Chapter 96

Five days later, in the afternoon.

Ichirou and Zirconia, both in armor, were riding in a carriage, gazing at the passing scenery as they moved through the Isteria granary region. The carriage they were in was shaped like a covered stagecoach. In the front, Isaac and Haber, mounted on horses, led the carriage. Behind them, the guards of the Second Legion, also mounted, followed.

"The merchant said that even the smallest of the glass pieces we received would sell for over 20,000 Al. However, with such a large quantity circulating, it's inevitable that it will attract attention."

"Hmm... Is glass that rare, mined from mines?"

"Glass like what we received from Kazura is extremely rare. Obsidian is produced in the northwest mountainous region, but it's rare to find something as beautiful as that."

A few days ago, Ichirou had given some of the glass beads he had made in his room to Zirconia and Nelson. He had asked them to investigate the selling price and sales routes, but it seemed that no matter what, they couldn't avoid drawing attention.

"Is there any way to sell it without drawing too much attention?"

"There might be ways outside of official distribution channels, but for a merchant to handle such a quantity... perhaps a merchant who deals with stolen goods could do it, but the Isteel territory has strict regulations, so there are hardly any such merchants."

"Ah, I see. So, that place is quite valuable, then."

"Do you have a specific place in mind?"

At Ichirou's words, Zirconia showed a surprised expression. It was probably unexpected that Ichirou, who was usually busy, would have such connections. Having connections with merchants who deal with stolen goods was, considering Ichirou's position, an impossible story.

"Yes, I know of one place that might work. I think it might be useful."

"I see. Then, let's visit it together later. If we use the Isteel family's name to ensure our safety and order the transaction, the merchant will have no choice but to comply."

"Ah, no, if we're too forceful, they might run away or have bad ideas later. Let's handle it smoothly."

Ichirou hurriedly suggested an alternative to Zirconia's violent proposal. Ordering someone to work in exchange for their safety would likely get a nod in the moment, but it would almost certainly lead to them disappearing and possibly leaking all the information to the outside world out of spite.

"Since we're asking to sell the glass secretly, I think we need to offer some benefit to the other party. It's best to prepare some kind of reward."

"Indeed, you're right. I haven't had much experience with such negotiations..."

Zirconia nodded in agreement with Ichirou's suggestion. It was easier to handle someone by giving them incentives rather than forcing them through threats. As long as they were kept sweet, they would follow orders. However, it was important not to let them get too cocky.

"By the way, when did you become acquainted with such people? I thought you rarely went out alone."

"Well... a lot has happened."

While they were talking, the carriage arrived at the planned reclamation site outside the granary region. A well had been dug there, and the well frame and inner walls were reinforced with wooden planks.

When Ichirou and Zirconia got out of the carriage, Isaac and Haber also dismounted from their horses and came over.

"Let's start excavating the bedrock. Isaac, please hold this."

Ichirou pulled out the engine breaker from the corner of the carriage and handed it to Isaac. He then lowered the gasoline generator and air compressor from the carriage near the well. He put on safety goggles with a built-in dust mask and a yellow helmet with "Safety First" written on it. He also put on work gloves and tied a cloth towel around his neck, completing his preparations.

"It's going to be noisy."

After giving this warning, Ichirou turned on the generator. Immediately, the engine noise began to rumble through the area. The guards showed no change in expression, even when they heard the generator's operation. Ichirou had thought they might be surprised, but they were indeed elite soldiers.

Ichirou connected the air compressor to the generator and lowered the air hose into the well. At the current depth of about 7 meters, there was no risk of oxygen deprivation, but at around 10 meters, an air compressor would be necessary to prevent it. For deep excavation, using a blower was essential.

Incidentally, a water-powered generator was currently operating at the manor. The water channel and aqueduct in front of Ichirou's room had been completed that morning, and the electricity for the appliances in the room had been switched to the water-powered generator installed there.

"Then, I'll go down first, so please lower the engine breaker on a rope later."

"Understood."

"Please tie the rope securely. It wouldn't be funny if this fell on my head."

After emphasizing this to Isaac, Ichirou climbed down the rope ladder into the well. The bottom of the well was quite humid due to the combination of the hot sun and the moisture in the ground. The ground was a layer of bedrock, with some mud mixed in here and there.

"I'm lowering it now!"

"A little at a time, please!"

Ichirou received the engine breaker that was slowly lowered and untied the rope. He pressed the chisel of the engine breaker against the bedrock and firmly gripped the handle with both hands.

