The Sea's Son-in-Law

"All you've built is a blacksmith's shop?"

When Jaina said those words, there was disappointment in her eyes as well as anger.

Rowan was about to argue when he suddenly realized that Jaina's criticism was well-founded and convincing. He had been in Morris Town for half a month, and it seemed that all he had built was a blacksmith's shop.

Still, that wasn't entirely fair. Rowan's plans had progressed so slowly solely because transportation was inconvenient. He didn't know any teleportation magic that could instantly transport supplies from Norwington Estate to Morris Town.

"Actually, I have lots of plans. For example..." Rowan continued rather unconvincingly, only for Jaina to cut him off immediately.

Jaina stared at Rowan, exasperated by his failure to live up to his potential. "You've disappointed me terribly, Rowan. I thought you came to Morris Town to improve yourself, but you're clearly just running away. What's wrong with attending the Military Academy? Every Kul Tiran child considers joining the Kul Tiras Fleet the greatest honor of their life. Yet you, the Norwington family's only heir, chose to come to Morris Town and waste your time!"

Disappointment from Jaina: -500.

Jaina spoke so quickly that Rowan had no chance to explain. All he could do was watch her scold him.

At first, Rowan hadn't taken Jaina's words to heart, until tears glistened at the corners of her eyes. She immediately wiped away those traitorous tears with her cuff and said coldly, "I'm going back to Dalaran next month."

The room was terrifyingly quiet. The night sea breeze slipped through the window, brushing Jaina's golden bangs.

With the cool sea breeze helping her gather her tangled thoughts, Jaina turned her back on Rowan.

"Didn't you say you were staying for a year?"

"A year?" Jaina gave a cold laugh, seemingly mocking herself. "I'm such a fool. I actually dreamed that... Forget it. Do you think there's any reason for me to stay in Kul Tiras?"

Disappointment from Jaina: -500.

Rowan winced at the loss.

Though he didn't know why Jaina was so dejected and disappointed, Rowan felt that he was probably the source of the problem.

In Kul Tiras, the children of all the great families generally attended the Military Academy and went on to serve in the fleet. It wasn't mandatory, but everyone took pride in joining the fleet.

Jaina must think I won't attend the Military Academy simply because I'm a coward and afraid of dying. But that's not the real issue.

"Actually, I'm not attending the Military Academy because I want to protect Kul Tiras better."

If his emotion points kept dropping like this, Rowan felt the system might actually become useless. But that wasn't the main problem. If Jaina leaves, who am I supposed to earn emotion points from?

"I won't believe you again." Jaina headed for the door.

Rowan reached out and caught Jaina's cuff, gripping her slender wrist.

Jaina froze. She slowly turned around and asked in a low voice, "What? Do you have anything else to say to me?"

Rowan frowned and said earnestly, "I really do have a way to make our fleet stronger. You should take a look at the steam engine I'm planning to build next."

"What enginething?"

"It's a steam engine. Could you please stop breaking up the words wherever you like?" Rowan looked utterly exasperated.

The flame that had just died in Jaina's heart began to flicker back to life. She took the steam engine schematic from Rowan and examined it carefully.

About ten minutes passed, with Rowan eagerly awaiting Jaina's reaction.

Any normal person would marvel at the birth of such an epoch-making machine, a magnificent invention that had brought human civilization its first Industrial Revolution.

Jaina will definitely be stunned, and then she'll give me a huge pile of emotion points. Perfect.

"What is this?" Even after studying it for quite some time, Jaina couldn't figure out what Rowan had designed.

An iron furnace? Or a water tank with mechanical rods attached?

"It's a steam engine."

"That enginething?"

Rowan: "..."

Rowan spent about half an hour explaining the steam engine's operation and principles to Jaina in detail. As it turned out, pursuing technological development in a high-magic world was unwise. Why develop science and technology to solve problems that magic could handle?

Fortunately, Jaina was exceptionally clever and came to understand exactly what sort of machine Rowan had designed.

"This thing can really make our ships move?" Jaina still couldn't believe that a machine without any magical assistance could propel Kul Tiras's great sailing ships.

Rowan pointed to the piston and the two rods on the schematic. "Picture this. When steam fills the cylinder, the piston rises, pushing the rod into motion. Once that rod reaches its highest point, the other rod pulls the slide valve, and the piston drops again. With the two rods moving back and forth like that, they can make a wheel spin rapidly. Now imagine replacing the wheels with large paddles mounted on both sides of a sailing ship. Powered by a steam engine, wouldn't our sailing ships be able to move?"

Indeed, the steam engine Rowan intended to develop was the high-pressure steam engine widely used during the Industrial Revolution. It wasn't much more sophisticated to manufacture than Watt's steam engine, but its design incorporated a wealth of accumulated technical experience and innovation.

One generation planted the trees, and the next enjoyed their shade. Watt could never have imagined that someone would take his invention to another world and use it to spur development.

Though it sounded unbelievable, it did make a fair amount of sense. Rowan's explanation of the machine's mechanics was logically sound and didn't seem like something he had made up out of thin air to deceive her.

"Then I'll give you another three days. Work hard on it. I'll come to see you again," Jaina said, her face flushed.

"Then are you still leaving next month?" Rowan asked tentatively.

Jaina hurriedly turned away and said softly, "Mind your own business. What does it matter to you whether I leave or not? Besides, we'll talk about that in three days."

"I'll prove to you that even without attending the Military Academy, I can still become the commander of a powerful fleet," Rowan declared, full of confidence and conviction.

Sooner or later, sailing ships would be replaced by steam-powered gunboats with sturdy hulls and powerful guns, and Rowan would lead that fleet. When the time came, he could use this fearless fleet of steel to dominate every sea in Azeroth.

Happiness from Jaina: +500.

"Why prove it to me? I can't be bothered with you. I just don't want to watch you turn into a layabout. Besides, if you really do become the commander of a powerful fleet, wouldn't that be a slap in the face for the Norwington and Ashvane families? Uh, no, for the entire Proudmoore family. You'd have overturned our whole shipbuilding industry and military training system."

Jaina waved a hand casually, looking utterly unconcerned.

"Then I wouldn't be a layabout anymore, would I? I think if I can achieve that much, I'd at least qualify to become the sea's son-in-law," Rowan said shamelessly.

Jaina rolled her eyes at Rowan in exasperation, her face flushing crimson. "Keep dreaming. You can have anything in your dreams."

Pleasure from Jaina: +520.