Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Calix naturally took the seat of honor.
To his left sat Noah Rohaim, and next to him sat Aileen.
“Miss Aileen, you look pale. Did you sleep poorly?”
When Howell Smith, the Smith Marquis, asked kindly, Aileen brushed her dry cheek.
“No. I stayed up all night organizing the materials.”
“Oh? Does that mean you found something?”
Aileen answered with an ambiguous smile that was neither confirmation nor denial.
When the meeting began shortly after, she stood up and moved to the chalkboard behind Calix Krauvel.
On the board, she quickly sketched the Raed River running through the center of Nubiar and marked the locations where flood damage had been concentrated.
“Yesterday, I visited the areas that suffered the worst damage, and I noticed one common feature. There were scrape marks along the lower sections, as if something had violently raked across them.”
As she explained, Aileen illustrated what she had seen and observed in the field, making it easy for everyone to understand.
The Smith Marquis and the officials listened attentively. Some even stood up to get a better look at the board.
“This is still only my hypothesis, but it seems the Raed River floods because a massive amount of water is suddenly released upstream for some reason.”
“The upper reaches of the Raed River… that would be the Undra Mountains.”
The Undra Mountains stretched across the eastern and northern regions and served as the source of the Raed River.
“You still haven’t determined the reason?”
At the marquis’s question, Aileen nodded.
“That’s right. So I believe we need to investigate the upper reaches directly. Only then can we determine the cause for certain.”
The moment she finished speaking, the Smith Marquis jumped to his feet.
“Prepare an expedition immediately so we can depart tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Monsters may appear, so send knights as well.”
“It will be impossible to go to the Undra Mountains and return in a single day, so we should arrange places to rest along the route…”
The officials of Nubiar became visibly excited at the possibility of finally discovering the cause of the floods that had troubled them for so long.
“….”
Amid the commotion, Calix Krauvel leaned back against the sofa and stared silently at Aileen.
His gaze was so intense that she deliberately avoided looking in his direction.
He told me to stay still, so he must be quite annoyed that I stepped forward.
But what could she do?
She had to do her job.
“Then we’ll prepare to depart early tomorrow morning.”
Feeling that Calix Krauvel might scold her if she stayed any longer, Aileen quickly escaped to her room under the pretext of preparing.
Early the next morning.
The area in front of the lord’s castle gate was bustling with people ready to depart.
There were ten people in total: a guide familiar with the Undra Mountains, the responsible officials, escort knights, Aileen, and Noah Rohaim.
“Miss Aileen, do you know how to ride a horse?”
At the official’s question, I shook my head.
The official stroked his chin awkwardly.
“I suspected as much.”
“What should we do now? The mountain road is too rough for a carriage…”
“There’s no choice. You’ll have to ride with one of the knights. Or perhaps Sir Rohaim could accompany you?”
When the official asked, Noah Rohaim smiled awkwardly.
“I would like to, but my riding skills aren’t very good. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. Then you’ll ride with one of the knights—”
At that moment, Calix Krauvel, who had been quietly observing from behind, stepped forward.
“I’ll ride with her.”
Calix Krauvel was not originally part of the expedition.
So when he said he would go with them, everyone—including me—looked at him in surprise.
“Why are you all staring? Do you object to me coming along?”
“Of course not.”
Noah Rohaim was the first to recover.
“It’s just that you said you wouldn’t join the expedition, so we were surprised by the sudden change.”
“That’s correct. The journey will be difficult, so there’s no need for you to go personally, my lord—”
“I’ve decided to go. Why are you all talking so much?”
Calix Krauvel said irritably.
The official immediately fell silent.
Noah Rohaim also flinched slightly before speaking to the official holding the reins.
“Since the lord will accompany us, please prepare a strong horse that can carry two people.”
“Y-Yes, of course.”
The official quickly brought another horse.
It was much larger and looked far fiercer than the previous one.
Taking the reins, Calix Krauvel mounted the horse with ease.
He rode it around in a wide circle, then nodded in satisfaction and dismounted.
“This one will do.”
I really didn’t want to ride together…
I had heard it would take at least ten hours on horseback to reach the upper river.
The thought of being pressed close to that man the entire time made me sigh.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you getting on?”
“Ah—no, I am. I’m getting on.”
Since I had no other choice, I reluctantly moved forward.
By the time we reached the Undra Mountains, the sky was glowing with sunset colors.
Climbing the mountain after dark would be dangerous, so we decided to spend the night in a small village at the mountain’s entrance.
Since there were no inns, we had to stay in villagers’ homes.
The place assigned to me was the village chief’s house, where Calix Krauvel and Noah Rohaim would also stay.
This house is quite old.
The floor creaked loudly with every step.
The rattling window frames whenever the wind blew were also distracting.
Usually when you enter a place like this, a new side quest appears.
[Q. Village Chief’s House: Repair the creaking floor.]
[Q. Village Chief’s House: Straighten the leaning barn door pillar.]
[Q. Village Chief’s House: Seal the cracks in the wall where wind leaks through.]
Just in case, I opened the side quest window.
As expected.
“Would it be alright if I repaired the hallway and a few things around the house?”
Before starting the side quests, I asked the village chief for permission.
“You’re saying you want to repair the house?”
The village chief looked at me suspiciously.
The look clearly said, How can a woman do such work?
I felt a surge of irritation but explained calmly.
“I’m a carpenter. If you ask others, they’ll tell you I’m quite skilled.”
It was embarrassing to say that about myself, but there was no choice if I wanted to complete the quest.
Though still doubtful, the village chief nodded and told me to do as I wished.
I decided to start with the creaky floor.
I pushed thin wooden wedges into the gaps between the lifted boards and lightly tapped them with a hammer until everything fit snugly.
After repeating the process in several places, the floor no longer made any noise.
[Side Quest Complete.]
[You have received 1,500 points.]
“Nice.”
The points appeared immediately after finishing the work.
Seeing the total rise made me hum happily.
“Next, I need to fix the barn door pillar.”
I took some nails from my bag and headed toward the barn.
I had brought nails and a hammer just in case.
I never imagined they would actually be useful.
“This might be difficult to do alone.”
Someone needed to hold the leaning pillar steady.
Maybe I should ask the village chief.
“What are you doing?”
Just as I was about to call for him, Calix Krauvel appeared.
“The barn door pillar is crooked, so I’m fixing it.”
“Why are you the one doing that?”
“We’re staying here for the night, so I’m helping out. Since you’re here, could you give me a hand?”
I said it casually, but Calix Krauvel surprisingly walked over without protest.
“What do you need me to do?”
“…You’re really going to help?”
“You asked.”
I hadn’t expected that.
“Here. Just push the leaning pillar this way so it stands straight.”
Calix Krauvel lightly pushed the pillar I indicated.
The pillar that had been leaning instantly stood upright.
Wow, he’s strong.
As expected of the final boss of a novel.
“Is this good enough?”
“Yes. Hold it there.”
I hammered nails into the point where the pillar met the base.
Perhaps he found my work interesting.
Calix Krauvel stared at me so intently it felt uncomfortable.
“Ahem… it’s done.”
The side quest completed immediately again.
“Thank you for helping. I’ll go repair the other areas now.”
“You’re going to keep working?”
“Yes. There are still places that need fixing.”
“You enjoy working more than you appear to.”
Not really…
“Then I can make you work a lot once we return to Belheim.”
Calix Krauvel nodded with satisfaction.
“Ah… haha… well then, I’ll be going.”
A bad feeling crept over me, as if I had just made a terrible mistake.
With an awkward laugh, I hurried away.