Chapter 53
Chapter 53
“This is the morning newspaper published today.”
Noah Roheim placed the morning paper on Calix’s desk.
[After the monsoon, now the icy roads. The hero who saved the city once again—Aileen.]
The headline alone immediately caught the eye.
Calix leaned back against the chair and slowly read through the article.
[The innovative countermeasure for preventing icy-road accidents—using ash, charcoal, and straw—has proven effective, significantly reducing carriage accidents…]
The article described Aileen’s achievements in detail.
“I knew Miss Aileen was capable, but to this extent… I’m truly surprised.”
“She is capable.”
Calix acknowledged that as well.
The problem, however, was that she was too capable.
The thought that someone else might take her away began to fill him with unease. Frowning deeply, Calix tossed the newspaper onto the desk.
“If you’re worried that Miss Aileen might receive a better offer elsewhere and leave, perhaps you could give her a reward.”
“A reward?”
“Yes. When I spoke with her previously, she seemed quite displeased that Your Lordship assigned her miscellaneous tasks and even made her wear that strange bracelet.”
“A strange bracelet? Ah.”
Only then did Calix remember the magical device he had put on her and let out a short exclamation.
Since it was worn on the arm rather than the neck, calling it a bracelet was technically correct.
“So if you praise her properly and give an appropriate reward this time, I think she’ll be pleased.”
Calix thought for a moment before nodding.
“Not a bad idea. Think about what would make a suitable reward for that woman.”
The completion rate of the Surprise Quest rose little by little each day.
The system hadn’t calculated the numbers arbitrarily—freezing accidents were actually decreasing noticeably.
In the past, more than a dozen incidents were reported each day.
Now they occurred only once every three days, if that.
When the deadline finally arrived, the completion rate reached 90 percent.
[You will receive 90,000 points as a reward!]
The point calculation was precise.
“I’ve finally exceeded 100,000 points.”
After spending a lot of points in Nubiar and failing to clear the main quest yet, my points had nearly run out.
Even though I diligently completed side quests, the points accumulated slowly.
This reward finally gave me some breathing room.
“Maybe I should buy some new equipment.”
There had been something I had my eye on earlier… where was it?
“What are you doing, staring at empty air?”
The voice from behind startled me, and I immediately stood up.
When I turned around, Calix Krauvel was leaning casually against the office entrance.
“What brings you here, My Lord…?”
“Is this somewhere I’m not allowed to come?”
“Of course not. Absolutely not. Ha ha ha.”
Provoking his temper would only make things troublesome for me, so I quickly denied it.
At the same time, I glanced around.
I was the only one in the office.
It was lunchtime, so everyone else had gone out to eat.
If I’d known he was coming, I would’ve gone too.
Someone had suggested eating outside, but I had lazily said I would just eat a sandwich.
Now I regretted it.
“Are you wearing the bracelet properly?”
The bracelet? What bracelet was he talking about—ah, the metal ring.
“Yes, I’m wearing it.”
Even though I wanted to remove it, it wouldn’t come off, so I had no choice but to keep wearing it.
When I showed him the ring on my wrist, he nodded with satisfaction.
“This.”
Then he handed me a rough wooden box.
I accepted it reflexively. It was surprisingly heavy.
“What is this?”
“A reward for your good work.”
Huh? A reward all of a sudden?
“I heard the number of icy-road accidents has noticeably decreased thanks to you.”
Oh, he meant that.
“I hope you continue working like this from now on. Here, in Belheim.”
“Ha ha…”
His words sounded like a warning not to think about leaving for another place, and all I could do was laugh awkwardly.
Calix Krauvel narrowed his eyes at me.
“Answer.”
“Of course. Where would I go when my hometown is here?”
I answered immediately.
It was a blatant lie, of course, but I didn’t feel the slightest guilt.
Survival was more important than conscience.
Telling a lie like this was easy—I could do it dozens of times without hesitation.
Perhaps satisfied with my answer, he patted my shoulder and left.
“Phew.”
Relieved that everything had passed without incident, I looked down at the box he had given me.
“I didn’t expect to receive a reward.”
But what was inside that made it so heavy?
I placed the box on the desk and opened the lid.
“…What is this?”
Inside the box was a nameplate carved from marble.
[In recognition of the achievements of Aileen, Hero of Belheim.
—Calix Krauvel—]
The words engraved on the plaque made my face burn with embarrassment.
I hurriedly closed the lid, worried someone might see.
“He gives something like this as a reward?”
If he wanted to give a reward, he should give money, gold, jewels, or something practical.
A plaque?
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even laugh.
It turned out that receiving a plaque from the Lord was considered an honor so great that it should be preserved as a family heirloom.
But to me, it was nothing more than trash I didn’t want to see.
So I shoved the entire box deep into the closet.
Honestly, I wanted to dump it in the storage room.
But if Tabin happened to find it, that would cause even more trouble.
After that, peaceful days continued.
The weather, which had been cold enough to see one’s breath, gradually warmed.
As the frozen ground thawed, the drainage construction finally began in earnest.
“This section needs the slope to be precise, so bring the level.”
“Flatten the ground over there and reinforce it with stones.”
Thanks to the experience from the autumn monsoon, the employees of the Urban Development Department and the laborers moved skillfully.
“What? You’re still working in the Urban Development Department?”
Bram Gus still loved provoking people.
“Isn’t it hard for a woman to work in the Urban Development Department?”
“Not at all. But Mr. Bram Gus, how long do you plan to keep working at construction sites? Aren’t you about the age to retire?”
“What nonsense!”
Bram Gus glared at me.
“I’m only forty-four! Why would I retire?”
“At forty-four you should be seeing grandchildren already. You’re too old for this kind of rough work.”
Apparently the word “old” struck a nerve, because Bram Gus’s face turned red and blue with anger.
Serves you right. Who told you to pick a fight with me?
I snorted and headed toward the construction site.
“…But scattering ash and charcoal on frozen roads—that was really your idea?”
Bram Gus followed behind me and asked.
“And the drainage channels too. How did you come up with those methods? Did you receive some kind of divine revelation?”
I didn’t answer.
But perhaps he took my silence as confirmation, because he kept asking questions.
“I didn’t receive any divine revelation. I came up with it because I’m a genius.”
Since he seemed like he would keep pestering me otherwise, I deliberately answered arrogantly.
“Wow. Aren’t you embarrassed saying something like that yourself?”
But Bram Gus was more persistent than I expected.
“Not at all. More importantly, why are you standing here instead of working? Do you not have anything to do?”
If he really didn’t have work, I planned to give him more.
Hearing that, Bram Gus turned pale and ran away.
As promised, Nubiar supplied Nereia timber, and thanks to the installation of magical lighting that allowed night work, construction progressed much faster than expected.
At this rate, the work would definitely finish before the summer monsoon.
Should I try negotiating with Calix Krauvel before then?
If we safely prevented the summer monsoon again, I could ask for money as a reward.
What I wanted most was to leave Belheim.
But judging from the way the Lord behaved, even if I bought migration rights, he probably wouldn’t let me leave willingly.
Still, it was better to prepare migration rights just in case and save enough money to settle in another territory.
Let’s ask for money.
If I stayed quiet, he might give me another useless plaque like last time.
It was better to ask directly.
Ten gold should be enough, right?
Since I still didn’t fully understand the value of money in this world, it was hard to decide how much reward I should request.
Thinking that I should at least bring up the topic of a reward, I went to find Calix Krauvel.
“Did you say there’s a problem with the retention basin construction?”
And instead, I heard something completely unexpected.