Chapter 50

About 9 hours after Ichirou and his party left Isteria, under the moonlight that illuminated the surroundings, Ichirou was being welcomed by the villagers, including Barin and Barret, at the entrance of Grisear Village.

Behind Ichirou, who was receiving the villagers' welcome, the guards and attendants were hurriedly pulling out tents and other supplies from the carriages and starting to prepare for camping. Isaac and Haber, perhaps considering Ichirou's feelings, seemed to have left Ichirou's side and were now helping the guards with the preparations.

"Everyone is safe... I'm so relieved..."

Seeing the lively villagers, Ichirou finally let out a sigh of relief. Although he had heard from the guards that no one was injured, he couldn't feel at ease until he saw the villagers with his own eyes.

"When the bandits suddenly attacked, I was truly frightened, but thanks to the power Kazura bestowed upon us, we were able to repel them. However, even though our village had never been attacked before, it was careless of us not to have set up a watch. From now on, we will take various measures to ensure this doesn't happen again."

"I see, that's why everyone was gathered at the village entrance when we arrived."

At Barin's words, Ichirou nodded in understanding. When Ichirou and his party arrived at Grisear Village, despite it being a time when everyone would usually be asleep, a large number of villagers were already gathered at the entrance. It was likely that the person on watch at the entrance had spotted the approaching party and gone around to wake the sleeping villagers.

"Yes, for now, we've decided to set up a rotating watch around the village. Also, Barret has come up with various ideas."

"Barret has?"

At Barin's words, Ichirou turned to Barret, who smiled and nodded.

"Yes. But before we start the construction, I wanted to hear Kazura's opinion... Could we talk at my house now?"

"Construction? ...Alright. I'll go get my luggage, so please wait a moment."

Hearing the word "construction," Ichirou tilted his head in confusion but immediately nodded at Barret's request and returned to the carriage to retrieve his Boston bag and suitcase.

At the front of the carriage, Marie was waiting. When Ichirou returned, she pulled out the Boston bag from inside the carriage and handed it to him. She then tried to pull out the suitcase, but with the suitcase nearly full to the brim, it was too heavy for her, and she struggled to move it.

"That's too heavy, I'll get it myself."

"Forgive me..."

Ichirou let Marie, who was breathing heavily, step back and got into the carriage to pull out the suitcase.

"I'll be staying at Barin's house tonight. Please inform Isaac and Haber."

"Understood."

Ichirou told Marie this and, carrying his luggage, entered the village with the villagers.

"Marie"

Marie, who had been watching Ichirou leave, turned at the sound of her name and smiled slightly.

"Haber, Kazura will be staying at Barin's house tonight."

"Yeah, that seems to be the case."

Haber looked at Ichirou, who was entering the village surrounded by the villagers. The villagers around Ichirou all looked cheerful, and Ichirou's expression, surrounded by them, seemed somewhat happy.

"...Kazura is a mysterious person, isn't he?"

"Huh?"

When Haber turned his gaze back to Marie, she was looking at Ichirou entering the village. Her gaze was gentle, and it was clear she had a good impression of Ichirou.

"On the journey, he talked to me, someone like me, so casually, as if there were no difference in status, and treated me kindly. Moreover, he even gave me medicine when I got motion sickness..."

"...Yeah, he's a very good person. A very kind person."

Haber turned his gaze back to Ichirou and answered in a whisper. His expression seemed somewhat relieved, perhaps because he had arranged for Marie to ride in the same carriage as Ichirou but had been worried about what was happening inside.

"Yes... But it's strange. At first, I was so intimidated that I was always nervous, but as we talked, I felt very at ease... It was like talking to my mother."

"..."

"...Ah! I, I didn't mean it that way! I, I didn't mean to!"

Realizing what she had said, Marie was startled and hurriedly apologized to Haber. However, Haber, who did not look particularly flustered, did not look at her but lowered his gaze to the ground.

"Yeah... But I'm sorry. It's because of my lack of strength... I'll definitely find her someday."

Marie looked at Haber sadly and nodded softly.

"...Yes."

---

On the other hand, when Ichirou returned to Barin's house with Barret, he was shown a bird's-eye view of Grisear Village drawn in a university notebook by Barret in front of the fireplace in the living room. The bird's-eye view had words like "fence" and "watchtower" written in red ink in Japanese in various places.

Currently, only Ichirou and Barret were in the living room, as Barin had gone out for some reason.

"We will surround the entire village with a wooden fence and encircle it with a moat. Additionally, we will build watchtowers at the four corners of the village and install a drawbridge at the entrance."

"...It looks like a fortress. This should prevent bandit attacks, but won't the moat interfere with the waterways?"

"Well, for the part of the waterway that goes through the moat, we can build an aqueduct to cross it or run the waterway underground using the siphon principle to bring water into the village. However, if we use the underground method, we will need stone and mortar... I'm not sure if we can get enough lime for the mortar..."

"I see... In that case, I'll provide the lime. I can bring as much as you need, so use it freely."

At Barret's concern about the lack of materials, Ichirou immediately offered to provide them.

The other day, when Ichirou talked with Nelson and the others in Isteria, he secured a promise that they would not interfere with anything Ichirou did in Grisear Village. Therefore, within Grisear Village, he no longer had to be overly cautious about bringing in items or technology. Besides, Barret knew Ichirou's true identity and possessed a lot of knowledge from reading many books, so there was no need to worry about entrusting her with handling items or technology.

Incidentally, the "siphon principle" is a principle that allows a liquid to be moved from one position to another by passing it through a higher or lower position than the original. In this case, the destination must be lower than the original water level. When studying with Barret, Ichirou had learned this principle to some extent.

