Chapter 45
Lily's gaze was nailed to Kasian's receding back. There wasn't a shred of hesitation in his steps. He strode into that pitch-black street reeking of stench and littered with filth like he was heading into his own bedroom.
"……So that's why."
Why he'd warned her so firmly. Why he'd insisted on shoving that motion sickness pill into her hand.
The scene before her eyes was worlds apart from the world the archbishop had shown her in her past life before regression. Not that staged fake slum where kids in somewhat worn but proper clothes handed her flowers with grateful smiles, dressed in those tattered, filthy burlap sacks that passed for clothes here. This was the real, raw bottom of the barrel.
Lily bit her lip hard.
I'm so ashamed.
She couldn't stand how pathetic she'd been, daring to think "I understand the poor's suffering" just because she'd skipped a few meals or slept on a hard bed.
And at the same time, she thought coming to the academy had been the right call. At first, it had just been a desperate choice to escape the archbishop after her regression. But enrolling had led to meeting Kasian, who was peeling away the thick veil that had blinded her.
I need to…… do something too.
Kasian was already on the move. Lily clenched her fists tight.
"Excuse me, coming through!"
She pushed past the noble ladies clutching their noses and dry-heaving, racing to the baggage cart. Her target: the thick green tarp covering the cart's load.
"Oh my, Lily? What are you doing?"
"Don't touch that filthy thing!"
She ignored the protests around her. Grabbing the edge of the tarp, she threw her whole body weight into pulling it free.
Nngh! It was way heavier than it looked and didn't budge easily. But Lily gritted her teeth.
Flutter!
"We need to lay this on the ground," she panted, dragging the tarp along.
"We can't…… prep food right on the dirt. Dust flying everywhere, mud splashing……"
"……Ah."
A few of the girls who'd been staring blankly suddenly got it, their faces lighting up with realization. But none stepped up to help. No one wanted mud on their academy dress uniforms.
Didn't matter. Lily grunted and spread it out alone. Once the tarp was down over the mud, they at least had a minimally clean space.
"Hoo……."
Sweat beaded on her forehead. No time to rest. She dashed back to the cart and hugged a sack of grain to her slender arms.
"Hup!"
She steadied her wobbling legs. The fear in her eyes was gone—no longer a frightened puppy's gaze. Starving slum dwellers waited for aid. This was a cleric's true battlefield.
I could feel the prickling stares boring into me. The villagers. Sunken eyes tracked us from the gaps in their ramshackle huts on the verge of collapse.
Can't blame 'em. Two fancy noble boys in their shiny getups, noses unplugged, wading through this shit pit like it was home.
"They're probably amazed," Lucius murmured beside me.
"Yeah, like zoo monkeys. That's the vibe."
"Monkeys? That's a bit harsh."
"Not wrong, though."
Who's the one throwing monkey shade first? Lucky they just see us as monkeys and nothing worse.
I replied flatly and looped around the village once. Classic unauthorized shantytown. No zoning—houses jammed together haphazardly, no sewers, so wastewater and shit just dumped on the streets.
Duh. In the dead of winter, who'd trek through the cold to sort trash and haul it out? Who'd lead that, and how?
Pure hellscape.
But……
"Hmm……."
I stopped and eyed what you'd barely call the main street—a dirt path slicing through the village. One silver lining.
"Road's not narrow. Lucky break."
"Road?" Lucius asked, puzzled.
"Look. Houses crammed so tight you can barely breathe, but this path from entrance to end? Wide enough for three carriages side by side."
"Huh, you're right. Why? If land was plentiful, no need to pack houses like that."
"Dunno. Probably for sunlight. Small houses? Just material shortages and not freezing to death in winter."
I didn't say it, but another reason: folks don't wanna dump trash far from home, but can't leave it at their doorstep or the neighbor's. So they widen the gray-zone street for dumping.
Reason didn't matter. Key was this wide road as workspace. If it was narrow, we'd be screwed just shoveling.
"This gives us some angles."
"Angles?"
"Quotes. Estimates."
I stroked my chin, squinting like a 20-year vet site foreman. Total bullshit, of course.
"Map done?"
"Yeah. Wanna see?"
He handed over the notebook he'd kept open the whole tour. I took it casually.
……Whoa.
It was drawn to blueprint level. Building layouts, road widths, even terrain elevation. Less a map, more……
This is basically a site plan, right?
Not that I've ever seen one.
Engineer's an engineer. Alchemy major putting that major to work.
"Impressive."
"Thanks. But Kasian……"
He eyed me cautiously before speaking.
"Asking for such a detailed map, calling the road a relief…… You ruled out house repairs from the start, huh?"
"Yep. Not urgent."
Winter's over—no freezing. Holes in walls won't kill instantly.
Real issue was elsewhere. I closed the notebook and mentally facepalmed.
Fuck…… Should've read some alternate history novels or civil engineering books in the army.
All I had in my head was modern-world cheats for isekai honey pots or elf-flirting tips. Skipped anything without dudes for harem binges—my bad.
Paying the price for 2D waifu brainrot now.
No regrets, though. No clue on sewers or septic design. Why would I?
Time to pay for my picky reading. I focused on instinct. That godawful stench.
"Smell bad, right?"
"……Can't deny it."
"Come summer, gates of hell open. Plague city."
"But the slope—rain drains naturally, no?"
He pointed at the map, countering.
"Slum folk aren't dumb; they'd build where water flows."
Fair point. Water flows down. But degree matters. Not on a hill—backed by forest. Slope exists, but gentle. Plus, filth-mixed sludge doesn't flow like water. It blobs like giant slime.
"Typhoons flush it periodic-like. Even this slope'd wash the whole place clean. But spotty rain? Drainage delays on low spots, ground stays soggy and rots……"
"Mm."
"Pack the ground without drainage? Whole village turns massive filth swamp. Midsummer sauna-style."
I stomped the squelching earth. Black water oozed over my shoe sole.
"Becomes an oak barrel fermenting disease. Plague buffet."
In canon, plague hit the year Lily visited, nearly tanking her saint cred. She, Hector's sister, and Muller Viscountess uncovered the cause and saved it.
I'm pre-gaming prevention. Screw canon—watching folks rot and mass-die from plague? Not my style; I'm no bastard.
"Why build here with that risk?"
Can't say. That's Lily's reveal.
"Dunno, but poor got no perfect spots. This? Core of it."
"Ah. My thinking was shallow."
You're the smart one. I know canon; you're freestyling this ping-pong without cheats.
The brainiac pondered, then followed up.
"Got it on drainage. But why not pair it with house repairs?"
"House repairs? Hard no."
"Why? Plenty collapsing."
"Shared walls to save materials. See?"
I pointed at the jammed shacks.
"Touch one, domino—whole row crumbles. Let kids handle? Not service; disaster flick. Noble boys yank a post wrong, neighbor's roof caves. Wanna see that?"
"……Ah."
Lucius paled. Horrifying mental image.
"Yeah…… Non-experts like us? Too risky."
He looked at me with awe.
"Where on earth did you learn that kind of architectural knowledge? Details you can't get from books alone."
How? Middle school modern lit class, history teacher ranted about shantytowns. Can't say that.
Too lazy to explain. Farmer boy image saves the day.
"Just…… Built sheds back home, studied odds and ends. Picked it up by accident."
"Sheds?"
"Yeah. Patch leaks, swap rotten posts. Learned naturally."
"I see……."
He nodded. Respect in his eyes? Leveled up.
"Wisdom from experience. Rumors of a battle-field genius are true."
"……."
No. Total hack job. And why do these rumors keep bouncing back to me?
