Chapter 54
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Continent's First Feat (1)
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Roman aqueducts.
They were civil engineering marvels that surpassed the era of the Roman Empire.
The Aqua Appia, constructed in 312 BC.
The Anio Vetus, completed in 272 BC.
The Aqua Marcia from 144 BC.
And countless other aqueducts connected Rome to its suburbs.
Some stretched just over a dozen kilometers.
Others reached an astonishing 100 kilometers, bringing in crystal-clear water.
Thanks to them, Rome's nearly million-strong population enjoyed a stable supply of drinking water regardless of the season for centuries.
'And most of those aqueducts are still standing today. Some even still carry water.'
A memory from his college days suddenly surfaced.
Lloyd recalled his club activities back then.
It was a club that researched traditional architecture.
Not just their own country's ancient structures, but world heritage sites as well.
Of course, they'd studied Roman aqueducts too.
'And the one that shocked me the most was the Aqua Julia.'
That one had also been built in the BC era.
Yet it still functioned perfectly even now.
He'd been stunned to learn that this ancient relic continued to supply water to Rome's Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and historic districts.
"Build a good aqueduct, and it'll handle water needs for decades—no, generations—without issue. Of course, you'll need consistent maintenance over time."
Lloyd set aside the memory and spoke up.
His hand moved.
He pointed crisply at the cliffs standing like folding screens on either side.
"So, an aqueduct here would run perfectly from over there to right up ahead. The ground's stable enough. Minimal elevation changes. And no earthquakes around here."
"......"
"Plus, we can source the stone for it right nearby. See that exposed bedrock over there? All limestone."
"......"
"The timber for the arches can be felled locally from the nearby woods. It's a good distance from the territory, so crews can travel back and forth without much hassle. Right?"
"......"
"Hey. Why so quiet?"
"Lord Lloyd—"
Only after Lloyd pointed it out did Haviel finally speak.
"Where did you learn all this?"
"This stuff? Construction?"
"Yes."
Haviel pressed on.
"I don't get it. The Lord Lloyd I remember wasn't this capable."
"Whoa. Straight-up calling me incompetent, huh?"
"Fact."
Haviel sliced through.
The silver-haired knight unleashed a barrage of facts.
"You were lazy, slothful, wasteful, and hated studying. Well, there was one thing you liked learning."
"Don't tell me math?"
"Not even close. What do you take yourself for?"
"A talent that makes heaven jealous?"
"......"
"Hey. Don't get so serious."
"Lord Lloyd only cared about playing. Drinking, carousing noisily, and obsessing over baffling drinking games till your face turned red."
Haviel said with a sigh.
"So I just don't understand lately. Where on earth did you learn all this?"
"......"
The look and gaze Haviel fixed on him.
It wasn't a joke or a complaint.
He was asking seriously, brimming with questions.
Lloyd figured it made sense from Haviel's perspective.
'The Lloyd he first knew was probably just a drunken young master.'
But from some point on, he'd started pulling out knowledge no one could've imagined. And there hadn't been any obvious study sessions in between.
'He's definitely suspicious that there's something I know that he doesn't.'
Lloyd let out a deep sigh.
His expression turned serious too.
"You want to know how I learned all this?"
"Yes."
"You gonna believe me if I tell you?"
"I'll judge after hearing your answer, Lord Lloyd."
"Hmm, alright then......"
Lloyd took a breath.
He spoke with a grave look.
"Korean University."
"Pardon?"
"I mentioned it before. Korean University. It's this place that shows up in my dreams every night. No idea why. In the dreams, I'm a student there. And I pick up all sorts of knowledge and make it my own."
"What does that......"
"It's true. Every time I wake up, my head's stuffed with new stuff. All the projects I've done so far, the construction methods, the stuff I recite to you like a lullaby—it's all from that. Believe me now?"
"Not really."
"Figured. It's bullshit."
"......"
"If you believe it, it's true. If not, it's bullshit. Right?"
"So you're saying you have no intention of giving a real answer."
"Hey, maybe if you believed me."
Lloyd smirked and shrugged.
In times like these, you lay down some thick-skinned deflection, act a bit irresponsible, brazenly bullshit.
And always leave an escape hatch.
Maybe that's why.
Haviel shook his head slowly.
"You're so predictable yet baffling, Lord Lloyd."
It was then.
Ding-dong.
[Haviel Asrahan found your answer insincere.]
[Haviel Asrahan's favorability toward you has decreased by -1.]
[Current relationship with Haviel Asrahan: -9]
[Relations with a key figure have slightly worsened, but no RP penalty.]
[Current RP: 1337]
'What the hell.'
The message floating before his eyes.
Lloyd read it with incredulous eyes.
The bit about attending university in his dreams.
It was just random nonsense.
Meant to confuse Haviel.
He hadn't expected even a gram of belief.
And as predicted, Haviel didn't buy it.
He even felt a bit resentful.
But Lloyd couldn't care less about that minor(?) stuff.
His focus was solely on the RP that hadn't been deducted despite the favorability drop.
'Heh heh heh. This is huge.'
Lloyd felt a clownish grin rising unbidden.
RP.
Relationship Points, for short.
