Chapter 048: That's why you can't rely on hothouse flowers raised in a greenhouse.
"No fucking way, this thing wasn't this overpowered from the start?"
That's why you can't rely on hothouse flowers raised in a greenhouse. Maybe they didn't even dare to ask around. The villagers looked so grimy, who knows what diseases they might be carrying? Their hollow eyes were kinda scary, so yeah, no one wants to chat them up.
But there was one guy here who didn't give a shit and actually dug for info. I jerked my chin toward the center of the clearing.
A pink-haired ponytail bobbing away as she hauled pots nonstop.
"Go ask the Saintess over there."
"You mean Lily?"
"Yeah. She's the only one among us who can talk to the villagers."
"……Understood."
Kals nodded awkwardly, then headed off to the carts with a determined look.
Curious what he'd do, I watched. He cracked open an oak barrel, nodded, and addressed the crowd.
"Everyone, listen up! Beneath the grain sacks, we've got oak barrels filled with dried rations! From now on, move them to the cooking area, empty the contents, and in groups of four, carry the barrels to fetch water!"
His brain was spinning fast. A passive smartass, you could say. Normally, he'd be a know-it-all pain in the ass, but Wilhelm had whipped him into shape, making him useful now.
I dusted off my hands and shoved the remaining manpower toward Lucius.
"Looks like that's sorted. Gather up everyone with nothing to do and put 'em to work under Lucius here. Have 'em dig and level the ground."
"Got it, but……."
Lucius eyed me with concern.
"You sure you can handle the drainage ditch alone? It runs through the whole village—pretty wide scope."
His gaze lingered on the single rusty shovel in my hand.
Guess I looked pretty pathetic, heading off to battle that hopeless mud pit with just one shovel.
"You'll burn yourself out solo. Let me assign a few hands……."
"Lucius."
"Yes?"
I smirked, slinging the shovel over my shoulder, and dropped a line that flipped this world's common sense on its head.
"You think I'm gonna dig this shit by hand all damn day?"
"……?"
Lucius blinked in confusion. Carrying a shovel but not shoveling? What kinda Zen koan was this?
"Magic's not for boiling soup, is it? I'm off."
"……Ah."
His jaw dropped.
"Oh. Uh, take the notebook. I need it right now."
Lucius handed it over in a daze. I pocketed it and strolled toward the village interior, leaving him standing there like an idiot.
Lucius stared blankly at Kasian's retreating back.
'You think I'm gonna dig this shit by hand all damn day? Magic's not for boiling soup, is it?'
Magic. Sure, magic's great. But it's not omnipotent.
Using magic for civil engineering? Unheard of.
'……Does that even work?'
The wider the scope, the more precision required. More precision means exponentially more mana drain.
And digging a drainage ditch through the entire village—solo?
'Mana isn't infinite…….'
Maybe a veteran like Professor Hiks from the Magic Department could pull it off. Mana capacity isn't just talent; it's built layer by layer over absolute physical time.
No genius skips years of accumulation.
A twenty-something freshman, even one endorsed by Professor Iris, couldn't defy physics.
But.
'……Why does it feel like he can?'
He didn't seem the type to bluff. Instead, an inexplicable certainty welled up: Of course he'll nail it.
'……I wanna go watch.'
See him shatter outdated norms, mock physical limits, and work a miracle.
Alchemy students got dismissed as money-grubbing merchants by mages and knights, grease-stained peddlers.
But deep down, alchemists burned with the hottest flame for pursuing truth.
Suddenly, his mentor's words echoed.
'Genius is like the edge of the world. Sharp and piercing, it stabs others, but ultimately tears open the world's shell to expand it.'
Now he finally got it. True knowledge had to be witnessed with one's own eyes to mean anything.
"Hoo."
Lucius exhaled deeply, swallowing his regret. He wanted to follow, but his feet wouldn't move.
'I've got my assignment.'
The artificial well. Kasian had trusted him with it.
'Treating these villagers like zoo monkeys…… Even professors think elite soldiers are still soldiers.'
That anger had impressed him. Geniuses usually floated above the world, numb to others' pain—analyzing poverty and disease as mere phenomena, never feeling it in their hearts.
But Kasian was different. He'd wrinkled his nose at the stench but fought to preserve the dignity of those living in it.
'Gotta earn my keep.'
That gruff line stuck in Lucius's mind.
