The Stranger's Plan
After a moment of thought, I spoke.
“By the way, something occurred to me last night.”
Leona tilted her head.
“What is it?”
I pointed out the window.
“It’s about this city.”
“There’s something I can help with.”
A spark lit up in Leona’s eyes.
“In what way?”
I answered briefly.
“A way to bring water in.”
Leona’s expression grew serious.
“We do have wells and aqueducts here, but…”
I waved a hand dismissively.
“Their efficiency is terrible.”
I swept my hand through the air.
“We can draw far more.”
Leona was momentarily speechless.
Her eyes widened slowly, beginning to shine.
“Improving… the aqueducts?”
Her breathing quickened just a little.
“Jun, that’s an absolutely brilliant idea.”
Suppressed excitement colored her voice.
“The current aqueducts and wells are certainly usable, but…”
Leona paused for a second.
“This is exactly the kind of thinking we need.”
I nodded.
Leona’s eyes brightened even further.
“If I’m with you, we’ll truly be able to accomplish so much.”
I thought for a moment.
“The problem, though… is materials.”
I looked her straight in the eye.
“That’s why I need to understand magic.”
“I have to know exactly how far it can go.”
I paused, then asked.
“Can you arrange a direct audience with Her Majesty?”
Leona fell into brief thought.
A private audience with the Queen was never an easy thing to secure, yet she slowly nodded.
“Very well.”
“I’ll request an audience with Her Majesty.”
I gave a quiet nod.
“Good. I’ll be waiting.”
A small smile touched her lips as she gently took my hand.
“Please wait for me.”
“I’ll inform you of Her Majesty’s decision…”
“As quickly as possible.”
Leona rose onto her toes and pressed her lips to mine.
It was no short kiss.
Hope.
Affection.
And anticipation for whatever lay ahead.
All of those emotions were poured into it.
When her lips finally parted, her blue eyes sparkled as she spoke.
“I believe in you, Jun.”
“Together, we…”
“Can overcome any obstacle.”
Then she turned away.
Her twin braids swayed lightly.
I stood by the window with my arms crossed.
The town spread out beneath me in a single glance, and people were moving about down there.
The market, carts, aqueducts, and the castle walls.
Holy shit.
This really is a medieval city.
If I could just run a proper aqueduct through here, the entire layout of the city would change completely.
“If the Queen just gives permission…”
The corner of my mouth lifted.
----------
Leona was walking down a deep inner corridor of Celes Palace.
Her heart was beating a little faster, and her mind was racing just as quickly as her pulse.
Clack.
Clack.
In the long, quiet corridor, only the sound of her footsteps echoed.
She quickened her pace and finally arrived before a massive door.
The door to the throne room.
Before the enormous door decorated with crystals, guards stood on either side.
“Leona, Knight Commander.”
With a low creak, the door slowly opened, revealing the vast throne hall.
High ceilings, pillars that caught and reflected the light, and upon a raised dais, a throne carved from crystal.
Queen Seraphina sat upon it.
The silver star patterns on her black robes caught the light and shimmered softly.
Leona stopped before the dais, dropped to one knee, and bowed deeply.
“Your Majesty.”
“I have an important report.”
The Queen’s gaze slowly descended.
“Speak. My loyal subject, Leona.”
Her voice was calm and low.
Leona kept her head bowed as she answered.
“He says he will help Lunaris.”
A hush fell over the throne hall.
The Queen’s gaze drifted toward some faraway point.
She was thinking.
A moment later.
A sharp light flashed in the Queen’s eyes, and she rose slowly from her seat.
The hem of her star-embroidered robe brushed softly against the marble floor.
Swish.
One step.
“If what you say is true.”
Another step.
She reached the edge of the dais.
The Queen’s eyes turned toward Leona below.
“The presence of that stranger…”
“May very well change the course of Elcia.”
The air grew heavy, and tension filled the throne hall.
“Bring him before me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Your command will be obeyed.”
----------
At that same moment.
I raised my hand inside the room.
“Ignition…”
I waited a moment.
Nothing?
Nothing happened.
“Manifestation…”
I spoke with a bit more seriousness.
Still nothing?
There was no reaction at all.
I turned my hand over, muttering.
“Reinforcement…”
Silence.
It was quiet.
No glow of mana.
No strange sensation.
Nothing.
I stood there dazed for a moment, rotating my wrist a few times.
“Not this either.”
I extended my hand once more.
“Aura Manifestation.”
I tried to make it sound cooler and waited, but again, nothing happened.
I let out a sigh.
“Ugh…”
I scratched my head.
“What the hell is this?”
I spaced out for a second.
“It definitely flashed that time…”
Muttering, I lowered my hand.
Whatever.
“I give up.”
I flopped down onto the bed.
“I’ll have to ask Leona about it later.”
----------
A short while later.
The door opened and Leona entered with a joyful expression.
Our eyes met for a brief moment.
“Her Majesty is calling for you.”
I stretched and stood up.
“Finally.”
----------
In the throne hall.
I bowed my head toward the Queen.
“Hello, Your Majesty.”
“I’m still not familiar with the proper etiquette.”
Seraphina raised her hand lightly.
“Leona, you may withdraw.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Once Leona had left through the door, the Queen’s dignified voice rang out.
“Traveler.”
“You need not be bound by our customs.”
With an elegant yet majestic gesture, she motioned for me to rise.
I slowly got to my feet and looked at the Queen.
“Your existence is quite intriguing.”
Seraphina’s crimson eyes scanned me.
“I hear you offered to help us.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. That is correct.”
“How do you intend to help?”
