Chapter 5:

The party arrived at the village after 2 days. Emilia after introducing herself to the leaders went straight to install the new barrier it will take her a few days to get done but she was glad to help. 'I am so glad Subaru won't be doing something dangerous here. Nothing bad can possibly happen right?' She pondered her thought for a while. 'Other than failure being a possibility at least Subaru can't be harmed.'

Meanwhile Subaru and the others were installing themselves in an abandoned house outside of the town to the north.

Subaru: "Finish unloading, me and Beako will take a look around to see where it's best to eventually put the steel mill and fabric factory."

Beatrice: "I still don't get what you're talking about in fact."

Ivan: "Well the steel mill is well, a mill that should in theory make large amounts of steel and make it cheap."

William: "I only know one way of making steel and heard of others but never used them. My technique is good for making small amounts of steel, but I think there should be other cheaper ways of making it in large numbers."

Subaru: "That is where I need you to work together."

Ivan: "I actually believe you overestimate us."

Beatrice: "You mean that you can't make a machine to make steel I suppose?"

Ivan: "I can but we should get someone that knows how to make steel on a large scale."

Subaru: "Maybe I overestimated you guys, do any of you know of someone that can keep the secret?"

Ivan: "Maybe? I don't know if she knows the cheapest steel making techniques, but she talked about helping to make steel in large amounts."

Subaru: "Are you sure she can keep the secret?"

Ivan: "Yes I am sure, as long as you pay her well."

Subaru: "Is she doing anything now?"

Ivan: "She is currently contracted to the Karsten family to aid in making steel for whatever uses they have."

Subaru: "Does she work regularly with them?"

Ivan: "I don't know, maybe once a year?"

Subaru: "Are you absolutely sure she won't talk about this?"

Ivan: "Yes I am, the issue is that since she is contracted to the Karsten household she can't be missing for too long."

Subaru: "So we will only have an adviser, seems good enough to me."

Beatrice: "It will take her a while to come here and go back, I say she could stay a most 2 days under some excuse I suppose."

Subaru: "Very well. Ivan, send her a letter with hushing money, I'll let you use 5 gold coins. Make sure to explain the secrecy of this but don't give any other details."

Ivan: "Immediately."

Ivan went inside to write his letter and the others just stood there.

Beatrice: "Are we going to be standing idly by in fact?"

Subaru: "We better get going."

Subaru and Beatrice went about, after a few hours they decided on a hard patch of land to make the factory and mill. They made it back to the house at mid-day to a working William. He was casting a few metal rods.

Subaru: "Did you do as I advised?"

William: "Yes sir, I am working with iron until we get a working design."

Subaru: "Excellent. You want me to get some lunch? We are heading for the town now."

William: "Yes sir please."

Subaru already gave up on getting William to give up the 'sir' thing, but it still bugged him. He and Beatrice went to the town to get the lunch but found that Ivan was already heading back with everyone's lunch. They headed back and ate.

William worked the entire day making the first machine while Ivan supervised and helped him every now and then making on the fly changes to the design. Meanwhile Subaru was with Beatrice in the house looking at maps planning for the best way to make a new road that connected to the Elior Forest coal with the town. As well as study a bit about the rumors about a lost iron mine on the nearby mountains.

At dusk Emilia made her way the house after going into the town to ask where it was. 'I managed to reach todays objective, but the terrain was worse than expected. I have to tell Subaru that I will be staying longer than expected and send a letter to the mansion.' She reached the house and found William and Ivan working outside.

Emilia: "Hello, you shouldn't work much longer you could get sick."

Ivan: "Don't worry my lady we are almost finished." Ivan was making a few holes on a bright red metal cylinder.

William: "Besides the forge provides almost too much heat my lady. By the way sir Subaru is waiting for you." He remembered Subaru being worried that Emilia may have not had lunch.

Emilia: "Good, keep up your work then."

Emilia went inside the house and found Subaru preparing some tea and Beatrice studying the maps.

Subaru: "Oh, welcome back Emilia-tan did you eat properly today? We kept a portion of food for you. How is the barrier installation going?"

Emilia: "Hello Subaru. I took some food with me for lunch and the barrier installation is going to be delayed somewhat." Subaru now put on a serious face.

Subaru: "Why? Are there more mabeast than expected? Should we call reinforcements?"

Emilia: "Calm down Subaru, its only because the terrain is a lost worse than I expected."

