Chapter 508: The Waterway
When the village chief told me about the situation, it seemed both problems were intertwined. In that case, living near the river would be out of the question.
“Monsters and river floods, huh? If we reinforced the riverbank a bit and then built a channel, couldn’t we make it work somehow? What do you think, Lionel?”
“Even if you ask me that…”
Lionel looked troubled. Right, he is the captain of the knights — not exactly an expert on waterways. When I asked Nero, he made the same face. I could already imagine Fabienne reacting in the same way.
What should I do? Well, since I’ve come all the way here, I might as well give it a try.
“Village Chief, I’d like to build a waterway from this river to your village. Do you mind?”
“O–of course not, we’d be… most grateful?”
His voice cracked toward the end, and he looked so bewildered that I could barely tell what he was saying. That was probably a normal reaction. After all, what I was about to attempt was anything but ordinary.
Tilting his head, the village chief joined me in discussing where the channel should run. We decided to draw it close to the farmlands, then let it return to the downstream river. From there, we’d branch off smaller canals toward the village. For places too far to reach, we’d dig wells instead.
“Lionel, this is definitely going to take more than a day. Can we extend the inspection?”
“Of course, that’s fine… but are you sure you’ll be all right?”
“Well, I’ll manage. Probably.”
Ah, there it is — that grim look of his. He’s worried about me, no doubt. But I’ll be fine. I’m the lord’s son, after all — it’s my duty to do everything I can for the people. And in time, that effort will surely come back to us as well.
After giving some instructions to a knight, Lionel watched him hurry back toward the village — probably to inform them about the extension. I felt a bit bad for causing trouble.
“Well then, let’s start construction. First, we’ll reinforce the riverbank. We can’t have it overflowing when it rains.”
Using magic, I hardened the bank until it was solid as stone, ensuring the current wouldn’t erode it away. If the river’s course stayed stable, the waterway would remain intact as well.
We decided to build the canal along the path leading from the river. That way, cleaning it later would be easier. While we were at it, I smoothed out the rain-eroded road beside it, compacting it so it wouldn’t collapse easily.
That should do for now. Once the road starts getting bumpy again, we’ll just have it repaired.
The waterway progressed steadily, and before long, we reached the village outskirts. The villagers, gathering with curious murmurs, stared in astonishment — but I paid them no mind and kept working.
“Julius-sama, shall we take a break soon?”
“Oh—right. Good idea. Let’s rest for a bit.”
Fabienne’s voice brought me back to my senses. I must have gotten too absorbed in my work. Feeling a bit guilty, I asked Nero to prepare some tea. In no time, a picnic blanket and tea were laid out.
“You’ve been using quite a lot of magic. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine. Still going strong.”
Fabienne gave a wry smile. What’s with that look? Is she exasperated with me? I am fine, honestly. I just prefer doing things carefully — if I rushed, the work would be sloppy. Maybe I’ve taken a bit too long, though.
If I cut the canal straight through the village, we’d need to build bridges later. That sounded troublesome, so I decided to have it loop back toward the river near the entrance instead. From there, a few narrow branches would extend into the village — not enough to get in the way.
“Julius-sama, at least during breaks, please rest properly.”
“Ah, sorry, sorry. You’re right.”
Apparently, Fabienne had noticed I was still thinking about construction. She puffed out her cheeks slightly, then shoved a cookie into my mouth. Mmm, sweet — and delicious.
As payback, I fed a cookie to Fabienne in return. Her face flushed a deep red. Then Rosalia opened her mouth and said, “Me too,” and even Mira mimicked her like a baby bird. Somehow, I felt like a parent feeding their chicks.
When our break ended, we continued just as planned, extending the waterway to the edge of the village. After that, I began constructing the route back to the river, consulting Lionel about the safest path. Fortunately, only wild animals lived around here, so it would be safe when the villagers cleaned the canal later.
Once we reached the river again, I headed back to the village to work on the tributaries. I carved narrow channels that would allow water to flow nicely. This part didn’t need to be perfect — if something went wrong once we released the water, we could fix it then. No one expects everything to go right from the start, after all.
“That should do it. Let’s go open the sluice gate at the riverbank.”
“Julius-sama, allow us. Please rest here.”
Before I could even answer, the knights ran off toward the river. It seemed I’d made everyone overly cautious. Well, it had turned into quite a large-scale project. They were probably worried about me getting exhausted… though I still felt full of energy.
“Don’t you think everyone’s worrying a bit too much?”
“Julius-sama, after everything you’ve done today, anyone would be worried.”
“Really?”
“Most certainly.”
Fabienne’s firm tone left no room for argument. That was rare — if she said it so decisively, I must’ve really overdone it.
“What do you think, Nero?”
“…I agree with Fabienne-sama.”
There was a pause before he spoke, but it was honest enough. He probably didn’t say it out loud, yet Nero must have been worried too.
Still, just to be thorough, I asked the other two as well.
“What about you, Rosalia? Mira?”
“Oniisan is amazing!”
“Kyu!”
“Ah, thank you.”
Hmm… I might’ve asked the wrong people. The two of them were staring at me with sparkling eyes full of admiration. When they looked at me like that, I couldn’t help wanting to show off even more.
No, no — if I did any more, Fabienne and Nero would just worry themselves sick.
That was enough work for today. If the water flowed smoothly without any problems, then tomorrow, we’d all go out and have some fun together. That would surely make everyone happy.