His greatest asset.
When facing off against senior knight Sir Neumann.
When trapped in an ant nest by accident.
When summoning fantasy beasts for projects.
It had always been the perfect secret weapon at the critical moments.
That's why he'd been a tad worried lately.
He predicted it'd get harder to earn RP over time.
'There's a limit to favor you can gain from others.'
Take the baroness couple or Haviel.
Their favorability started negative.
Show even a slight change, and bam—favorability up messages galore.
But as favorability rose across the board, things changed.
'Lately, it's been sneakily hard to gain any.'
Humans adapt surprisingly fast.
What shocks at first becomes mundane with repetition.
Even with liking someone.
Show a good side once, then you need an even better one next.
Fail, and familiarity breeds no excitement.
That psychological trap was exactly what Lloyd fretted over.
'Right now, favorability's middling, so it doesn't sting yet. But when it skyrockets later? Gaining even 1 point will take insane effort.'
Sure, expand your circle.
Make more friends.
But that's exhausting.
'I'm not some ultimate social butterfly.'
You can't live off universal favor forever.
Meaning his ace, RP accumulation, would get tougher.
Yet now, staring at the message, Lloyd felt his worries melt away.
'Favorability drops, but no RP loss!'
Huge.
Meaning, when favorability with someone maxes out.
And raising it further gets impossible.
'Intentionally tank it, then earn it back!'
Gulp.
Dry swallow down his throat.
Would it work?
Lloyd turned to Haviel.
Testing the waters casually.
"Hey. Mad I didn't give a straight answer?"
"No."
"Hmm, but you are? You're pissed."
"No way. I expected nothing anyway."
Maybe from that recent -1 favorability.
Haviel's tone felt a touch chillier than usual.
But Lloyd doubled down with titanium plating.
Whatever you say, I'm experimenting.
With that mindset, he wetted his tongue.
"You expected nothing, huh. Too bad. I've got high expectations for you."
"......Pardon?"
Haviel turned, face screaming "what?"
Lloyd met his eyes dead-on.
Suppressing the cringe rising from the depths of his duodenum, he said.
"I'm glad and grateful you always help me like this. Never said it once before."
"......"
"Hey?"
"......"
"Why quiet again."
"Sigh. No, just got goosebumps for a sec."
"......That bad?"
"Yes."
"Whoa."
Haviel nodded.
"For a moment, I thought you'd gone mad. Or taken a blow to the head, snuck some weird drug, or got bit by a rabid dog."
"Hey."
"You must've misspoke just now, right?"
"Tch. Let's say so."
"'Let's say'? What does that mean?"
"Obviously a slip of the tongue, man."
"Phew. Good."
Haviel patted his chest with genuine(?) relief.
Then a message popped up before Lloyd.
Ding-dong.
[Haviel Asrahan's favorability toward you has increased by +1.]
[Current relationship with Haviel Asrahan: -8]
[Minor relationship improvement with a key figure grants 18 RP.]
[Current RP: 1355]
"......"
Nice anyway.
Lloyd secretly clenched a fist behind Haviel's back.
Experiment successful.
It worked as intended.
'No more worrying about RP from now on.'
Act like a jerk on purpose, then make nice.
Be cold, then subtly soothe.
Repeat the push-pull(?), and RP flows steady.
Lloyd let slip a sly grin at the thought.
"Yeah, real relief. Worth 18 RP."
"Pardon?"
Haviel froze.
"Were you just insulting me?"
"Nope. Never. Not ever."
"Felt like it."
"Nah, you misheard. Anyway, time to move. Lots to do."
"......Understood."
Lloyd brushed off his pants and stood.
Haviel, still looking dubious, rose too.
Truth was, they had tons to do now.
And Lloyd wasn't one to procrastinate.
"Alright, let's head down and recheck the route."
Where to bury the water main.
Where to secure a stable path.
Lloyd weighed every factor.
Surveying skill and its Underground Scanning option.
Design skill and its Floor Plan Display (3D) with simulation mode.
His eyes, pushing every ability to the limit, burned with unprecedented focus.
Haviel, guarding him and watching close, had eyes a bit more complex than before.
The young master he served.
Up close, he felt more and more enigmatic.
Thus ended the first day of surveying for Lloyd's aqueduct project.
♣
Surveying continued for days after.
Thanks to it, from Lake Capua midway up the Eastern Mountains to the territory.
They finalized the optimal route for the aqueduct.
Design happened almost every night too.
Thanks to the design skill's Floor Plan Display (3D) and simulation mode options.
'Right there on-site, holograms of designs, even mock tests.'
In real construction, results often differ from plans once built on terrain.
No, almost always slight variances—that's reality.
'But not for me.'
Thanks to those two design options.
Dozens of on-site sim tests per design.
Full physics conditions applied.
Landslides.
Earthquakes.
How the aqueduct holds up.
Every scenario testable.
Computable.
After nights of all-nighters.
Dozens of tests and calcs done.
Certainty hit.
"This is it."
In the remote corner of the kingdom's east, Frontera Barony.
A monumental feat—the first aqueduct in Lorasia Continent history—was about to grace this humble territory.