Subaru: "Just that." He felt relieved. "Beako, can you take them the tea I prepared?"

Beatrice: "I can in fact. Just let me make something…ok now I can I suppose."

She picked up the tea and went outside. Emilia went to the kitchen, got her food and sat down to eat.

Subaru: "Emilia-tan I'm going to have to ask for a big one." Emilia was caught off guard.

Emilia: "Don't do anything stupid, if you saw cultist, we will call Garfield and Roswaal first."

Subaru: "Calm down, its nothing like that." Beatrice comes back from delivering tea.

Beatrice: "It's about mineral exploitation in Elior Forest."

Emilia: "But you already gave away mining rights in the fight with the whale."

Subaru: "We mean to start extracting minerals ourselves."

Emilia: "In what part of the forest?" She didn't like the idea of using her forest for such purpose 'maybe it's not as bad as I think.' She thought.

Subaru: "We will mine only the coal deposit where we found William."

Emilia: "Ok, anything else you want to ask for regarding the forest?" Emilia was relived, the coal was far from the part she cared about.

Beatrice: "Yes in fact." She went to the 'map room' and came back. "Here." Beatrice extended a map with the road plan.

Subaru: "We intend to mine the coal and bring it all the way here. For that a new road will have to be built to connect the forest to here."

Emilia saw the line on the map that was intended to be the road with concerned eyes.

Subaru: "Don't worry this will be new type of road much more cheaper to make than the ones used in the kingdom."

Emilia: "It's not that." She pointed a part within Elior Forest. "You must keep out of this area. It is important for me."

Subaru: "Mm."

Beatrice: "Here in fact." She hands Emilia another map. "It's one of specifically Elior Forest. Indicated all and any forbidden areas I suppose."

Emilia: "Oh. Very well, as long as you do not mine or build anything in these areas you are good." Emilia started to draw on the map.

Subaru: "We will keep out of the areas. Should we also forbid people from going in to?"

Emilia: "Maybe? There aren't too many people in the forest regardless."

Beatrice: "To mine, the current population of the forest is lacking so will have to bring people from elsewhere I suppose."

Emilia: "Like how many?"

Subaru: "A few hundred?"

Beatrice: "Maybe a thousand."

Emilia: "What? Give me eraser I will have to give my elves more living space."

Subaru: "That sounds like an awful word choice." He remembered that a man from his world used 'living space' as a casus belli but couldn't recall who exactly or what war.

Beatrice: "What do you mean I suppose?"

Subaru: "Doesn't matter I'm just being silly."

They reached a compromise and the road plan changed accordingly, a few minutes later a tired Ivan and William went inside and explained that the first machine should be ready for testing at mid-day the next day.

Mid-day the next day:

William: "Ok, the water is boiling!"

Ivan: "Turn the valve on your right hand. That will force the vapor into the piston."

William did as instruct and ran to the trench they had made.

William: "Was a trench really necessary?"

Subaru: "Yes if this blows up and we have no cover it's over."

Beatrice: "My contractor is right in fact. Vapor can be very dangerous if contain like this."

They all watched over the trench. The piston started to rise, once it reached the top vapor was seen being exhausted by a hole in the side, the piston fell back, and the exhaust closed. It did not rise again.

Ivan: "This is bad." Ivan pulled a rope that turned over a bucket of water over the fire.

Subaru: "Now we have to wait for it to cool down. Damn it!" He was slightly frustrated but not too much.

William: "Well it did rise and activate the exhaust as intended."

Ivan: "And once it went back down it closed the exhaust but didn't rise again."

Beatrice: "I say it got stuck or fell at an angle in fact."

Subaru: "There is only one way of finding out."

They waited some 30 minutes and went out of the trench, they sprayed water all over the machine to make sure it was well cooled. On first inspection it was obvious that the piston fell at a weird angle and got stuck. Once the metal cooled enough it was reinstalled and the group waited for William to make a safe to keep the piston from falling like it did.

A few hours later:

William: "Took me a while but I think the steam…thing will now work."

Ivan: "Engine, it's called a steam engine."

William: "Well let's hope for the best then."

William turns the valve once the water is boiling and runs into the trench again. The piston went up, the exhaust was triggered, the piston went back down, the exhaust was closed, and it kept going faster and faster until it reached a limit. After a few minutes everyone exited the trench and started to approach the machine. Suddenly the piston got stuck again.

