The Iron Wolf's Maiden Voyage
A month after the contract was sealed, around the time the railway connecting Eisengrad and Volfsberg was completed, the First Workshop of Eisengrad was still a battlefield.
Bang!Clang!Kaboom! Amid the deafening noise, Grody tore at his hair in a frenzy of rage.
“Aargh! The pressure's leaking again! If it leaks one more time, I'll stuff your nostrils with it!”
Covered head to toe in grease, he bellowed at the workers. Dark circles hung under his eyes all the way down to his jawline.
But the fruits of his bone-wearying labor were undeniable. Looming before him was a majestic steel behemoth, fully formed and imposing.
The world's first steam locomotive, Iron Wolf No. 1.
Grody had thought the blueprints looked simple at first glance, but once he cracked it open, it was a nightmare. With the deadline breathing down his neck, he was pulling all-nighters, working like a man possessed.
Just as Grody was yelling his head off, veins bulging, the workshop door burst open. Kyle strolled in with a grin plastered on his face.
“Hey, factory boss. Train rolling yet?”
“Gah! Not you again!”
The moment he spotted Kyle, Grody grabbed a monkey wrench and went on high alert.
“You demon! You called in that Roselin lady and everyone for tomorrow's test run, right? We haven't even finished painting!”
“Chill. As long as it rolls, who cares about looks?”
He pulled a thick leather pouch from his pocket and tossed it to Grody.
“And I've got good news.”
Clink. The heavy jingle of gold coins echoed through the workshop.
“Part of the advance from Roselin. Nail the test run, and she promised all-you-can-eat meat and booze for the afterparty.”
Grody's eyes bulged.
“Oh, and I used some of that advance to order a few dozen barrels of top-shelf black beer from her.”
“Gaaaaah! You greedy lord!”
Grody let out a bizarre howl of joy and fury, hoisting his monkey wrench high.
“Listen up! Everyone on all-nighters starting now! No sleep! If we don't get this hunk of junk's heart beating in two days, we'll all climb into the boiler ourselves!”
“Yes, sir!!”
“Hurry up and wrap this test run so we can drown in booze! Got it?!”
“Woooah!”
The engineers' eyes lit up with vigor. Financial therapy—no, alcohol therapy—worked wonders instantly. Black smoke poured from the workshop chimney all through the night.
Two days later, at Eisengrad Central Station, the mad invention of two lunatics was ready to shake the empire's soil.
From early morning, the station was packed with a sea of people, no room to step.
Eisengrad's domain folk, miners from Volfsberg, and—as promised—Roselin and her entourage there to witness the test run. All eyes were glued to the black steel monster halted on the tracks.
“That's... the train?”
“It really rolls without horses?”
The crowd buzzed with half fear, half awe.
A red ribbon adorned the locomotive's front for the opening. In the open-air cab with no roof, Grody and his assistant clung on, covered in coal dust. The trailing passenger car was just a modified wagon plopped on rails. No polish whatsoever—just a machine that spewed steam.
“Tch, total death-trap open-air vibe. Gotta slap a roof on it later.”
“That's... the train?”
Ella, standing beside me, asked with a scared look.
“It rolls without horses... is it really okay?”
“Don't worry. I guarantee it.”
Hiss—!Pfft, pfft! White steam burst intermittently from the valves, sending people screaming backward.
“Steam pressure max! Boiler nominal!”
Grodi gave me a thumbs-up from the cab, his face smeared with soot.
Once confirmed ready, I escorted Roselin and Serina to the VIP-modified passenger car.
“After you. Time to prove your investment didn't go poof.”
Roselin and Serina boarded first, eyes wide with curiosity. Ella hesitated at the end, peeking warily at the steam-belching beast.
“Um... Master? We really going inside that monster? It won't eat us, right?”
“Told you, it's not a monster. Think of it as a big pot on wheels.”
I shoved the terrified Ella aboard. With all passengers seated, I waved the signal out the window.
Toot—whoooosh!!!
A earth-shattering roar tore through, and the massive iron wheels began to turn. Chuff, puff. Chuff, puff.
“Kyaaah!”
The train lurched into motion, and Ella screamed, clutching the seat handles. The wheels, slower than a walking man at first, picked up speed like a pounding heartbeat.