I answered immediately.
“I can plan improvements to the aqueducts and roads.”
The Queen’s eyes narrowed slightly as she fell into deep thought.
For a very brief time, a heavy silence passed.
“Then we should move to a different location.”
She turned her body.
“Follow me.”
Seraphina began walking with graceful steps.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Following the Queen through a long, winding corridor wrapped in silence.
Click.
Click.
Her high-heeled shoes struck the floor in a steady rhythm.
Huge tapestries hung on the walls.
Female warriors fighting beasts.
Women building cities.
Towers soaring toward the sky.
War, construction, conquest.
With every step, I could feel what kind of place this was without needing words.
Soon we arrived before another massive, ornately carved door.
At the Queen’s gesture, it opened silently.
Her private chambers—a vast, quiet space.
A luxurious room was revealed.
“Enter.”
I followed her inside, the door closed behind us, and only the Queen and I remained in the room.
Seraphina said nothing for a long time.
She simply gazed at me.
Gulp…
Her gaze was calm, yet it felt as though it pierced straight through a person.
Finally, she spoke.
“As I said yesterday, your arrival in this place…”
“Is something without precedent.”
She paused, and a faint blue light crossed her crimson eyes as they examined me once more.
“Nevertheless.”
“You now stand before me.”
One step.
She drew closer.
“And you are saying you will help us.”
A short silence fell, and the air seemed to tighten around my body.
“Tell me, traveler.”
“Why do you wish to help us?”
She tilted her head slightly.
“Is it some fate?”
“Or is it some kind of power?”
The Queen’s gaze dug deep.
“What is it you seek to gain?”
Harem, obviously… T_T
I organized my words for a moment.
“Yesterday, while touring the area under Leona’s guidance.”
The Queen’s eyes did not move.
“I heard that this land suffers from frequent wars.”
“And that water supply is also a difficulty.”
Seraphina continued to listen.
“I don’t know much about magic.”
“So I probably won’t be of help on the battlefield.”
A brief silence.
“However.”
I raised my hand and traced a flow through the air.
“I know how to send as much water as needed to wherever it is required.”
The Queen’s eyes trembled ever so slightly.
It was the first time any emotion showed.
“Continue.”
I kept speaking.
“While confined to the castle, I looked down at the town.”
“The roads are also inefficient.”
“They can be improved.”
Even after listening to everything I had to say, Seraphina did not respond immediately.
Once again silence stretched on as the Queen slowly began to pace.
“Improving the water supply…”
“And expanding the roads…”
She raised a hand to her chin and continued moving.
“Water… roads…”
Lost in thought, she repeated the words.
“This is by no means a trivial proposal.”
She stopped walking.
“If it is truly possible…”
“The hardships my people endure will be reduced.”
Her eyes grew a little sharper.
“But magic is the foundation of Lunaris.”
“No matter how good your intentions, if you approach without understanding, any plan is meaningless.”
I nodded.
“That is why I wish to confirm the limits of magic.”
“To see the extent of its range.”
I took a short breath and spoke.
“Could you provide me with a pen and paper?”
A brief silence followed.
I bowed my head slightly.
The Queen gazed at me for a moment.
In the not-too-long silence, her eyes continued to study me, calculating.
Profit and risk.
Value and variables.
Finally, as if her calculations were complete, the corner of the Queen’s mouth lifted ever so slightly.
“Very well. How interesting.”
Her voice was calm.
“Traveler. Your curiosity and initiative.”
She paused.
“They are rather unusual, yet not displeasing.”
The Queen turned and walked to an ornate desk on one side of the room.
She opened a drawer, took out a sheet of parchment and an elegant quill pen, then slowly returned and held them out to me.
“Take them.”
“Show me how valuable your proposal is.”
“Draw the world you come from.”
I nodded, accepted them, and spread out the paper.
I recalled the town visible from below.
The rough topography.
The positions of the buildings.
Without hesitation, I began drawing lines.
A map of the town.
Across it, I drew one thick line.
On the route that would become the backbone of the water supply, I marked elevations.
In places where drawing water would be difficult, I added small reservoirs.
A moment later, I set the pen down.
“This is the overall route map.”
When the Queen’s eyes turned to the map, I picked up the pen again.
A different sheet.
A different drawing.
A long pipe.
It was the structure of the pipe that would serve as the water conduit.
Thickness, connection methods, modern concepts.
I drew in as much detail as possible the things that did not exist in this world, then looked at the Queen.
“Can magic create something like this?”
I glanced around the room.
Something had caught my eye.
“It doesn’t need to be as hard as the castle walls.”
I pointed at a barrel.
“It only needs to be about as solid as that barrel.”
The Queen stepped forward and leaned over the map.
With an extremely focused expression, her gaze followed the lines and markers.
After a while, the Queen’s eyes changed.
Interest, and a hint of admiration.
Her finger traced across the map.
The aqueducts, reservoirs, and the connected town.
The Queen slowly nodded and smiled faintly.
“Impressive.”
Though her voice was low, she was clearly acknowledging it.
“Your knowledge and understanding…”
“Run far deeper than I thought.”
The Queen’s finger moved along the aqueduct.
“Especially in arid regions.”
“This could completely transform water supply.”
Her finger shifted to the pipe drawing, and her crimson eyes gleamed slightly.
“And…”
The Queen slowly straightened up, an intrigued smile forming on her lips.
“As for the parts that use magic.”
She walked slowly, lost in thought.
“It is precisely at that point that our magic could truly shine.”
The Queen’s hand moved through the air as if explaining.
Her voice now clearly carried genuine interest.
That’s it!