"This is..."
John muttered to himself as he stepped further into the shed.
"It really is a bicycle."
The wheels were iron, with a block pattern engraved into them to grip the ground. Looking at how the edges of the tread had worn down and rounded significantly, the vehicle had clearly seen extensive use.
The frame appeared to be made of 64 light silver. While it lacked a standard suspension system, the saddle was supported by a structure of stacked plates known as a leaf spring—or leaf suspension—so the ride quality was likely decent enough.
A leaf suspension consisted of plates of varying lengths layered together; it had the advantage of providing a natural damping effect even while serving as a spring.
Setting that aside, John's attention was drawn to the chain.
More precisely, a roller chain. Nearly all bicycles and motorcycles used these to transmit driving force to the rear wheel. Its function was simple, but its construction was complex, requiring the assembly of numerous outer plates, inner plates, rollers, bushes, and pins.
"The foreign tribes have something like this...?"
Jin could certainly make such a thing, but it was something he hadn't actually produced yet. Furthermore, bicycles did not exist in the demon territory. It seemed the Origin had never created them either.
"Ah, so you noticed 'em?"
John turned at the voice from behind to find Maya.
"Those're our legs, y'know. We call 'em bicycles. That magi engineer who came by last time, Tenkunhan, said he couldn't do a lick of work on 'em. Said he was stumped."
"I see..."
Upon closer inspection, several bushes and pins were missing. It appeared a pin had snapped, causing the chain to break.
"I told you tomorrow was fine, but what d'you think? Can you fix 'em?"
John decided this was the perfect opportunity to earn their trust and gave a firm nod.
"Really! That’d be a massive help. Thanks a bunch."
"It's already dark today, so the actual repairs will have to wait until tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah, that’s fine. Long as they get fixed. I'm countin' on you tomorrow!"
Maya spoke happily, then seemed to remember her errand.
"Oh, that's right. I came to tell you dinner's ready."
She beckoned for John to follow.
Dinner was served at Maya's house. She appeared to live alone. From the atmosphere, John suspected she and Oliver shared a mutual attraction, but he kept the observation to himself.
The menu consisted of barley porridge and a small serving of stir-fried vegetables. Vegetables were evidently a luxury here.
"...So? How is it? Tastes okay? Ain't too bland, is it?"
According to the Analyze function equipped in John's mouth, the salt content was quite low—at least when compared to Jin's personal preferences.
"No, it's fine. It's lightly seasoned, but delicious."
"Good, glad to hear it. Salt's a precious thing, y'see."
John surmised that salt was indeed a rare commodity deep inland. Then, Maya added a concerning remark.
"Lately, the shipments have been stallin' out..."
John chose not to press her on the details of that statement. He judged it was still too early to pry into their logistics.
His accommodations were in a dormitory next to Maya's house, a facility apparently intended for visitors like John. Whether it was primarily used by travelers from the Shouro Empire or members of the foreign tribes was unclear.
Oliver was apparently staying at Maya's house. Catching John's eye from the doorway, Oliver wore a slightly bashful expression.
Regardless, being left alone to sleep was convenient.
John—or rather, Laojun—wanted to transfer a small amount of carbon steel from Hourai Island. The components of a roller chain required hardened carbon steel.
On modern Earth, various other elements were added to improve strength, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance, but as far as he could tell, the bicycle's chain was simple carbon steel, likely something equivalent to S45C.
S45C is carbon steel with a carbon content of 0.45 percent, Laojun noted.
He confirmed the knowledge he had obtained from Jin and prepared the material. He took pure iron from the stockpiles, used "Add" to incorporate the carbon, and finished by using "Homogenize" to ensure it was uniform.
Using John's mana as a marker, he transferred about one kilogram of S45C.
＊ ＊ ＊
The next morning, John began the repairs immediately after a quick breakfast. He finished fixing the pots and pans with holes in them in no time. The real challenge was the chain.
The parts would be useless if the dimensions weren't perfectly uniform. He performed "Forming" with meticulous care. Fortunately, since only a few parts were missing, the chain repair was completed in about two hours.
John proceeded to check and maintain the other components. In the process, he was shocked to find that ball bearings were used between the wheels and the axles.
