Chapter 104: Launching Ceremony.


    As expected, the Imperial College team finished first.


    The news of thepletion of the steamship was quickly delivered to Kim Ki-woo.


    Most of the money spent on research, maintenance, and wages at the Imperial College came from the government budget.


    In other words, it was no different from Kim Ki-woo spending his own money.


    The sess of such arge-scale project should be reported to the owner first.


    I cant guarantee sess until it works properly after theunching ceremony.


    The Imperial College team must have considered various possibilities in designing and building the steamship.


    However, since it was their first time making a steamship, there was a high possibility that problems they had not considered would arise.


    Kim Ki-woo stopped his thoughts and called his attendant to give him an order.


    Im going to attend theunching ceremony of the steamship. So get ready right away. As soon as possible.


    Yes, Your Majesty.


    The attendant agreed without hesitation.


    Of course, it would take some time to prepare for safety, but the delicate ssboratory and the pce were not far apart, so it wouldnt take too long.


    After all the preparations were done, Kim Ki-woo was able to arrive at his destination in no time.


    Are you the person in charge? I heard youre very young.


    Yo, Your Majesty


    Ha ha. Dont worry, lift your head.


    Yes, Your Majesty.


    At his words, Delicate ss lifted his head.


    Hes full of spirit.


    His eyes were trembling with nervousness, but his spirit was so full that he couldnt hide it with this tremor.


    He was indeed the person who thought of the steamship at a young age, led his team, and implemented the first steamship.


    Its like a dream that His Majesty is looking only at me


    On the other hand, Delicate ss was so nervous that he couldnt calm down easily.


    Any schr of the empire would have imagined this moment.


    And this was also true for Delicate ss.


    At that moment, the attendant next to him winked at Delicate ss.


    Ah!


    At this, Delicate ss came to his senses.


    He hadnt told His Majesty his name yet.


    My name is Delicate ss.


    Delicate ss Thats a very good name. Ill remember that name for sure.


    Thank you!


    Im sure theunching ceremony was dyed until I arrived, so lets proceed quickly.


    Were already prepared.


    Then lead the way.


    Yes!


    After that, Kim Ki-woo went to where thepleted steamship was and faced the first steamship.


    Ho ho.


    Kim Ki-woo looked at the steamship with interest.


    It looked quite different from a sailing ship.


    Its not that big after all.


    He could see some ws at a nce.


    This steamship was literally an experimental work.


    Even if they seeded inunching the steamship, it would take quite some time and more money tomercialize it.


    Its no wonder that the person who made the first steamship before arrival went bankrupt.


    Before arrival, the first ce where a steamship was made was America.


    Around 1780.


    Many engineers in America smelled money from steamships.


    This led topetition, and among them, John Fitch seeded in testing the first steamship in 1787.


    However, he went bankrupt in 1790 due tock of capital and technology.


    Of course, the government was the sponsor of the delicate sss research, so there was no risk of running out of resources.


    And they removed the sail part from the beginning.


    Kim Kiwoo nodded.


    They didnt need a sail since they moved with a paddle wheel powered by a steam engine.


    It would have taken longer toplete the steamship if they had to consider the sail, so he understood that decision.


    Kim Kiwoo suddenly became curious.


    Did you name this ship?


    Well, I have something in mind


    As he said that, delicate ss looked at Kim Kiwoos reaction.


    He was worried that he might have said something wrong.


    But Kim Kiwoo just smiled faintly.


    Really? Can I ask what it is?


    If possible, I want to name it after the sharp teeth that allowed me to experiment with the steamship.


    I see. The Sharp Teeth


    He thought he would name it after himself, but he didnt.


    He chose to repay his favor first.


    Thats fine. Lets do that.


    Kim Kiwoo agreed generously.


    Hes carving his name on every major ce rted to steam engines.


    He made the first steam engine, and the first steamship was his name too.


    And he was working hard on making the first steam lotive right now.


    When people looked back on Sharp Teeth in the future, they would probably call him the father of steam engines.


    At least he would never be left out of the protagonists of the industrial revolution.


    Then lets start theunch ceremony.


    Yes, Your Majesty!


    As Kim Kiwoo gave the order, the researchers and shipbuilders who were waiting around began to get busy.


    Kim Kiwoo watched carefully as the ship floated on the water.


    Wow


    How can that ship move without oars or sails?


    It was only natural that many people gathered for theunch ceremony of Sharp Teeth.


    The imperial citizens knew the importance of ships, and they were very curious about the synergy between steam engines and ships.


    Also, the fact that Kim Kiwoo himself came to attend theunch ceremony was enough for them to have expectations.


    There was never a useless experiment among those that Kim Kiwoo attended for a long time.


    Looking back, everything that Kim Kiwoo attended was very important.


    Thanks to that, the faces of the imperial citizens who saw the steamship floating on the river were filled with anticipation.


    After that, they checked the condition of the steamship.


    It didnt take long.