"Alright, let's do this. I wonder how long it will take..."

Ichirou muttered to himself and turned on the engine breaker.

Four hours later.

Ichirou had repeated the process of lowering the bucket tied with a rope, filling it with rock fragments and mud, and pulling it up dozens of times, digging about 2 meters into the bedrock. The bedrock was very hard, and it required a lot of force to dig. He had taken several breaks, but the unfamiliar work had pushed his back pain and fatigue to their limits. Most of all, the vibration from the engine breaker was numbing his palms. Just as he was thinking about stopping for the day, he noticed a cold air rising from his feet.

"Hmm? It's getting cool... Is the water about to come out?"

In the book on well-digging history he had brought from Japan, it was written that as you approach an aquifer, the sound of the rock breaker changes, and cold air rises. He hadn't noticed it while he was focused on the work, but now that he thought about it, the sound had subtly changed.

Ichirou took a deep breath and restarted the engine breaker, resuming the rock-breaking work.

"Hmm... Ah, it's getting cooler!"

As the rock-breaking sound changed to a higher pitch, the surroundings became cooler, like opening a refrigerator. Water began to seep out of the bedrock. Seeing the water, Ichirou perked up and enthusiastically continued the rock-breaking work.

Soon, a layer of fine, bluish sand appeared in the gaps of the broken bedrock. At the same time, water began to trickle down the sand layer.

"Ah, this must be the 'Umizuna.' It looks like sand on a beach."

Breaking the bedrock further and creating a hole about 10 centimeters deep, water began to flow steadily. Ichirou turned off the engine breaker, sighed in relief, and threw the rock fragments at his feet into the bucket.

"Slowly, slowly... Okay, that's good."

A few minutes later.

After getting out of the well, Ichirou instructed Isaac and Haber to install a hand pump on top of the well. The hand pump had a wooden base attached and was set up to cover the well.

"Alright, just fix it with bolts and we're done."

Using an impact driver, Ichirou securely bolted the well frame and the base. He poured some water into the pump and began to operate the handle, moving it up and down several times. After a while, muddy water began to flow from the pump's outlet. At this depth, there was no problem drawing water.

"Amazing... If water can be drawn so easily, it will make life much easier for the farmers."

Seeing the water gush out, Zirconia exclaimed in amazement. She had mentioned being a former farmer, so she knew well the hardships of drawing water.

The guards watching around them also let out small "ooh" sounds at the sight. The sight of the hand pump spouting water was more shocking to them than the generator or compressor.

"The efficiency is completely different from lowering a bucket into the well. It requires almost no effort, so even women can easily draw water."

"Um, can I try it too?"

"Sure, go ahead."

With Ichirou's enthusiastic agreement, Zirconia eagerly switched places with him and began to operate the handle. As she did, water gushed out of the outlet. Seeing the large amount of water spout out in response to her hand movements, Zirconia let out an "ooh" and her eyes sparkled like a child given a new toy, looking very happy.

"Ah, the water is clear now... Yes, it tastes good."

Drenched in sweat from the long rock-breaking work, Ichirou drank the water with both hands and dunked his head in it. The water from under the bedrock was very cold and felt refreshing on his heated body.

"Since we're here, everyone should take a water bath. It's cold and feels great."

"I'll operate the pump, so everyone can drink."

"Zirconia-sama, I'll do it, so please drink too."

"Isaac-sama, I'll do it, so please rest first."

"No, Haber is tired too. I'll do it, so please take a water bath and rest first."

"I only pulled up the bucket, so I'm not tired at all. Please leave this to me, a low-ranking soldier."

"Isaac-sama, Haber-sama, we'll do this work, so please take a water bath with everyone. Here, Zirconia-sama..."

"It's fine, I'll do it, so please take a water bath with everyone."

"No, we can't let Zirconia-sama do that."

"Zirconia-sama, I'll do it."

"No, I'll do it."

"Stop it! I'll do it!"

"Maybe we should take turns operating the handle..."

Ichirou sighed in relief, smiling wryly at Zirconia and the others who had started a tug-of-war over the handle, glad that the good water had come out.

After that, they spent about 30 minutes chatting around the well, and as the sun began to set, they decided to return to town. Everyone, including Ichirou, had bathed so much that they were drenched from head to toe. The air was quite dry due to the lack of rain, so they would dry off by the time they reached town.

"At this rate, we can draw water from one well per day. Let's continue the rock-breaking work from tomorrow."