"Really, use it freely."

"Yes, use it freely. In Japan, lime is easy to obtain, so I can bring as much as you need."

In fact, if Ichirou returned to Japan and went to a home center, he could easily get as much lime as he needed. Even if he had to make mortar with the lime, it should be easy to obtain enough for the village's needs.

"...Understood. Since you're being so generous, I'll improve the waterways in the village and rebuild them with stone and mortar. For the part that goes through the moat, I'll use the siphon principle for the experiment, and if it doesn't work, I'll install a stone aqueduct. Once the waterways in the village are completed, I'll improve the waterways connected to the river, and after that, I'll enlarge the village's furnace and make a hand pump, and then..."

While looking at the bird's-eye view of the village drawn in the university notebook, Barret wrote down her ideas one after another with a ballpoint pen. It seemed that Barret intended to use the knowledge she had gained from studying with Ichirou to dramatically improve the village's safety and living environment.

"Wait, you're going to make a hand pump yourself?"

"Yes, the structure is simple, so I think I can make it with bronze... By the way, should I avoid using the knowledge I learned from Kazura even within the village?"

A hand pump is a hand-operated pump used to draw water from a well, which can sometimes be seen in fields in the countryside in Japan.

"Hmm... I told Nelson and the others not to interfere with the village, so you don't need to worry about that. Besides, I planned to teach them how to make a hand pump soon, so there's no problem."

When Barret asked anxiously, Ichirou answered, and Barret smiled in relief. She had been unsure whether it was okay to use the knowledge she had gained from Ichirou and was also concerned about the impact on the surrounding area.

"I'm glad... Actually, there are a few other things I want to make. I'll be careful not to show them to anyone outside the village, so is it okay to make them?"

"It's fine, but what are you planning to make?"

"...A steam engine."

"Wha!?"

At Barret's unexpected response, Ichirou involuntarily made a strange sound. Introducing a steam engine, which could potentially trigger an energy revolution, in a world where he was trying to introduce water wheel-based water lifting technology, would be too risky, even with the restriction on interference in Grisear Village. A steam engine would likely advance the world's industrial technology far beyond what a water wheel could achieve.

As Ichirou opened his mouth to urgently dissuade Barret, she giggled mischievously.

"Hehe, just kidding. It would be interesting to try making one, though. For now, I plan to make machinery that uses the rotational power of a water wheel. First, I'll make a sawmill and a flour mill."

"O-Okay. If you need any materials or tools, please let me know. I'll provide whatever you need."

Relieved that it was a joke, Ichirou offered to provide whatever Barret needed. However, Barret gently declined his offer.

"...Thank you. But I want to make all the parts myself as much as possible. It will be a better learning experience."

Barret thanked Ichirou and, with a slightly sad expression, looked down at the university notebook.

(What did I say wrong?)

Seeing Barret's suddenly gloomy expression, Ichirou was flustered and opened his mouth to say something. However, he stopped when he noticed something.

Until now, he hadn't noticed the dark stains on the floor where they were sitting. Ichirou stood up and looked around the floor and walls.

"...Is this... blood?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. It seems to have soaked in and won't come off. I'll replace the floorboards soon."

"No, that's not what I meant... If there's blood here, did you fight the bandits here?"

When Barret casually answered, Ichirou felt a bit uneasy but asked a question whose answer was already clear. The amount of blood was significant, and it was obvious that a fight had taken place.

However, according to the guards' account before they left, when the bandits attacked, Barin had escaped from the house, awakened the villagers, and launched a counterattack as a group. The presence of blood here suggested that Barin had encountered the bandits while escaping.

"Yes. That night, the bandits broke into the house... But my father quickly took care of all of them."

"...What? All of them? Barin took out all the bandits by himself!?"

"Yes, five inside the house... Oh, one was taken out by me, so my father took out four. After that, I heard that my father chased the remaining bandits and, together with the villagers, took them out in the forest outside the village."

"Barret, you fought too...?"

Ichirou was surprised by Barret's story but also felt a sense of understanding. The villagers, who had eaten the food Ichirou brought, had shown considerable strength. It was unexpected that just two people could overwhelm an armed group of bandits, but the outcome was positive.

"Well... I was so flustered that I couldn't fight well, but... But my father was amazing! When the bandits attacked with their swords, he instantly deflected them and cut them down in one blow!"

"Wow, Barin is that strong... But you must have been scared when the bandits attacked in the middle of the night... This bandit attack is my fault. If I hadn't left the village, this wouldn't have happened..."

As Barret dramatically described Barin's fighting prowess, Ichirou, with a heavy heart, apologized and bowed his head. Even if Barin had astonishingly defeated the bandits, Barret must have been terrified. Moreover, Barret herself had fought the bandits, so she must have been shocked to face them with a weapon.

"No, that's not true!"

At Barret's shout, Ichirou looked up to see her with tears in her eyes, looking at him.

"Kazura, it's not your fault! ...I, I couldn't do anything... I..."

"Wh-What!?"

Suddenly, Barret burst into tears, and Ichirou, not knowing what to do, could only place a hand on her back and fumble around. He tried to recall what he had said that might have upset her, but the only thing he could think of was his apology for the bandit attack.

(What's going on!? What should I do!?)

Not knowing what to say, Ichirou could only stroke Barret's back and wait for her to stop crying.

---

Barin, who had been considerate of Ichirou and Barret, had circled the village and returned to the house. He stopped at the entrance and muttered to himself.

"...I'll sleep in the shed tonight."

With a sigh, he headed towards the shed.