"Mr. Kasia, don't be so shy, we're all men. Sotagan had a bath towel around him, and when he saw that Kasia had woken up, he walked to the other side of the pool and sat down in the pool as Kasia had done.

"Ye Jielin saw that you had fallen asleep, so she asked us to come here directly. Sotagan let out a breath and said, "When I came here, I really didn't think that soaking in the hot springs would be comfortable. ”

Kasia nodded in acknowledgment, and her tense body relaxed.

"There will be no time for this relaxation later, and I will help you deal with Ovilla's affairs later. When the goods are repaired, I will also start to find a way to safely deliver the goods to the customer. The long route will not be in a good mood for more than ten days. ”

"Small, ultra-vapor compressors? I've only heard their names in books, but I haven't seen them in real personhood. The large body that was completely welded to the realignment has seen detailed photographs. ”

"Although it is already something that has been popularized in the empire, and even on the continent of the post-prime minister. But after all, it is an aggregate of steam technology, whether it is made into a super large one, such as those things on an airship, or it can still make it have terrifying power after being miniaturized, it is not an easy thing. The factories in the empire that can make these things are all in the hands of the imperial military and those big powers. Trying to get a finished product for your own use is also an extremely troublesome thing in the dark world. Speaking of annoying topics, Sotagan sighed.

"Do you know how much this thing costs?" said Sotagan with a sudden smile, perhaps only the profit that would be seen soon after that would make him a little happier now.

Kasia shook his head: "It's definitely not cheap, even if the principle is clearly written in the textbook, but if you want to make it, ordinary factories don't have that ability at all." ”

"It's close to sixty-five million Holy Coins, and the ones I have in my hands are still defective items removed from scrapped machines. This time I came here to repair some of the more troublesome problems above, and there are a few mechanics with good skills who live here. The model number is also old from decades ago. This kind of thing is not updated quickly, and the empire doesn't seem to have much interest in the development of this piece, and it is still a popular commodity on the black market. But compared to the latest model, it is still two generations apart. ”

When he was a student, he studied steam power, which influenced him a lot in his life. Including now becoming an intermediary agent, most of the business engaged in is related to these mechanical power components.

"The empire is really starting to mess up. I never thought I could sell this kind of goods before. I remember that over the years of becoming an agent, the most high-tech thing I have ever sold was only the analysis machine parts disassembled and assembled on the large commercial airship, and the most critical computing core was removed, leaving only the storage part and the information transmission part, but it was also sold at a good price. Just like miniaturized military ultra-vapor compression devices, the goods circulating in the dark world are all voluntarily released by the imperial military and major forces, and some of them are defective products with major defects. ”

As if noticing that it was only him talking, Sotagan smiled apologetically and did not continue the conversation. He moved on to other things, things that were of interest to both of them.

"Mr. Cassia, I wonder what you think about steam power and electricity, which has been emerging for many years?" seemed to be a rare finding of someone with whom he shared his interests, and Sotagon did not immediately discuss plans for the Ovilla side.

Kasia looked over and didn't quite understand what Sotagan meant.

"Electricity has been around for a long time, and in extremely prosperous areas, it has been popularized as early as 100 years ago. In the frontier areas, the small nobles in those places can also enjoy the benefits of electricity. I was born in a better place, and I have enjoyed the convenience of electricity since I was a child. At that time, I didn't have much access to the advanced knowledge that I have now, and I always thought that electricity would replace the superheated steam in the red copper pipes at a very rapid rate in the next ten years. ”

Sotagan's face was full of nostalgia, and he asked Kasia, "I don't know if you had such thoughts when you were a child." Maybe it won't be completely replaced, but as an emerging energy source, it's predictable that it will become mainstream, right?"

Kasia shook her head, then nodded again. When he lived there in a small frontier city, the gas lamps that squeaked every night were really something he didn't like very much. The high-pressure mercury lamps that glowed with blazing white from several aristocratic homes were one of the things he longed to have. It was only in his teens that he worked in the factories, where the main power was provided by the steam from the boilers, and the start-up and forging energy required by some large forging machines was surprisingly large, and in the small frontier towns where high-pressure mercury lamps were not yet fully popular, coal sold entirely as rocks must have been much cheaper than electricity.

It's not that I haven't thought about it, but after entering the steam factory, some things that can move are more or less connected to the back of the red copper pipes or steam hoses, and operate by countless valves controlled by differential machines. Before coming to Manoma, Kasia's life was a world without electricity.

"Perhaps copper pipes and steam have penetrated into all aspects of the empire, and with the history of the empire for thousands of years, it will take a long time to completely replace it with new things. ”

Sotagan didn't nod or shake his head. But from the expression on his face, it was clear that he did not agree with Kasia's answer. Looking up at the sky, a few meters away from the surface of the hot spring, the slowly rising white mist blurred Sotagan's face. He felt the cold sensation of the steam slowly falling down on his face, and immersed himself in it.

From the side room, there was the sparse voice of Yeterin and Baita, as if they were talking about something.

"Actually, I don't know, but as an intermediary agent, I have always been in the business of power components. I came into contact with a lot of large mechs, and there were many real war machines in them. You know, those are not the merchant ships that fly over our heads all the time, they are airships full of cannonballs. Until now, they have retained the internal structure of a hundred years ago, and electricity seems to have nothing to do with them at all. I've been inside a few times, and although there are lamps and electric lighting is used, the gas lamps and lime lamps are still there, and they are well guarded and can be turned on at any time. ”

Kasia vaguely remembered someone saying something to the same effect, that when he first arrived at the base of the volcano, he could be seen as Lieutenant Doyle who had gone to pick him up.

Cassia remembered Lieutenant Doyle saying that most of what seemed unreasonable was artificial.