A Visit

"Woo~~~"

The melodious sound of a steam whistle arrived in Le Havre along with the first snowfall of 1037.

Recently, quite a few ships had spotted the Duchy of Weissen's two new ships without sails at sea. The sailors of Le Havre often talked about them, and with Frederick issuing a commendation, people had grown curious about the new ships.

A while ago, the new ships had carried out an urgent supply mission to the iron mine in Capercaillie Forest. The one-way trip covered two thousand kilometers, and they finished before the seaside docks froze over. The mission had taken quite some time, but it had also trained the crews and helped them work together more smoothly.

After completing the mission, the new ships had been inspected at Hanma City's port. Then, using prepared spare parts, they converted some of the cargo holds into passenger cabins before setting sail with crew and supplies aboard.

When the two ships docked, a crowd of curious captains, merchants, and townspeople gathered around them.

The new ships were about sixty meters long, not much different from sailing ships of the day. Two masts stood fore and aft, each with a lookout platform, and sails could be hoisted when necessary.

What people found unusual was that the deckhouse was amidships rather than at the stern, dividing the deck into fore and aft sections.

Many captains and shipowners had heard that these two ships had taken only a day to sail from Amstel City to Le Havre, and had done so against the wind. That was an astonishing speed.

The Grand Duke Wessen's guards kept watch nearby. Every one of them wore a Gas Mask to show off, and no one dared approach for a closer look.

But there were always lucky people in the world.