Chapter 11
Chapter 11
“Ah, come to think of it, I still need to deal with the main quest.”
Only after leaving the annex did I remember the main quest.
It wouldn’t give me a penalty for failing, right?
Feeling uneasy, I quickly checked the quest window.
[1-3. Earn recognition from the Urban Development Department team leader.]
[Reward: 5,000p]
“What? It’s still the same.”
So it hadn’t failed?
Well, if it had failed, a system message would have appeared like when a quest succeeded.
“But then why isn’t this considered a failure?”
I hadn’t earned Toma Harens’ recognition—I had practically been kicked out.
Could it be that this quest had no time limit, so it wouldn’t fail until I gave up?
“Honestly, I have no idea what the criteria are.”
Just like yesterday’s Surprise Quest, I couldn’t figure out the success conditions at all.
“Maybe I can just leave it alone.”
But usually in games, you have to complete the previous main quest before the next stage unlocks.
If that was the case, I would either have to succeed or give up on this quest.
“Ugh, whatever. My head hurts. I’ll think about it later.”
I was already irritated because of Toma Harens, and worrying about this too made my head feel like it would explode.
Thinking about it wouldn’t produce an answer anyway.
If the system window appeared again later, I would ask it then.
“More importantly, where should I go now?”
If I went home at this hour, Tabin would definitely worry.
When I returned late yesterday, he kept asking whether something had happened.
“Maybe I should go take a look at the triangular roofs the team leader built.”
Yesterday I had only glimpsed them briefly, and it had been dark.
I wanted to see for myself just how well they were made for him to be so confident after copying someone else’s technique.
Belheim was divided into ten major districts.
District 1 contained the lord’s castle and annex.
The triangular roofs I had seen yesterday were in District 3, where wealthy merchants lived.
“Pretty clean.”
Perhaps because of that, the buildings looked luxurious and the streets were spotless.
There wasn’t a single piece of trash anywhere.
“There’s no sign of monsoon damage here either.”
Areas near the city gate and districts where commoners lived were still suffering from flooding.
But from the lord’s castle to District 3, there were no signs of damage at all.
It was probably related to magic.
“But then why install triangular roofs here?”
Shouldn’t they have installed them first in the areas with the most damage?
While one question after another piled up in my mind, I arrived in front of a building with a triangular roof.
“What is this?”
He had bragged that his version was far better than mine, but it was a complete mess.
The triangular roof was too small for the size of the building, and the slope was too shallow.
Rainwater would easily collect on it.
That would not only cause leaks but could even make rainwater flow backward.
“Don’t tell me the others are built like this too…”
I had assumed that even if he was incompetent, the team leader wouldn’t be that foolish.
But I was wrong.
The triangular roofs on the other buildings were all just as poorly constructed.
“And this guy dared to look down on me?”
It was ridiculous.
But at the same time, I could understand.
Compared to modern times, the construction technology of this era lagged far behind.
Concepts that were basic for me were unfamiliar to them.
Just as I couldn’t understand the team leader, he probably couldn’t understand me either.
“This area is protected by magic, so maybe they think sloppy construction doesn’t matter here. But if they do this in other districts, it’ll be a disaster…”
Instead of preventing monsoon damage, this would amplify it.
The next disaster could cause far greater damage than before.
“What should I do?”
Should I report this to the lord or not?
If I report it, my plan to appear incompetent and get fired will probably fail.
But doing nothing while knowing people would be in danger didn’t sit right with me.
My conscience wouldn’t allow it.
“Please, I’m begging you!”
Just as my thoughts were leaning toward telling the lord, a desperate voice rang out.
“If you leave it like this, our house will completely collapse!”
Turning toward the sound, I saw a boy who looked about ten years old pleading with several men.
“Ugh, seriously. We’re busy enough already. Stop bothering us.”
One of the men sighed irritably and kicked the boy.
“Ah!”