Ichirou had commissioned well-digging workers to dig similar wells in various places around the granary region. Since they now knew that water would come out after digging a certain depth into the bedrock, they just needed to repeat the same work.

"However, since mass production of hand pumps won't be ready in time, let's use a shadoof in the meantime. It's much less efficient than a hand pump, but it's much easier than drawing water with a bucket tied to a rope."

A shadoof is a tool that uses a seesaw-like motion to draw water, with a bucket tied to one end of a long pole and a weight on the other end. Thanks to the weight, the bucket can be lifted more easily, significantly reducing the burden on the worker.

The hand pump installed earlier was removed from its base and loaded back into the corner of the carriage. In the newly cultivated farmland, they planned to use the hand pumps that would be mass-produced in the future. The two hand pumps brought from Japan would be handed over to the workers later, to be used as samples for disassembly and operation checks.

"If we can secure well water, can we start planting spelt and rye?"

"Using the shadoof you taught us, we can cultivate a limited area with fewer people than before. With the water wheel installed in the granary region, we have more manpower, so we can allocate them to the new farmland."

Wiping her wet hair with a towel, Zirconia answered with a gentle smile. She had been excited by the performance of the hand pump earlier, but now she had returned to her usual calm demeanor. The others seemed to feel they had been too rowdy and looked a bit embarrassed as they left the well.

"Alright, let's expand the farmland as much as possible from now on. Please arrange the manpower."

"Understood. I'll give instructions to the civil servants to arrange it."

"Also, from tomorrow, I'll have Isaac and Haber help and get used to using the engine breaker I used today. Once they can handle well-digging, we'll go to the northwest mountainous region to find a place to build a reservoir. We need to start building the ice house soon."

In addition to cultivating new farmland, they needed to build a reservoir and an ice house before winter. While it was unclear how useful the ice house would be, considering the history of ice houses in Japan, it would not be a waste.

"I know the geography of that area well, so I can be of help. I'll guide you on the day."

"Great, that's a big help. We need a flat area near a river. Is there such a place?"

"Well... There's an abandoned village on the mountainside, and a river flows a little further from there. There are also unused farmlands, so that might work."

"That's a good location. Let's go and see it."

A farmland near a river would be suitable for transporting water. Even if they couldn't directly channel the water, they could connect an aqueduct using a water wheel or hand pump to bring water to the fields.

"Also, I'm sorry to ask for so much, but I need 20 to 30 carpenters and blacksmiths each. I want to produce a sawmill for processing timber and a forge for processing metal first."

"That's a lot... They have a mountain of work, so I'm not sure if I can gather them..."

Zirconia frowned at the number of workers requested. Ichirou understood how busy the workers were, but if they didn't start producing the machines soon, it would never happen. While it was bad to take them away from their current work, he had to consider the future and use them first.

"While production might be delayed temporarily, once these machines are completed, production efficiency will increase so much that it will be like getting change back. We should prioritize the production of these machines, even if it means stopping everything else."

"...Understood. I'll try to arrange it. I'll also get Lise to help."

"Yes, if she helps, it should go smoothly."

Over the past five days, Lise had been working with Ichirou, helping with various tasks. She had visited the workers' workshops several times, and when she handled the negotiations, the workers readily accepted the work without any complaints, which was very helpful. She might be able to handle this negotiation well too.

Lise was supposed to be at the manor today, as she had lectures and meetings scheduled. She was probably meeting with a noble or a wealthy merchant right now.

"Is Lise being helpful?"

"Yes, she's been incredibly helpful. She's well-liked, works hard, and cares for those around her. She's truly excellent."

Ichirou's praise made Zirconia smile happily.

"Thank you. She seems to admire you, Kazura-san, so please keep her close."

"Um... Yes."

Zirconia's words had a subtle nuance that made Ichirou a bit uneasy, but he nodded.

"Kushun!"

"Oh, do you have a cold? Even in summer, it gets cold in the evening... Your hands are a bit cold too. Come, move a little closer..."

While Ichirou and Zirconia were in the carriage, in the courtyard of the Nelson residence, Lise was sitting on a bench with a middle-aged man in luxurious clothing. The man's name was Nibel Ferdinand, a wealthy merchant from the Gregorun territory.

"No, I'm fine... Besides, it's getting late, so you should go home soon..."

Lise said, slightly forcing a smile and gently removing Nibel's hand. Nibel then snapped his fingers.