"Vulcan... Vulcan..."
An old dwarf mumbled, his words slurred. He had already drunk his fill of distilled spirits and passed out. To explain how things got to this point, I have to go back to the moment right after the mana stone furnace was activated.
‘Is he really the child of the prophecy?!’
‘Heavens, inform His Highness at once! A descendant of Vulcan has appeared!’
The dwarves were in a great frenzy over this Vulcan person or whatever. So much so that I wondered if I was about to be genuinely kidnapped. I had to calm them down somehow... but I didn't know how.
Just then, Callen had spoken to me.
‘Chairman, since it has come to this, let’s use that.’
‘That?’
‘The distilled spirits.’
‘Come on... what’s that going to change...’
It changed things. Once I brought out the distilled spirits stockpiled in the workshop, the dwarves' aggression noticeably diminished. The dwarves gathered in small groups and chugged the distilled spirits straight from the bottle.
Gulp, gulp.
"Kuhhh~!"
"This is it! This is what I came down for!!"
"So, what was that fire just now?"
Once some alcohol was in their systems, we could finally talk. The opposite of humans. I explained it to them, step by step.
"You see, it's not fire, it's heat..."
I told them I didn’t know about any Vulcan, and that the heat I’d just shown them was simply the energy of a mana stone converted into thermal energy.
"What? It was just magic?"
"Ah, forget it then!"
This wasn't the reaction I was expecting. I said to them.
"No. It's incredibly difficult to maintain this level of thermal power stably with a mana stone!"
But the dwarves didn't pay my words any mind. dig dig They just sat there, picking their ears. It seemed dwarves had absolutely no interest in magic. If I had shown this to the people at the Magic Tower, they would have all lost their minds and rushed over...
To see a seed that could spark an industrial revolution if commercialized and react like this. Regardless, the dwarves were having a grand old time with their drinking party.
Gulp, gulp.
They drank the strong distilled spirits as if it were barley tea.
"Damn it all! I don't know about some mage, but I really like you, kid!"
"Ugh! Sir, please move your beard!"
The drunken dwarves surrounded Callen. Young and with a healthy liver, Callen became the dwarves' target. For reference, Tobin, perhaps due to his age, drank moderately and then excused himself.
I sat a little ways off, watching the chaos.
"Uahahaha, I won!"
"Do it again! You spilled half of it on the ground!"
Dwarves drink a truly terrifying amount of alcohol.
‘The amount I gave them last time must not have even registered.’
If I drank at that pace, I would have blacked out long ago.
Gulp.
Fortunately, I was drinking the beer Balkan had brought, so I was fine. Balkan came over to the seat next to me and spoke.
"Does the drink suit your palate?"
"Ah, yes. This is delicious."
"I was worried it might spoil on the way, so I added more hops. I'm glad it suits you."
No wonder it was a bit bitter. A moment later, Balkan said.
"So you're not the reincarnation of Vulcan. I was completely fooled."
"I've been wanting to ask, but what exactly is this Vulcan?"
"That is..."
Balkan began to explain. According to dwarven mythology, all fire on earth resembles the sun.
"That fire of the sun is called Vulcan."
"I see."
"And there is a legend that when the sunlight one day fades, a descendant of the sun will come down from the sky and plant a second and third sun in this land."
"And that descendant of the sun is the reincarnation of Vulcan?"
"That's right. That's it."
"Hmm..."
I tilted my head. A fire that resembles the sun.
"Nuclear fusion?"
If that's truly Vulcan's fire, then maybe it will be possible someday.
"Hm? What was that?"
I thought I had mumbled quietly, but it seems Balkan heard me.
"Uh... please don't misunderstand. The principle by which the sun shines is a bit different from fire on earth. That's what I was talking about."
At my explanation, Balkan furrowed his brow.
"I know that much."
"Huh? Really? Then what's with the myth?"
"Who believes myths literally? It's just a symbol that binds the dwarven community together."
This response actually made me feel embarrassed. I said to Balkan.
"Then everyone was making such a big deal over a mere symbol?"
"Because Vulcan is a very precious symbol. The people of the Empire don't actually think the Emperor is the sun, but they get angry if someone denies it, don't they?"
"Hmm... I think I can understand that a little."
Balkan said, as if tossing the words out.
"We also know that the higher you go into the sky, the harder it is for fire to burn. So how could the sun's fire be the same as the fire on earth?"
"Ooh..."
That's surprising.
To think they've experienced the high-altitude environment where oxygen becomes thin. I said to Balkan.
"That's incredible. What did you use to verify that?"
"We either heated a bag filled with air with fire to ascend..."
This must be a hot air balloon.
"...we also tried to fly by using the recoil of a sturdy cannon packed with gunpowder as propulsion."
Is this... a rocket? Skipping airplanes and going straight to rockets?
How fascinating...
But on second thought, it made sense. From a dwarf's perspective, things like wind tunnel tests would feel boring and pedantic. They'd much prefer to build a 'super sturdy yet lightweight body' and fly with gunpowder.
The part holding the gunpowder would be aluminum. I wonder if they covered that with steel? I said to him.
"That's amazing. But... it must have been very difficult."
"Many died and were injured."
Balkan's voice grew heavy. Without a word, I held out my beer mug to Balkan.
"Then, let's make sure no one gets hurt when we fly the airship."
Balkan's bushy beard twitched.
He said.
"Yes. We must."
Clink.
The rough wooden mugs clinked against each other.
The news that the dwarves had ended their isolation spread throughout the Empire. Normally, it would have taken months for the news to spread across the Empire by word of mouth. But things were different now.
