is that I know what kind of object a car is.

Moreover, in my previous life, I only got a license but never drove—what they call a “closet license.” Knowing what a car is, I felt more fear than anticipation.

“Just try it once. I want to see Issac driving too.”

While I was deeply contemplating, Marie urged me from the side.

Looking at her, I could see her blue eyes were full of expectation.

How could I refuse when she looked at me like that? I sighed and reluctantly agreed.

“Alright. But I’ll move slowly, just so you know.”

“Okay!”

“And Eins, please help me from the side.”

“I don’t want my masterpiece to be wrecked either.”

Fortunately, the location of the car was far from the village, making it a good place to drive. It was a necessary measure given how eye-catching it was.

Eventually, Marie sat in the back seat—what would be the roofed area in a carriage—and I placed myself in the driver’s seat.

Despite having a closet license, some vague sense remained, and sitting in the driver’s seat felt strange.

I hadn’t noticed from a distance, but as the dwarves mentioned, it had everything. Not just the steering wheel, but also the accelerator and brake below.

The problem was…

“…My legs don’t fit.”

“Ah. Sorry. It must be quite small for humans.”

It was made for dwarves, so my legs wouldn’t fit. I could squeeze in, but driving would be impossible.

In the end, I had to leave the driving to Eins and sit in the passenger seat with Marie. Fortunately, the ceiling was high enough to allow comfortable seating.

Vrooom-

As Marie and I sat facing each other, a loud noise came from behind.

Wondering what it was, I looked back and saw a strange object installed there.

It was generally the size of a small box and was vibrating like a mobile phone rather than rattling.

“That’s the Magic Engine. Eins’s true masterpiece.”

The explanation from the bald dwarf, Kias, came from beneath the carriage. It seemed that was the car’s engine.

If that was the engine, I wondered how they made the brakes, transmission, steering wheel, and battery. I voiced this question to Kias.

“If that’s the Magic Engine, where are the other functions installed? You mentioned earlier that there are brakes and a speed conversion device?”

“They’re all contained within. It was quite a challenge to miniaturize them. However, the speed conversion device is still incomplete…”

I should have listened to his explanation until the end before boarding.

“…It can’t freely adjust the speed; it only follows preset settings, which is a drawback.”

Vroom!

If I had, I would have known about the sudden start from the beginning.

“Kyaa!”

“Ugh!”

Both Marie and I screamed at the unexpected rapid acceleration. And of course, where there’s sudden acceleration, Newton’s law of inertia follows.

As a reaction, my body inevitably lurched toward Marie momentarily. Fortunately, I desperately maintained my balance and narrowly avoided a collision.

Squish-

Instead, I just bumped into an eco-friendly airbag. Honestly, Marie’s chest airbag was much better than a face collision.

Though not as large as Cecilly’s, Marie’s chest was still quite substantial and could absorb all the impact.

Momentarily distracted by the softness, I quickly pulled my face away and adjusted my posture.

Marie was also covering her chest with both arms and blushing at the sudden situation. I had already seen everything, but she seemed flustered by the unexpected turn of events.

“A-Are you okay? Mine aren’t as big as Cecilly’s…”

True to her nature, Marie was embarrassed but still spoke her mind. She soon regained her composure and asked me.

I nodded in response to her question and cleared my throat. Then I casually made a joke.

“They seem to have grown since last time?”

“…Pervert.”

Marie smiled bashfully at my joke. After looking at her, I protested to Eins in the driver’s seat.

“Eins! How could you start so suddenly!”

“Sorry! Sorry! I forgot and left the speed conversion device as it was when I started! I’ll be more careful from now on!”

Eins immediately apologized, seemingly realizing his mistake. Having heard his apology, Marie and I began to fully enjoy our first ride.

True to dwarf craftsmanship, the ride was quite comfortable. Moreover, the windows were open, making it easy to look around.

“This is amazing. How does it move without horses?”

“Indeed.”

In my previous life, I had ridden not just cars but even airplanes. For me, magic is actually more fascinating.

I wonder if someday this world will see the invention of airplanes, not just cars. And if so, when might that be?

Airplanes were invented by the Wright brothers about a century after steam locomotives. In other words, it might take at least 100 years.

However, with the ability of magic, perhaps it could happen sooner. I just need to write books.

“How is it! Incredible, right?”

“It’s amazing.”

“Muhahaha! This is the power of the Magic Engine!”

Today, I learned about the potential of dwarves.

*****

And that evening, I learned one more characteristic of dwarves.

“…An accident?”

“Yes. They say he had an accident while driving under the influence of alcohol.”

“…”

“In such cases, what do you think should be done… Do you have any suggestions?”

Dwarf racial characteristic: They love alcohol very much.

‘The world’s first traffic accident and the world’s first drunk driving…’

This will certainly make a mark in history.