American: Native Empire

Meanwhile, at this time, a rapid generational change of transportation was taking place.

And the leader of that change was none other than the bicycle.

“That should do it.”

Karl Mayer, who immigrated to the Wakan Tanka Empire from Europe and enrolled in the Imperial University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.

He had been improving the powered aircraft for quite a long time after succeeding in the first powered flight.

And when he achieved some visible results, he was finally satisfied. 

Of course, he could have gained great fame by continuing to research powered aircraft, but he had his original research topic and did not want to be greedy any longer.

“Thank you for everything. I gained a lot of glory thanks to you, Engineer Karl.”

“Haha. How could that be only because of me? It was more because of your skill, Black Shadow. I hope you will show your talent in another laboratory and pioneer the skyway of the empire.”

“I will do my best.”

The two who made and flew the powered aircraft exchanged a deep friendship and parted ways for their careers.

After finishing the research on powered aircraft, Karl Mayer proceeded with his plan and resumed his research on bicycles.

“I’m glad you’re back. You’ve been working hard.”

“I don’t know if I came back for nothing. You’ve improved the bicycle so much without me.”

“Hey, what are you talking about?”

“Haha.”

Karl Mayer smiled, but half of it was sincere. 

It was because it had improved a lot compared to his last work.

‘You knew this would happen, right? Well, it’s good for me.’

It was only natural. It would have been strange if the elites of the Imperial University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering did nothing with time given.

And although it had improved a lot now, it was still lacking to use bicycles as a popular means of transportation.

“If we improve it a little more, bicycles can really become a popular means of transportation. So let’s work harder.”

“Yes, sir.”

After that, they started working on improving bicycles in earnest. 

And just then, good news came.

“Haha! If we apply this, we can solve a lot of the shock absorption problems that we’ve been having!”

“Let’s apply it right away.”

“Yes!”

The reason they were so happy was because a research institute in the Central Continent had developed pneumatic tires.

This allowed Karl Mayer to relax a bit. 

It was very important to absorb the shock on the body when popularizing bicycles, and the appearance of pneumatic tires was like rain after a drought.

“Good. It’s very sturdy.”

Karl pressed the finished pneumatic tire for bicycles and nodded his head.

And when he actually drove it, he was even more satisfied. 

He crossed the bumpy road, but the shock that came to his buttocks over the saddle was greatly reduced.

The rest of the improvement was smooth. 

They completed the brake system and connected the pedals to the chain. 

They also finished the wheels so that they would not be easily crushed.

And finally, they made a satisfactory bicycle.

***

‘It looks heavy just by looking at it.’

This was Kim Ki-woo’s impression when he looked at the improved bicycle.

Before his arrival, Kim Ki-woo had ridden a lot of bicycles. 

And the bicycles he rode at that time were very light.

He could lift them with one hand.

But he could guess the weight of the bicycle in front of him as soon as he saw it. 

And when he actually got on the saddle and rolled the pedals, he realized that his guess was right.

“How is it?”

“It’s good. With this new vehicle, I can move faster than walking.”

But what he said to the Minister of Internal Affairs was different. 

And in fact, Kim Ki-woo was very satisfied.

It was the best they could do in a state where light and strong materials had not been developed yet.

Except for the materials, the rest of the structure was almost identical to modern bicycles. 

From the structure that connects the pedals to the chain and rotates the rear wheel, to brakes, steering, and saddle.

He could feel how much effort the developer of this bicycle had put into it.

“Did Karl Mayer make it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Haha. Wasn’t he improving powered aircraft?”

“I thought so too, but after putting it on track for a while, he went back to researching bicycles.”

“He’s an amazing engineer.”

Aircraft and bicycles. 

The fields were very different, but it was interesting that these world-changing pieces came from one person.

It was because of these scholars that today’s empire was created. 

Kim Ki-woo smiled contentedly.

‘Then I should help make bicycles more popular in the empire.’

Who would know better than Kim Ki-woo how useful bicycles were?

He was confident of success already, so it would be better if bicycles became more common in the empire faster.

So Kim Ki-woo wrote an editorial in The Imperial Newspaper. 

An editorial praising the excellent performance of the bicycle developed by Karl Mayer.

At the same time, he ordered mass production of bicycles without delay. 

Thanks to this, it didn’t take long for bicycles to pour out.

It was thanks to the automated process that had been perfected over time.

The conveyor belt moved, and each part was completed and assembled in a mass production system of small items. 

The production volume of bicycles was very impressive.

However, even though they were mass-produced, the new bicycles sold out in just a few minutes on the day of their launch.

“Are the bicycles really that amazing?”

“Of course. His Majesty praised them so much, how could they be bad? If we hesitate too much, it will take a long time to get a bicycle.”

“True.”

The promotion by Kim Ki-woo through the Imperial Newspaper quickly aroused the curiosity of the imperial citizens, and it was because of their accumulated experience.