Subaru: "Run, back to the trench! Now!"

They all ran towards the trench, but it was to late, the piston and the boiler blew up and metal shrapnel with boiling water were swung in every direction. Subaru felt a bite on his left leg, he looked down and saw a metal rod piercing his leg above the ankle. Suddenly he felt more pain al over his back. He fell over and suddenly the world went dark.

Beatrice: "I say it got stuck at an angle in fact."

Subaru: "…" He was still processing how he died.

William: "Sir?"

Subaru got back to his senses. 'How could I overlook something so obvious?' he reprimanded himself.

Subaru: "Yes Beako I think it's that, but it could also be the metal expanding because of the heat."

William: "I do not think that's a possibility, the mechanism shouldn't be too hot after less than a minute."

Subaru: "And what about after going for a few minutes or hours?"

William: "Then I would consider it."

Subaru: "Just to make sure could we make the piston less wide?"

William: "Yes sir."

Ivan: "Wouldn't we lose power?"

Beatrice: "It is more important to be safe I suppose."

Ivan: "But we are safe if we stay in the trench."

Beatrice: "And if it works and we come out just to look at it and then blows up?"

Ivan: "Very well spirit sama."

A few hours later:

William: "Took me a while but I think the steam…thing will now work."

Ivan: "Engine, it's called a steam engine."

William: "Well let's hope for the best then."

William turns the valve once the water is boiling and runs into the trench again. The piston went up, the exhaust was triggered, the piston went back down, the exhaust was closed, and it kept going faster and faster. After a few minutes everyone exited the trench and started to approach the machine. Except for Subaru.

Subaru: "How about we just keep watching? Actually. Get down here now!" He was incredibly nervous.

Ivan: "Very well." Ivan notices but attributes it his safety-first approach.

Everyone returns to the trench. After 15 minutes the machine is still going, and nothing happens.

Ivan: "I say we waited enough."

William: "Maybe, what do you say sir?"

Subaru: "Let's leave it alone until it runs out of water."

Beatrice: "Can I ask why?"

Subaru: "To make sure it can go through a full boiler of water without anything bad happening."

William: "Seems good to me."

Ivan: "I say it's a waste of time, we could turn it off take a look and start working on the next design."

Subaru: "We will let it work, after the water runs out William will check for cracks or any sign of wearing on the metal."

William: "So I have to stay here to supervise it?"

Subaru: "We take turns of 1 hour first William, then Ivan, me and lastly Beatrice."

Beatrice: "I come with you I suppose."

Subaru: "Then we have 3 shifts, see you later Will."

The steam engine ran out of water in the middle of Ivan's first turn. He put the fire out and ran to tell the others about the conclusion of today's experiment. They went to check the engine before dinner and William's report was that the machine had only minor signs of wear and some lubricants should fix it. Subaru was very relieved that it did not blowup this time. They went to have dinner.

Subaru: "Good work today guys."

Ivan: "Boss mind if I ask you something?"

Subaru: "No, I don't."

Ivan: "I get that the steam engine is to provide power and move a wheel to move other machinery, but wouldn't it be easier and safer to use watermills?"

Subaru: "And be forced to stick to rivers like barbarians?" He placed some food in his mouth.

Ivan: "Like barbarians?" He thought about the many machines he connected to watermills being dismissed as something barbaric.

Subaru: "Well yeah, a river can freeze, it can flood and dry. A steam engine can't, it will just warm up slower and you can move it from one place to the other."

Ivan: "What do you mean?"

Subaru: "You will see eventually." He chuckled than turned to William. "Will, tomorrow you get melting the steam engine we will build the next one of iron to, until we make one powerful enough."

William: "What? Excuse me sir but can I ask why you wish to melt the one we have?"

Subaru: "Because we will build a bigger one to get more power."

William: "Can I keep this one?"

Subaru: "Why?"

William: "I think it can help me pushing the Bellow."

Subaru: "The what?"

William: "The thing that blows air into the fire."

Subaru was deep in thought he did not think of the steam engine being this useful at such a powerless level. 'Truly a wonder.' He thought.

Subaru: "Very well, but we will switch it out for a steel one that should be safer as soon as we can."

William: "Thanks sir."

A while after dinner Emilia finally made it back and talked about the day with Subaru and Beatrice. Soon after the day was over, and everyone was sleeping.