Chapter 53

About three hours after leaving the farm, Ichirou was in the meeting corner of a construction company within the prefecture. Across from him, a middle-aged man in the company uniform was looking at a large number of documents spread out on the table with a stern expression. On Ichirou's side of the table, the man's business card was placed, with his name and the position of "Section Chief" written next to it.

The documents spread out on the table were copies of the river construction plans Ichirou had brought from Isteria. He had made copies of all the documents at a convenience store on the way to the construction company.

"Excuse me, but I'm at a loss as to what to do with these documents. You're asking me to create a flood control plan, but that's a bit difficult without knowing the actual site conditions."

The Section Chief looked up from the documents and spoke with a very displeased expression.

"Besides, what's the point of creating a construction plan if you're not actually going to carry out the work? And you said earlier that only specified technologies should be used. From what I can see, you're asking us to plan a construction project using only ancient civilization technology, right?"

"Well, I apologize for the unusual request. However, I really need a flood control plan for these terrains. Is there any way you could take on this job?"

As Ichirou bowed and made this request, the Section Chief sighed and leaned back in his chair. The atmosphere clearly conveyed that he was thinking, "What a troublesome guy."

"Shino, you should ask a university professor who studies ancient technology for this kind of thing. Asking a construction company that actually carries out civil engineering work to create a plan is a bit strange, don't you think?"

"That's true, but if we're going to create a detailed plan, I think it would be more accurate to ask someone like you, who is always involved in actual construction... Besides, there's a bit of a reason, and I don't have much time. Depending on the duration of the construction, I need the plan as soon as possible..."

As Ichirou said this, a look of suspicion appeared on the Section Chief's face.

"As soon as possible... Why do you need the plan so quickly if you're not actually going to carry out the construction? Are you planning to write a paper or something using the plan?"

"Ah, well, that is..."

"Hey, what's this interesting story you're telling?"

Just as Ichirou was struggling to answer, an elderly man with white hair, who seemed to be of considerable age, approached from behind and spoke to him.

"Oh, these are ancient construction plans? I've never seen such characters before, but they're quite detailed plans."

The elderly man said, "Excuse me," and sat down next to Ichirou, starting to look at the documents with great interest.

"What, what? The tools and technologies to be used are limited to... Hmm, from the content, it seems to be around the technology level of the Middle East or Europe around 2000 BC. This is quite a large-scale project. Which country is this?"

"Ah, sir, I'm handling this matter, so..."

The Section Chief, who had been talking to Ichirou earlier, spoke to the elderly man, who was nodding and reading the documents on the table, with a puzzled look.

This elderly man seemed to be a director of the company, a very high-ranking executive.

"Handling it? From the way you were talking, it sounded like you had no intention of taking the job. The customer has brought us work and even bowed, yet you treat them like that?"

"But, but, the content is... You're asking us to create a construction plan using only ancient methods without actually carrying out the work, and the plans are from an unknown era..."

"Idiot!!"

As the Section Chief was about to speak, the director, with veins popping on his forehead, shouted at him with great intensity. Not only the Section Chief but also Ichirou, who was sitting next to the director, shrank back in surprise.

"Whether we do the construction or not, this is our territory! Don't pick and choose jobs for petty reasons!! I'll take it from here, so get back to your work!!"

The director, after a tirade, practically kicked the Section Chief out of the meeting corner. From the corridor, passing employees were looking at the scene with curious eyes, having heard the director's loud shouting.

"Um, so, are you going to take on this job...?"

Ichirou, slightly flustered by the storm of events, asked the director, who was muttering, "These young people these days..."

The director, upon being asked, immediately softened his expression and smiled at Ichirou.

"Sure, I can't say no without hearing the details, but it's not impossible."

"Oh, that's great! Then, about the content of the construction plan you're going to create..."

"Before that, can you tell me something? Where are these plans from? They don't seem to match the scale of ancient Greece, and they don't resemble Carthage or Assyria either... To be honest, I have no idea which country they're from."

The director, frowning, looked at the plans with great interest and asked Ichirou. His eyes were full of curiosity, like a child who has been given a favorite toy.

"Ah, these are all fake ancient plans."

When Ichirou answered, the director looked slightly surprised.

"Ah, so these are all made up?"

"Yes, based on these fake ancient plans, I want to create a flood control plan for a river running through the city. According to the plans, some of the levees might collapse under heavy rainfall, and I want you to create a plan to improve them."

"…Hmm? That's quite unusual… Ah! I see! I see!"

The director, who had been looking puzzled at Ichirou's explanation, suddenly nodded as if he had understood something.

"But why didn't you bring the request under the name of a national research institution? Bringing it under a personal name, people usually wouldn't notice."

"Eh? What do you mean by a national research institution?"

Ichirou, not understanding what the director was talking about, asked him.

"Ah, no, I mean, this was originally supposed to be brought to me, right?"

"Eh?"

"So, I used to work at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's River Bureau…"

"…Ah! No, it's not that kind of thing. This is something I'm doing personally… It's more like a hobby."