[Upperhills Workshop Joins Hands with Dwarf Artisans!]
This was because of the Empire's first periodical, the [Upperhills Newspaper]. Magic Tower Student Cafeteria.
"Wow... where in the world is this guy planning to go?"
Elara exclaimed in admiration, holding the newspaper open. Gwendolyn, setting down her tray on the opposite side, chimed in.
"I know, right? Dwarves, I never would have imagined."
"What, when did you get here? More importantly, what brings you to the student cafeteria?"
"Because of that news, the juniors in my school are in an uproar. I couldn't handle it, so I came to take refuge for a bit."
"Aha..."
Elara immediately understood what Gwendolyn was talking about. Her situation was similar, after all.
"So it's the same for you. Me too..."
Elara had also fled her lab after being bombarded with questions. All of this happened just because she was acquainted with Isaac.
Elara continued.
"But if it's this bad for us, isn't it even worse for his roommate, Liam?"
"Ah, him? I heard he took sick leave and went on vacation as soon as the news broke."
"He's fast..."
It was a decisive action, completely different from the Liam of a year ago. The news of the dwarves was also the talk of the salons across the Empire. A noble who had won a bid for an airship ticket at auction said.
"What did I tell you? I said buying early would be profitable, didn't I?"
With the news that dwarven artisans had joined the project, the ticket prices were skyrocketing by the day. A noble who hadn't managed to win a ticket set down his teacup and said.
"Damn it... I should have bought it then. Is there any news of a second auction?"
"How would I know? Hahaha."
"... Stop bragging. If I had enough money, I would have joined the auction without a worry."
"Hahahaha."
The nobles who had already secured their tickets were drunk on the feeling of victory. The vision of riding a dwarven creation and flying through the sky like the Emperor seemed within reach. However, the true winner of this whole affair was someone else...
It was none other than Princess Isolde.
Hahaha.
Princess Isolde laughed.
"The tea tastes especially good today."
"Are you that pleased?" drip drip The Dean refilled Isolde's teacup each time she took a sip.
The princess said.
"Of course."
The princess gazed out the Magic Tower window towards where the Upperhills Workshop would be and continued.
"I may have boasted to young Isaac that he could spend as much money as he wanted..."
In truth, her finances were quite tight. Floating a steel fortress that could carry 1,000 people into the sky. It was a massive project that required pouring in a significant portion of the imperial budget.
One wrong move and the finance minister and the president of the central bank might have died of stress-induced illness. But it was fine now.
"I hear the black market price for the first auction tickets has surpassed thirty times the initial bid."
Sip.
"I see." drip drip The princess nodded with a satisfied smile.
"It's all according to plan."
She had intentionally released a very small number of tickets in the first auction before the news of the dwarves' involvement was announced. The tickets sold for quite a high price. However, after some time had passed and the nobles had regained their composure, a sentiment spread that 'whoever bought them was a sucker.'
That was only natural. Until then, no information had been released. But what if the dwarves appeared at this juncture?
The nobles who held the tickets would do their utmost to pay back the insults they had endured. Hearing the princess's plan, the Dean spoke.
"Then the nobles who missed the opportunity will be seeking the next chance by any means necessary."
"Exactly."
The market was heated to a fever pitch.
"If we hold the second auction now..."
"You will be able to rake in the money."
"Exactly."
Sip. drip drip "If all goes well, we might even be able to cover the entire construction cost of the airship."
"I see."
Of course, even after scraping all that money together, this year's budget would still be tight. The metric system, paper, and the typewriter. The budget was depleted from introducing all three at the same time.
Still, it couldn't be helped. This was an investment in Isaac, the future of the Empire.
Hahaha.
The princess set down her teacup with a satisfied smile. The Dean watched her quietly.
‘I wonder, will it really all go according to plan?’
In her hundreds of years, the Dean had witnessed the rise and fall of countless projects. Thus, she knew. That a project where the source of funds and the client are separate will 'always' result in budget overruns.
But the Dean didn't bother to voice her thoughts and throw a wet blanket on the mood. The die was already cast. The Dean simply prayed that Isaac had at least a shred of conscience left.
"What? You think we might run short on money?"
At my words, Balkan frowned.
"It can't be helped. If we build it like this, it'll just be a crude box that takes the full brunt of the wind's resistance. Do you really want to send something that ugly into the sky?"
"Hmm..."
I looked at the blueprint again. Indeed, Balkan was right. The existing design had an angular shape for manufacturing efficiency.
But for a ship that flies through the sky, a smooth, streamlined form is far more advantageous. Of course, since the airship flies with gravity magic, fluid dynamics don't need to be a major consideration. That was why I had made the initial draft this way.
‘No. Is this more beneficial because we don't have to magically control the air outside the hull?’
Making it streamlined would put less strain on the floating stones. This meant its operational range would be wider. Balkan said to me.
"How about it? Revising the design."
"Hmm..."
The problem is the manufacturing cost. A curved design costs a lot of money.
But...
"Well, let's do that."
I gave a casual nod.
"... You're agreeing this easily?"
It was Balkan, rather, who seemed flustered.
"Don't humans consider money to be very important?"
I shrugged.
"It's not my money anyway."
The Imperial family is funding it; there's no way they'll be unable to build it for lack of money.
"Hmm... I suppose you're right."
Balkan nodded.
I looked at the revised blueprint Balkan had drawn. The streamlined body was captivating. As expected, a space carrier is better than a battlecruiser.
It's beautiful.