'The more I think, the less logical it seems.'
A genius brain paired with a heart that felt others' suffering as his own? He'd never believe it without seeing.
'Fine. He set the stage, so I'll do my part.'
That way, if he turned out to be a fraud—slim chance—he could criticize freely.
Lucius set down his bag, rolled up his sleeves, and turned to the dazed male students.
Fancy-pants young masters still floundering, clueless.
"As you heard, we're building an artificial well here! While Kasian digs the drainage, we secure a water storage spot!"
He gripped his hardening agent flask tight.
"Anyone willing, grab a shovel and dig! Time's short!"
Right then—
Thud! Thud!
The clumsy shoveling of noble brats shattered the slum's silence.
About an hour later.
Rumblings.
"What the—?"
People panicked at the mysterious vibrations. Lucius thought it a mistake at first, but the crowd's reactions confirmed it.
Then a bigger one hit.
Roooar!!
"W-what is it?"
"Earthquake?!"
Stronger tremors sent folks scrambling. Unlike the chaos—
'No way?'
Lucius thought of Kasian. Glancing his way—
ROOOARRRR!!!!
The ground shook violently.
And Lucius witnessed it clear as day.
"Th-that!"
"Oh my god……."
Across the village, a massive mud tsunami—at least ten meters high—rose up.
Roughly an hour in, my eyes were still darting everywhere. Felt like they'd pop out.
Head throbbed too.
Virtual lines etched in my mind, forming a 3D map.
I'd already scouted the soil texture and slopes on foot, but you tap even solid bridges.
Especially in slapdash construction like this.
"Okay. Perfect."
I snapped the notebook shut, convinced.
Worlds apart from plowing fields. Screw up a furrow there, ruin some crops, mutter "fuck it," and move on.
Here? Botch the foundation, houses collapse. People die.
The razor-thin line to homes, ditch depth and flow angle. Even the flattening range for Lucius's hardener later.
I calculated every variable, hammering them into my neurons.
Only by grasping the problem this perfectly could my ability spit out the ideal solution.
"Haa…… fuck."
A sigh escaped.
"If studying worked like this, life'd be sweet."
No flunking but no professor ass-kissing either. Solve problems decently without wowing the old geezers.
Academy life would've been smoother. Wait, no research lab then?
'Never mind, scratch that.'
Anyway, such precise setups only worked in domains I understood. Magic theory exams? Couldn't grasp the question fully, so vague "solve it" prompts left me anxious about the output.
Civil works and farming? Clear problems—poor drainage stunting growth—with obvious fixes: open channels, level land.
Ability utilization: 200%, hell, 1000%.
That double corn crop? Impossible without this power.
I took a deep breath. Prep done.
Time to show 'em.
"Let's do this."
Flipped the mental switch.
Problem Solver
Remaining uses today: 2/3
Vmmm—
A mechanical hum rang in my skull, and the world grayed out.
Not my wrist this time. An invisible giant force wrapped my whole torso.
Thud.
Body launched into the air against my will. Falling from the tree.
Oh shit, fuck!
Splat—!
Instinct hit on landing. 'Fuck, this is gonna hurt like hell later.'
Whatever. The formless power bent my knees, bowed my torso.
Then flung my hands wide, slamming palms into the wet, filthy earth.
Stick!
Unknown energy poured from my fingertips, roots burrowing out.
Grrrrrumble—
A heavy quake rose from my feet.
……But this feels excessive?
ROOOARRRRRR—!
What the fuck! Why so intense!
Immediately—
Whoosh—!
Earth flipped around my hands. A mud wave from my kneel-spot, no, a tsunami surging village-wide.
'Ugh?!'
Fuck. This won't do?
Compared to flipping fields back home, the pulse was magnitudes bigger, fiercer.
Fuck, did that glitchy bastard go haywire after I made it solve two bullshit problems raw twice?!
But then—
The impossible happened.
The ferocious dirt wave, surging taller than people—nearly ten meters—settled.
And where it did……
'Whoa.'
Lay perfectly paved roads, machined to precision. Drains carved flawlessly.
In mere seconds.
'……Jackpot.'
Weird. This power never had such flashy, bullshit effects when I farmed.
No fucking way, this thing wasn't this overpowered from the start?
Ignoring my flustered thoughts, the tsunami charged village-wide like a rhino's horn.