    The people who went out for inspection gave them a confirmation.


    There is no problem!


    Thats great!


    The researchers were able to rx a bit as they passed one hurdle.


    But the experiment was just beginning.


    It was only a sess if the steam engine and the paddle wheels on both sides worked properly.


    I will order them to operate.


    Good.


    After Kim Kiwoo nodded, ck smoke rose from the steamship in a few moments.


    Thump thump thump.


    And after making a unique sound of a steam engine,


    Whooosh!


    The paddle wheels on both sides began to rotate.


    The lower part of the wheel was submerged in the water, so the steamboat moved forward by the rotational force.


    Wow!


    Wow, wow, wow!


    Its moving! Its really moving!


    My goodness. Ive never seen a boat go so fast.


    This sight was shocking to the people who were watching theunch.


    It was because they realized that they could sail faster with the power of the steam engine, not with human or wind power.


    Ah!


    The researchers were even more impressed.


    They felt a surge of aplishment as their nervousness was reced by relief.


    We really did it.


    Delicate ss looked up at the sky without a word.


    The zing sun seemed to bless his sess.


    Kim Kiwoo patted his shoulder and muttered.


    Congrattions. Youve achieved a great feat. The history book of the empire will record you as the creator of the first steamboat.


    I still have a long way to go.


    Thats a good attitude. Its true that this level of steamboat is not enough formercialization.


    They had to increase the size of the boat and the cargo capacity to enter the era of steamboats.


    I hope you will continue your research until youmercialize the steamboat. Dont worry about money and focus on your research.


    Ill do my best!


    Delicate sss eyes burned with passion as Kim Kiwoo said this.


    I hope it will bemercialized soon.


    It was hard to operate deep-hulled boats in the rivers of the maind.


    There were many shallow ces in the river.


    But the steamboat could solve this problem.


    And its speed was iparable to that of a sailboat


    Kim Kiwoo wished that many steamboats would fill the rivers andkes of the empire as soon as possible.


    ***


    This is all thanks to you, Master.


    Dont say that. Its all because you led your team well that you got such results.


    I wouldnt have been able to form my team without you, Master. And I wouldnt have thought of the steamboat if I hadnt heard your concept of the steam engine car.


    Im d you think so.


    Delicate ss visited his home to share this joy and then came straight to the imperial college.


    He had been studying under Nalkarun Ibal for quite some time.


    He continued to express his gratitude to his master.


    For Delicate ss, Nalkarun Ibal was his benefactor in life.


    I heard youre going to keep yourb running.


    Thats my n. The first experiment was sessful, but theres still a lot to be done before I canmercialize the steamboat.


    You made a good decision. Youre young, so you can achieve more things.


    Ill live up to your expectations, Master.


    Nalkarun Ibal smiled bitterly as he looked at the young man in front of him who was full of passion.


    So this is how it ends up.


    He could have made excuses.


    After all, Delicate sssb started operating much earlier than his.


    And his experiment on the steam engine car was before theunch of the steamboat.


    Of course, it failed.


    He had three experiments so far, but none of them yielded satisfactory results.


    Its hard. Its hard.


    It felt like he was going through the same situation as when he failed repeatedly in his steam engine experiments in the past.


    I expected this to some extent.


    His steam engine car experiment was in aplete mess.


    The first problem was that the steam engine was too heavy.


    If they loaded this huge steam engine, it would be practically impossible to carry anything else.


    Moreover, to operate the steam engine, they had to keep feeding it coal from above.


    But that was not the only issue.


    They cant turn the direction.


    To change the direction to the left or right, they had to adjust the speed of the wheels.


    This was possible with a rama cart, which relied on the power of a rama, but not with a steam engine.


    They were researching this, but they had not made any clear progress yet.


    And its hard to stop, too.


    They had no brakes, so they had to wait until it naturally stopped.


    But they couldnt change the direction either


    As a result, the first steam engine car they used for the experiment crashed hard into a wall and was damaged beyond repair.


    It was the first car ident in history.


    The third experiment they conducted recently was somewhat better, but it was still far from satisfactory.


    Master. Are you all right?


    Seeing his masters sharp-toothed expression worsen, Delicate ss asked him right away.


    He sighed deeply.


    Phew. Its really hard to improve the steam engine carpared to the steam ship. Even if we continue the experiment like this, I dont know if it will ever be good enough formercial use.


    Im sorry. I was too excited and rude.


    No, no. Im sorry. I feel like Im ruining your good day.


    Is there anything I can do to help?


    Haha. You have your own research, dont you? You dont have to do that.


    No, I do. I want to repay you for your kindness, even a little bit.


    Youre so stubborn.


    But Delicate ss was very persistent.


    He kept persuading his master.


    Then let me stay for a while before I start my research on improving the steam ship.


    Thank you, master!


    As a result, Sharp Tooth reluctantly epted his earnest request.


    But he didnt know then.


    That this decision would change the history of the steam engine car.