"Why, my lord?"
Berns looked like a child whose parents had mercilessly refused to buy him a toy.
He had expected Paul to praise him enthusiastically and fully support his research in this field. He had not expected that, despite praising the idea, Paul would end up pouring a bucket of cold water over him.
"This is rather complicated. I can't explain it clearly in just a few words."
Paul looked troubled. He did not know how to explain it to Berns, and he was not even sure whether his own thoughts were correct.
"First of all, although using steam as a source of power is based on a very simple principle, I tried working through the theory, and there are still many technical details that need to be resolved. We won't be able to produce one anytime soon."
Berns said with a resolute expression, "You're right, but I'm fully prepared to face these difficulties."
"But I can't afford to wait. The Mechanical Factory's research and development tasks will be extremely demanding next year. I have many ideas that I need you to implement, and we can't let ourselves be held back by a steam engine that may not be completed for years. Besides, the appearance of a steam engine at this point may not necessarily be appropriate..."
Berns was puzzled. "What do you mean? Windmills and Waterwheels are far too constrained by the weather and geography, but if we build steam engines, factories such as Iron Smelting Plants could be established everywhere."
Paul shook his head. "What use would there be in building so many Iron Smelting Plants?"
"They would be extremely useful! With more Iron Smelting Plants, your domain could produce more iron."
"What use would I have for so much iron?"
"This... this..."
Berns found it utterly