The steam-powered pistons pistoned like mad, and the steel beast charged down the tracks with unbelievable force.
“Woooow!”
The crowd's cheers faded swiftly behind us. The train accelerated, landscapes blurring into streaks outside the windows.
“My god...!”
Serina pressed against the window, speechless.
“No magic... no mana stones, and it hits this speed and power?”
A world apart from horse-drawn carriages. Even the jolts felt powerful.
Despite its rickety look, the power was overwhelming.
“Master! The trees are whooshing by! Way faster than horses!”
Ella had forgotten her fear, nose smashed to the glass in wonder.
A glance at Roselin showed her staring out the window just like Serina.
At this speed... that two-day mountain trail by carriage? Half a day, tops?
Her mind was clearly crunching numbers like crazy.
“So? Worth the investment?”
I asked with a relaxed smile.
“Fast, I'll give you that.”
Roselin adjusted her glasses and glanced at me.
“Emptied the domain treasury building this thing... but at this speed, recouping it is just a matter of time, right?”
“Recoup? You'll make tens of times that.”
I grinned, admiring the domain scenery whipping by. The train barreled toward Volfsberg, trailing long plumes of black smoke.
About an hour later.
Screeech—!Thud!
The train halted with a harsh screech and jolt. Volfsberg Station—but calling it a station was generous. Just a packed dirt platform and a few tents for rain cover, no proper buildings.
“We're here. End of the line.”
I hopped off first, followed by Roselin and Serina. Grody and the crew swarmed the train for checks, hauling water from the tank to cool the boiler.
I led the dazed Roselin to the adjacent rail yard.
“Now, time to earn our ride back.”
At my signal, waiting miners sprang into action.
Rumble—!Crash!
Hand-cranked cranes swung, dumping black coal and red iron ore into the freight cars. One, two, three cars. Test run limits meant only three, but the sheer volume was immense.
The three linked freight cars filled instantly with dark red bounty. The suspension groaned and sagged under the weight.
“My god...”
Roselin adjusted her glasses in shock.
“You're hauling all that?”
“Rough math: how many wagons equivalent?”
Her eyes darted rapidly.
“...Each car's at least five wagons. Three cars, fifteen wagons...”
“Bingo.”
I rapped the loaded cars.
“Cost of hiring fifteen wagons, feeding fifteen drivers, maintaining thirty horses. Plus breakdowns on mountain roads.”
I added with a smile, “One train run covers it all. Two hours, tops.”
Only then did Roselin grasp the insane transport capacity.
That's when—
“Hey! Milord!”
A burly miner in work clothes stomped over, wiping sweat with a thick forearm.
“What's up, foreman?”
“We came out hyped for this train, but what's this?”
The foreman yelled in complaint.
“If we're just hauling our rocks, why drag us out? Thought there'd be cold beer or meat at least!”
The other miners chimed in.
“Yeah! Got our weekly pay, but nowhere to spend it—itching bad!”
“Merchants, right? Got any trendy empire clothes or shoes? For the wife!”
Ragged work clothes, but their pouches jingled with silver coins as they shook them.
No more starving refugees begging for bread. These were paid workers, itching to spend their hard-earned cash.
“Ah...”
A gasp escaped Roselin. Just as I'd said—a massive consumer hunger, untapped blue ocean.
“Hear that, Roselin?”
I turned to her with a grin.
“Don't come empty-handed next time. If you wanna raid those wallets, stuff the return train with beer barrels and meat.”
Roselin's eyes blazed—not with greed, but fervor.
“...Next run when?”
“Dunno. Soon as Grody finishes maintenance?”
“I'll empty the warehouse tonight if I have to.”
She snapped her fan shut in excitement.
“Don't forget the transport discount. This goldmine's mine.”
“Wouldn't dream of it.”
The train would churn massive profits round-trip. And those profits would flow back as domain taxes.
Toot—whoooosh!
The maintained train bellowed once more. The steel heart, ready to charge again amid black smoke.
Rough-hewn, but the prosperity pulsing through these veins would enrich their lives.
“Let's go. Lots to do back home.”
In the fading sun over Volfsberg's plains, once dying land, mighty whistles and lively laughter spread like hope.