Ichirou, sensing something, explained to the director, who seemed to be misunderstanding something. The director's face showed a slightly anxious expression.

"…Oh, I see. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Forget what I just said."

"Thank you. I apologize for the unusual request. Please, I would really appreciate your help."

Ichirou bowed, and the director, feeling compelled, also bowed.

Some strange conversation had taken place, but the details of its true meaning are omitted.

The adult world is full of various things.

Three hours after Ichirou started discussing the construction plan with the director, he had finished the necessary explanations and was finally able to take a break.

Across from him, the director was sipping tea while looking at the photos Ichirou had handed him earlier. All the photos were taken by Ichirou in Isteria and showed various river and levee scenes, including areas where the levees had collapsed due to past flooding and aerial shots of the river from a high vantage point.

"Modern CG is really impressive. It's hard to tell the difference from actual photos."

"Yes, the advancement of technology is amazing."

Ichirou nodded in agreement as the director, who seemed impressed by the photos, sipped his tea.

Ichirou had explained to the director that all the photos were created using CG compositing. The director, while expressing surprise at the content of the photos, did not seem to doubt that they were CG, possibly because he was quite elderly and less familiar with such technology.

"But the armor-clad soldiers and stone buildings in some of the photos are really well done. Are they all CG too?"

"Yes, they are a mix of real buildings and people composited with CG, so they're a hybrid of real and CG."

The director nodded, saying, "I see," after Ichirou gave a plausible explanation. After looking at the photos for a while, the director placed them on the table and turned back to Ichirou.

"Alright, let's talk about the budget and deadline. Creating a plan of this scale will take considerable time. How much time can you give us?"

"Well, I want you to create the plan as if the construction will actually be carried out, and I need it completed by next May, when the rainy season starts. The time required is…"

"Wait, next May? That's too soon. For a project of this scale, we need time measured in years."

The director pointed out with a grim expression. It was mid-August, so there was only about eight months until next May to complete the plan and the construction.

By the way, the term "man-hours" mentioned earlier refers to the amount of work required to create the construction plan. In this case, the director was asking Ichirou how much time he could provide for the work.

"Ah, no, I mean the repair of the areas affected by the flood. Other projects will be started after the rainy season, so I'm asking you to focus on the areas that might flood during the next rainy season."

"I see. So, you want to prioritize the weak spots and do temporary reinforcement where it's not possible to complete the work in time. How much time can you give us?"

"Well, I'm not an expert in civil engineering, so I don't know how much time is needed, but how about this much per hour, and the total man-hours would be around this much?"

Based on his experience with outsourcing design requests at his previous company, Ichirou proposed a slightly inflated amount, writing it down in a notebook he had with him. "h" stands for hours, and "total h" means the total time the director can use to create the plan.

"Wait, that's too much. Let's go with 70% of that. It's a bit high for a walk-in job, but that's fine. And the deadline for the plan is before the rainy season, right? The plan will focus on specific areas, so it will be delivered in several parts."

"Yes, please do that. Also, when the construction is carried out, I want the ancient people to be able to follow the plan. It would be great if you could include more illustrations and structural explanations."

"What a detailed request... Well, I'll do my best. Since I'm free anyway, and I love this kind of historical project. Also, let's make the man-hours you just proposed provisional. This is my first time with such a special job, so it might exceed the estimate. I don't think it will double, though."

"Understood. If it does, you can use up to twice the original amount."

When Ichirou said this, the director looked surprised.

"You're being very generous. That's quite a sum, can you really afford it?"

"Sure. If you want, I can transfer half of it as a down payment right now."

Ichirou said this calmly, and the director chuckled, shaking his head.

"No, no, I shouldn't have doubted you. But I can't take half before the work starts. However, since this is our first time working together, it might be necessary to take a down payment."

"In that case, how about 10% of the total man-hours?"

"Sure, let's do that."

The director nodded and took a sheet of paper labeled "Order Request" from a shelf at the end of the meeting corner. He quickly wrote down the job details Ichirou had provided and entered Ichirou's name in the contractor's section.

"I'll go talk to the production management department, so please wait here. I'll be back as soon as possible."

The director said this and left the meeting corner with the order request.

Two hours later, after discussing the budget and delivery methods, it was already dark when Ichirou left the company.

"I'm tired... But I'm glad that person took the job..."

Ichirou had planned to visit construction companies one by one until he found someone to take on the flood control plan. When the Section Chief almost turned him down, he had almost given up on this company, but the director, who used to work at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's River Bureau, came to his rescue.

The director probably had a position where he only kept his seat at the company and was free every day. However, being a former Ministry employee, he was likely a top expert. Since he was interested in ancient construction techniques, he would surely create a solid plan.

"Well, I'll head to the hotel today. I can do the shopping tomorrow."

Feeling too exhausted to do anything else, Ichirou searched for the nearest business hotel on his navigation system. As he drove, he noticed a large electronics store ahead.

"…An electronics store, huh?"

Ichirou slowed down and, with a thoughtful expression, turned into the store's parking lot.