A magi craftman with this technology other than My Lord... existing in the past?
Then Laojun had a sudden realization.
Could it be... the First One?
Yes, if it were the First Magi Craft Meister, Adriana Barbora Tsetse, this kind of precision processing would be possible.
But the engineering knowledge of Earth...
The knowledge Adriana had passed down to Jin should not have contained anything regarding modern Earth's science or engineering. There were several similar technologies, but they did not exceed the category of "similar."
Therefore, Laojun concluded that Adriana Barbora Tsetse had not made this.
Then, who on earth did?...That's another mystery to add to the list...
＊ ＊ ＊
"Wow, John, was it? You've got some serious skills! Thanks, thanks a million!"
Seeing that both bicycles were fixed, Maya was practically jumping for joy.
"One of these is mine, y'see. Thank you so much."
"No, Mr. John, that's truly magnificent," Oliver added. "Those bicycles were something even the magi engineer we had last time threw his hands up at."
"They certainly were wonderfully made. Personally, I'm quite interested in knowing who created them."
That was Laojun's honest sentiment, but those words opened a new door.
"Oho, so you have an interest, do you?"
A voice called out from behind them.
Turning around, they saw a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his early forties. He had a sturdy, muscular build and a sharp gaze. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were gray, and he wore a short goatee.
The thing that caught John's eye most was the man's skin tone. It was much darker than Maya's, sharing a striking resemblance to Lucas and Netros, the servants of the demon race.
"I am Daro. I am the leader of this settlement."
The man who introduced himself as Daro spoke with almost no accent.
"You are Mr. John, correct? Are you truly interested in those bicycles—or rather, in that level of technology?"
Laojun judged that this was an invitation to step further into the region's secrets.
"Yes, of course," he replied instantly.
"I see. Hmm."
Hearing John's answer, Daro placed a hand on his chin and fell into thought. After a moment, he posed a question with a searching gaze.
"Even if it means you might never be able to return to your country?"
He cut his words there and turned around.
"You can still change your mind right now. Think about it carefully."
Even being told that, John—Laojun—had only one answer.
"There's no need to think. I'll be clear. I want to meet the people we call the foreign tribes."
The moment those words left his mouth, a dozen or so men surrounded John. They held heavy clubs in their hands.
"Can you prove that you aren't a spy for the Shouro Empire?"
It seemed that spies from the Empire had managed to sniff around even this far.
"...I cannot. I expect that no matter what I say, you won't fully trust me. Conversely, what can I do to earn your trust?"
John—Laojun—decided to pin his hopes on negotiation, recognizing this as the critical turning point.
"...If you say you aren't a spy, will you look at this?"
In response to John's words, Daro pulled an iridescent magi-crystal from his pocket. The light within it pulsed with a natural rhythm. Laojun immediately realized it was a Hypno-type magic tool. However, the effect was quite weak; it could not place someone in a permanent state of hypnosis.
"..."
Based on his knowledge, Laojun decided to have John Dini pretend to fall into a trance. He relaxed his body and made his expression look as though his eyes had lost focus.
"...Answer the questions. What is your name?"
"...John Dini."
"What is your country of origin?"
"...The Kingdom of Egerea."
This was the pre-established backstory. If he was from a country other than the Shouro Empire, it wouldn't be strange if there were a few discrepancies in his behavior or knowledge.
"What is your purpose for coming this far?"
"...Because I wanted to see the unknown world."
"Are you an operative?"
"...What is an operative? I don't know."
This was a calculated risk. He had no way of knowing exactly how much cognitive function a human was supposed to retain under this level of hypnosis. However, it seemed the answer was acceptable.
"What do you know about the foreign tribes?"
"...I heard they live to the west of the Harihari Desert and that they targeted the Shouro Empire in the past."
"What about your family?"
"...I have none."
"Is it all right if you can never return to your homeland?"
"...I don't mind."
These kinds of questions continued for about ten minutes, until John was finally judged to be no threat.
"When I clap my hands on the count of three, you will wake up. You will have forgotten the questions we asked....One, two, three."
Daro clapped his hands, and John pretended to wake up.