Chapter 41
Chapter 41
After spending a night in the village, we climbed the mountain as soon as daybreak arrived.
We could ride horses up to about halfway up the mountain, but after that we had to continue on foot.
The path was rugged and steep, which made the climb difficult, but it was still far better than riding the same horse as Calix Krauvel.
“This is the upper reaches of the Raed River.”
By the time we reached the destination, the sun was already beginning to tilt toward the horizon.
It’s cold.
Nubiar had been warm, but perhaps because we were in the mountains, it felt slightly chilly here.
When I rubbed my arms, Noah Roheim removed his outer coat and draped it over my shoulders.
“Oh, it’s okay.”
“You shouldn’t catch a cold. Keep it on.”
It didn’t seem right to keep refusing his kindness, so I quietly kept it around me.
“It took longer than I expected.”
The official checking his pocket watch frowned.
“We’ll have to go back down before it gets dark, so we probably only have about an hour or two… will that be enough?”
“I’ll take a look first and then let you know.”
Since we didn’t have much time, I walked around the area checking various things.
But Calix Krauvel kept trailing behind me the whole time.
“Why do you keep following me?”
“I’m curious about what you’re doing.”
“What do you mean what I’m doing? I’m investigating.”
“Exactly.”
Calix Krauvel clasped his hands behind his back and added calmly,
“I’m curious about what you’re investigating.”
… I shouldn’t even bother responding.
I gave up on trying to shake him off and focused on the investigation again.
Faint water level markings were carved into rocks and wooden posts.
There wasn’t just one line. Lines of different heights overlapped each other, layered as though time itself had stacked them up.
The strange thing was that those water level marks remained on land where no river water currently flowed.
So the river once overflowed up to here.
However, unlike Nubiar, there were no signs here of trees breaking or falling.
There were only traces that the water had quietly risen and then receded.
“Does it become the Eastern Territory after crossing that ridge?”
Pointing toward the direction the river flowed from, I asked the guide.
“No. If you cross that ridge, it becomes the Northern Territory.”
That meant the water of this river flowed down from the Northern Territory.
Now that I think about it, the Raed River usually flooded from late summer to early autumn.
Just in case my memory was wrong, I checked the memo I had written in my notebook and also asked the official who came with us.
“That’s correct. The Raed River generally floods around that time.”
The official added with a sigh,
“That’s why the crops farmers grow throughout the year all end up ruined.”
As I thought.
The scattered puzzle pieces began to fall into place one by one.
“Looks like you’ve found the cause.”
Calix Krauvel, who had been following behind me, muttered to himself while looking around.
“I don’t see anything unusual.”
Of course he wouldn’t.
This wasn’t a problem caused by something “strange.”
It was caused by something being “different.”
“I think we can head back down now.”
I smiled broadly and looked at the bewildered Nubiar official.
“Because I’ve figured out the reason the Raed River floods.”
“I heard the news. They say you found the reason the Raed River floods?”
Marquis Howell Smith, who had personally come to the castle entrance to greet us, asked in an excited voice.
“Yes. I found it.”
“Oh? What is it? No, this isn’t the sort of thing to discuss while standing here. Let’s go inside and talk properly.”
As Marquis Howell Smith reached out to grab my arm, Calix Krauvel suddenly caught his hand.
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t touch her so casually.”
“…What?”
Marquis Howell Smith looked between me and Calix Krauvel with a slightly confused expression.
Don’t look at me like that.
I don’t know why this man is acting like this either.
I thought he had been acting strange ever since he insisted on coming along on the expedition.
But after we came down the mountain, his behavior became even stranger.
Whenever Nubiar officials or knights tried to speak with me, he either blocked them or stood nearby listening to the conversation.
When he wasn’t present, he kept Noah Roheim stationed beside me.
“We’re going to that same meeting room from before, right?”
“Ah, yes. That’s correct, but…”
“Then let’s go.”
Calix Krauvel grabbed my arm and strode forward.
Dragged along unexpectedly, I glanced back over my shoulder. Marquis Howell Smith, the officials, and even Noah Roheim were all staring in this direction with stunned expressions.
“Could you let go of my arm?”
I tried asking cautiously, but he ignored me completely.
Seriously, what is wrong with him?
Anyone who didn’t know better would think he liked me.
Of course, that possibility was zero.
What kind of lunatic drags the arm of the woman he likes like this?
Only after arriving at the meeting room did Calix Krauvel finally release my arm.
He had gripped it so tightly that the spot he held throbbed.
Inside the meeting room, the officials I had seen before were already gathered.
They must have heard the news, because the way they looked at me was so bright and eager that it felt burdensome.
Soon, when Marquis Howell Smith and the others arrived, the meeting began.
“The reason the Raed River floods once every two years is because of heavy rainfall.”
“What do you mean? The Eastern Territory doesn’t receive enough rain to call it heavy rainfall.”
Marquis Howell Smith tilted his head as he asked.
“That’s right. It hardly rains in the east.”
I drew the Undra Mountain Range on the blackboard, dividing the north and the east.
“But the Northern Territory is different. During the monsoon season, it rains so much that they must prepare for flooding. That rainwater flows down the Undra Mountains and eventually reaches the Eastern Territory.”
I gathered several branching lines into a single point.
“When all that water converges and rushes in at once, the Raed River floods.”
“Good heavens, so that’s what was happening. I never would have thought of that.”
“Then if we just block all of that, the river won’t overflow anymore?”
Tsk. I knew someone would ask that.
“It might work once or twice, but it won’t work continuously. Eventually the river will overflow anyway, and when that happens, the disaster will be far worse than it is now.”
“But the north gets rain every year. Why does the Raed River only flood once every two years?”
I knew that question would come up too.
“That’s because the amount of rainwater flowing into the Eastern Territory isn’t enough to cause flooding every year.”
I drew a wide circle at the point where thin streams converged.
“The water that comes over from the Northern Territory normally gathers here and slowly flows down toward Nubiar.”
It was the upper region of the Raed River that we had investigated.
“But the moment it exceeds the limit that area can handle, all that accumulated water rushes into the Raed River in Nubiar at once.”
“And that’s when the river floods.”
Marquis Howell Smith nodded as if he finally understood.
The other officials also exclaimed that they had never imagined such a reason and couldn’t hide their amazement.
“Now that I think about it, the Raed River overflowed not long after heavy rain fell in the north.”
“So the cause was the Northern Territory.”
When someone muttered that, everyone’s gaze immediately turned toward Calix Krauvel.
“….”
His expression, which had already been unpleasant since entering the meeting room, hardened even further.
The look he directed at me became sharper as well.
If someone could stab with their eyes, I would have been stabbed several times already.
This is bad.
If this continues, my life might actually be in danger.
[Main Quest Completed!]
[You will receive 30,000 Points as a reward!]
At a time like this, the tactless system window flashed before my eyes.
Move aside!
I quickly closed the system window and clapped my hands to draw everyone’s attention.
“The rain falling isn’t the fault of the north, so the Northern Territory isn’t the cause. In fact, it would be more accurate to call them victims as well. The Northern Territory also suffers major damage from heavy rainfall every year.”
“Ahem. That’s true.”
“Wasn’t that a rather careless remark you made?”
“I was just saying it could be possible…”
The atmosphere shifted quickly, but Calix Krauvel still looked displeased.
I give up.
Let’s just do what I came here to do.
“There’s only one way to solve this problem.”
Ignoring his piercing stare as best I could, I drew another diagram on the blackboard.
“First, we create a space to hold the water that flows in up to this point, and install a device that controls the flow so it doesn’t all rush out at once.”
In other words, a retention basin and a sluice gate.