The boy’s body flew through the air and landed right in front of me.
“Are you okay, kid?”
Startled, I helped him up.
He had a few scrapes from sliding along the ground, but thankfully he didn’t seem seriously injured.
“Waaah!”
The boy burst into tears and clung to me.
“Are you okay now?”
I waited until he stopped crying before asking.
He rubbed his wet eyes with his sleeve and nodded.
“Who were those men?”
“They’re carpenters from the Oak Heart Workshop.”
Oak Heart.
The largest carpentry workshop in Belheim.
They were the same people who had once rudely demanded that I teach them how to build triangular roofs.
“During the last monsoon, the ceiling broke and rainwater poured inside. The walls and floors got soaked, and the floorboards creak whenever we walk. There are lots of holes too.”
“Then it needs to be repaired quickly. If you leave it like that, more problems will appear.”
“My parents already asked the workshop, but they said their schedules were full and told us to wait.”
The boy’s eyes began to fill with tears again.
“So I tried asking them myself. If it stays like this, our house might completely collapse… sniff.”
The boy couldn’t finish his sentence and tears rolled down his cheeks.
Poor kid.
Now that I knew the situation, I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t seen it.
Besides, repairing houses was my specialty.
I had completely renovated Tabin’s house myself.
“Where is your house?”
The boy stopped crying and looked at me warily.
“…Why?”
“I want to help. I’m a carpenter too.”
“You are?”
The boy asked in disbelief.
“Carpentry is a man’s job.”
“That’s a mistaken prejudice. Women can do it too. And I’m pretty good at it.”
The boy still looked suspicious, but his guard lowered slightly.
“So show me where your house is. I’ll help however I can.”
After hesitating for a moment, the boy nodded.
“Please follow me.”
The boy’s house was part of an old wooden apartment building where multiple families lived stacked together.
“…Wow.”
The moment I stepped inside, a hollow laugh escaped me.
Water stains spread across the ceiling of the corridor like dark blotches.
The wallpaper hung loose.
The floor was damp and never fully dried.
Every step produced a squishing sound.
And the problem wasn’t limited to this building.
Even the building across the alley had stained walls, and rainwater still pooled in the street.
Fixing just one house won’t solve this.
Unless the entire district was repaired, the same problem would repeat.
But that kind of work was impossible for me to do alone.
More importantly, it would require permission from the district administrator—or even the lord himself.
“What are you looking at?”
“Hm? Nothing. Is this your house?”
“Yes. Come inside.”
Following the boy inside, I pressed a hand to my forehead.
The condition of the interior was even worse.
One pillar had completely warped.
Some wooden beams were so rotten that they sank when pressed with a hand.
The damage was so extensive I didn’t even know where to start.
“Can it be fixed?”
The boy studied my expression and asked cautiously.
His eyes carried a faint hope.
“It can be repaired… but we need to fix the root problem first.”
“The root problem?”
“Yes. If we don’t solve that, no matter how much we repair it, water will keep leaking.”
The boy’s face stiffened.
“Then what should we do?”
“I think it would be better to discuss it with your parents first.”
Looking around the quiet house, I asked,
“When will your parents return?”
“Late in the evening. They work at the Arcana Mine.”
Arcana.
A magical stone required for creating magical tools and casting spells.
Belheim was known for producing large amounts of it.
According to the book, more than half of the workers living here were employed at the Arcana mines.
“Then when do they rest?”
“Tomorrow.”
At least they had weekends off.
“Alright. I’ll come back tomorrow with repair tools. But…”
I bent my knees to match the boy’s eye level.
“Can you gather your parents and the other adults living in this building?”
“Why the other adults?”
“Like I said earlier, fixing just your house won’t solve the problem. Other houses might need repairs too, so I want to talk with them.”
“You’ll really fix it, right?”
The boy asked suspiciously.
I smiled and patted his head.
“Of course. I’ll come back tomorrow. Just wait for me.”