Anything that Kim Ki-woo promoted in this way sold out in an instant.

How could they not buy it when it was certain to sell out? 

They could make a lot of profit by reselling it.

Kim Ki-woo knew this and ordered the mass production of bicycles as quickly as possible.

“Oh! There was indeed a reason why His Majesty praised them so much!”

“My workplace is quite far away, so it’s annoying to go back and forth, but it will be less tiring with this thing.”

The imperial territory was so vast that most people had a long distance to their workplace.

Especially for those who had their workplaces in a distance that was awkward for taking a train and too hard to walk, they received a warm welcome.

The paved roads that had been built since a long time ago also shone here. 

Thanks to the flat pavement, the bicycles could move smoothly.

As the praise for bicycles continued, the demand for bicycles increased more and more, and in no time, bicycles quickly took their place in the imperial society.

***

Following the bicycles was the car.

The difference between cars and bicycles was that many engineers had jumped into research since the internal combustion engine was developed.

Of course, most of the engineers were interested in agricultural machinery or heavy equipment in the construction field rather than cars themselves, but there were also many cases of the opposite.

And one of them was Golden Lake.

“Do you really have no intention of entering the Imperial University?”

“I beg your pardon, but I have no intention of leaving my research institute in my hometown.”

“Hmm. That’s a shame. Well, I hope you achieve great research results even when you go back to your hometown. If you ever need funding, don’t hesitate to request support.”

“I will heed your command.”

Golden Lake bowed his head toward Kim Ki-woo.

‘Well, he won’t be short of money. Golden Lake’s achievements have already spread widely. And isn’t that research institute made by that solid pillar?’

As long as there was a solid pillar who offered his back as a sponsor, there would be no situation where he couldn’t do research because he lacked money.

Even if he let go of his hand, there would be a long line of giant merchants who wanted to support Golden Lake. 

That’s how great his achievements were.

After that, Golden Lake left the capital without hesitation and headed back to the South Continent.

On his way back to his hometown, Red Eagle asked him.

“You foolish boy. How could you kick away the opportunity to enter the Imperial University? Sigh…”

“Grandfather did the same thing, didn’t he?”

“I had already done research at the Imperial University for a long time and came back to my hometown at the end. How can you compare me with you?”

“Our research institute with grandfather is more precious to me than the Imperial University.”

“Hehe. You.”

“Aaah! Why are you doing this?”

“Because you’re smart, In-seok!”

Red Eagle suddenly messed up his hair and Golden Lake screamed, but the deep smile on their faces did not disappear.

They finished their long journey and returned to their research institute without delay and plunged into research.

“Why don’t you take a break?”

“I don’t want to. I want to make more things with my own hands.”

“Hehehe.”

He had achieved a great feat, but Golden Lake’s passion did not cool down at all.

Golden Lake had already tasted success once and wanted to taste that sweetness again.

‘You. I envy your youth so much.’

He was already old enough to not know when he would go to the other world, so he was very envious of Golden Lake.

But Red Eagle shook off his regret. He wanted to support Golden Lake’s research firmly for the short time he had left.

“So what kind of research do you want to do this time?”

“…Can I decide?”

“In-seok. Don’t test me. Don’t you have any research you want to do?”

“Well…”

“Don’t worry about me and do what you want. Whatever research you do, we’ll back you up at the institute.”

“Hehe. Then I want to make a car with an internal combustion engine.”

“Oh. I thought you would do something more unusual, but that’s unexpected. Do you have a reason for thinking that?”

“Well…”

Golden Lake scratched his head sheepishly. 

Then he slowly recited the reason.

Red Eagle smiled broadly after hearing everything.

‘He wants to follow in the footsteps of Sharp Fang…’

Well, who wouldn’t admire Sharp Fang, the engineer who was hailed as the greatest in history?

‘Sharp Fang also invented the steam engine and the railway.’

Just like him, Golden Lake also wanted to create a new transportation device using the internal combustion engine he invented. 

And his target was the car.

Golden Lake clenched his fist and said.

“I want to be an engineer who is praised like Sharp Fang!”

When he first started working at the construction site and making blueprints for a new engine, he only had a simple wish to become an engineer.

But he had already achieved great feats and earned a big reputation. 

He had surpassed his first goal by far.

So he changed his goal to become an engineer who represented the southern continent, or even the empire.

“You can surely do that.”

Red Eagle sincerely believed that. 

No, he even thought that he might become a greater engineer than Sharp Fang.

Golden Lake was much younger than Sharp Fang when he invented the internal combustion engine.

“Don’t worry about money. The Solid Pillar has already said that he will fully support your research, no matter how much you spend.”

“Haha. I have plenty of money too. You know, I get royalties from the patent of the internal combustion engine…”

“You’re so greedy. So you don’t want it?”

“No, who said that? I’ll spend a lot of money on research, just as Grandpa said. Be prepared!”