Keita finally managed to get rid of Zukov and retire for the night, but instead of sleeping, he took out a quilt and started drawing sketches on some papers.
He had not been joking with Zukov earlier. Lately, he had become quite the expert in metal works and smithing. However, for Keita, this was just a start. He needed to do more, build more.
Keita had grand plans, but to get them, he needed to amass a lot of wealth. He couldn't rely on the Rono clan holdings, so he needed to gain his own wealth.
More than just wealth, he needed influence, and a certain level of autonomy. To achieve that, he needed to raise the respect the elders had for him. He had gained their recognition, but that was far from enough.
To achieve what he needed, he had to keep impressing them and pulling out one shocking thing after another. The only advantage he had was knowledge from his past life, and he would use it very well.
Therefore, he had been considering the kind of technology he could import from his past life and bring it to life in this world as his own. He had had several ideas, but after the conversation with Zukov, he had decided on one thing: the bicycle.
He was a mechanical engineer first, with some bit of electrical and electronics. For him, building a construction like a bicycle was a walk in the park. He had all the basics figured out he just needed to add a few little things on top.
Firstly, the entire frame and construct was made of metal, a substance he had grown extremely familiar with. He could mold it just as easily as he could clay. Therefore, he could build the basic structure of the bicycle very easily.
However, there was still a lot of modern technology he had to introduce to the world, the key being gears and chains. To make a bicycle move forward, these two were fundamental driving forces of the bike.
Fortunately, once he built the bicycle, explaining the science of it all would be a lot easier.
He also needed to improve the tires, braking system, and find a proper substitute for the rubbery and plastic parts of the bicycle.
Keita had invested a lot of thought into this, and he had found a suitable substance to use as a substitute for rubber. Rubber was essential for tire production, braking system, you name it. There was a caveat though, this world did not have rubber. Maybe it had, but it had not been discovered yet.
The substitute was a compound known as spedit. Just like rubber, it was obtained from organic discharge of certain plants. What made it valuable was that it contained mystical elements that could assist a vasili during cultivation.
Keita did not much understand what these vasilis were doing with the plant, but he knew that this factor made it quite expensive. However, the byproduct, post-cultivation, was not.
The spedit was a consumable good, and once the mystical elements were spent, the compound had no other use. There were stockpiles of the mess, with no one finding any good use for them. To Keita, this was a treasure lying by the roadside.
With some bit of vulcanization, Keita could make brake pads for the bike, as well as a proper seat and handlebars. Keita was so caught up in getting all this planned out, he hardly noticed the time.
At some point in the night, Keita finally dozed off and drifted away into dreamland, where he saw himself riding a bicycle.
As a young boy in his past life, he used to enjoy the feel of the wind as he pedaled his way around the neighborhood. This was also the primary means of transportation for him and his friends.
He had a lot of memories of the bicycle. Even after he grew up and became a grandfather, he enjoyed teaching his little grandchildren how to ride bicycles.
He remembered how much fun he had one time with his grandson as they were redesigning a chainsaw engine and grafting it onto a bicycle. They both learned a lot that day, including some of the dos and don'ts.
They never managed to get it to work, but they had a lot of fun working on it. All these memories filled his mind as he slumbered into the night.
The following morning, he awoke to shocking news. His brother, Zukov, had challenged Matti to a racing competition. Before the news could ferment, the Sun scepter sect had sent word saying that Matti had accepted the challenge.
Before the day came to a close, Kassid, one of the most prominent scions in the Duke of Sigis household had also announced he would be in the competition. It was unclear how they had heard of it. By the evening, two more prominent vasilis had also joined in.
Just like that, the event turned out to be a grand ceremony where multiple vasili scions were going to take place. Each would be using either a mount or a construct in the race.
When Keita learned of all this, he was understandably mad at Zukov. He had made an offhand comment, yet the idiot had gone and blown it to such proportions. Even if he built the best bicycle, could it compete with the kind of opposition that was mounting against him?
All these mounts and constructs were the very best in the kingdom. These scions may be joining in for fun, but the ramifications and prestige was very real. If they won in such stakes, they would further enhance their family's prestige, and this came with several advantages. They would also enhance their fame and renown.
However, to get there, they had plenty of opposition to jump over.
Matti's magical elk was already a tough customer, how much more would the duke of Sigis wind beast, or the duke of Hodan's serpent. All these were extremely fast land beasts that could move at frightening speeds.
Keita tried to vigorously refuse, even snitching Zukov to the parents. At first, the parents were shocked when they heard of it, and even Keshi was opposed. Unfortunately, by now, there was little they could do.
The event had already acquired a life of its own, and backing out now would only damage Zukov's prestige. Just like an arrow, once fired it could not be called back.
What surprised Keita was his father's confidence in him. When his mother overcame her shock, she too was actually supportive of him. Abi was all smiles as she praised her brother.
He was human, and these people were his parents. Keita could not lie, he felt very touched to have his family's support.
"Just do your best to support your brother, that is all anyone asks of you. Even if he doesn't win, he will know his brother has his back," Jata came to comfort Keita, while Keshi gently rubbed her son's back and said, "I know you will make something amazing."
With the parents stepping forward, Keita could not back down now.