Chapter 72

Then, two hours later.

Kazura watched the newly completed water wheel steadily drawing up water, checking its rotational speed.

The guards and attendants accompanying Kazura were the same as yesterday, and they had already experienced the assembly of the water wheel and the construction of the water channel.

Therefore, they were able to proceed with the work more smoothly than yesterday.

At this rate, they should be able to install three or four more water wheels by the end of the day.

"Hmm, there doesn't seem to be any particular problem with this one. There seems to be quite a bit of variation in the precision of the parts."

Unlike the water wheel that Kazura and Zirconia checked yesterday, the rotational speed of the water wheel assembled this time was almost uniform.

Zirconia had said that she had commissioned the parts to craftsmen throughout the town, so there must be a problem with the work precision of one of the workshops.

Since there are no marks on the parts indicating which workshop made them, all the parts from different workshops are mixed together.

In the future, it will be necessary to put some kind of mark, such as a brand, on each part to identify the workshop that made it.

"Amazing... I never knew such a tool existed..."

Liese looked up at the water wheel, which was continuously spewing large amounts of water into the water channel, with a stunned expression.

"As long as we have this water wheel, the irrigation channels in the granary area won't dry up. However, it seems that some defective parts are mixed in, so I need to go to the craftsmen's workshops later to check the manufacturing process."

"Huh, but it looks like it's working fine. Are these parts really defective?"

"No, this water wheel is fine, but there was a slight problem with the one we installed with Zirconia yesterday. It doesn't seem to be all of them, but some defective parts seem to be mixed in."

"Is that so..."

Liese nodded, looking up at the water wheel, which continued to rotate smoothly.

She probably couldn't imagine what kind of malfunction would occur, but she didn't seem to have any intention of asking about it.

She was probably overwhelmed by the force of the water wheel, which was rotating while splashing water, and couldn't even think about asking questions.

"Well, it's a good time to take a break. Let's have lunch now."

Kazura said this and instructed the attendants, who were taking a break while watching the water wheel nearby, to prepare lunch.

The attendants responded cheerfully and ran to the cart, taking out collapsible tables and chairs and quickly setting them up.

In a few minutes, a table with an umbrella, similar to a terrace seat in a Japanese café, was completed.

A hole was drilled in the center of the table to insert the umbrella, which was the one the attendants had been holding for Kazura and Liese until just a moment ago.

A tablecloth was spread on the completed table, and silver plates and glasses were arranged.

When the prepared food from the mansion was placed on the plates, the meal was ready.

The food on Liese's plate included thin pancakes, chicken with herbs and salt, sliced plums, and diluted fruit wine.

As was the case when he accompanied Isaac's unit before, it seems that in this world, it is common to drink alcohol even during the day when having a meal.

The fact that fruit wine is served to a girl like Liese suggests that there is no age restriction on drinking.

As usual, Kazura's meal was canned food, which was stored in the cart.

After arranging Kazura's dishes, Marie went to the cart and took out the canned food from a cloth bag.

She opened the pull-tab lid of the can while hiding it with the cloth and placed the removed lid on the spot.

Then, she wrapped the can with the cloth, returned to the table, and carefully transferred the contents to the plate after bowing.

The canned food Kazura brought this time was clam chowder and sweet bread.

He wanted to bring canned mixed rice, but since it needs to be heated in hot water for several minutes, he decided not to.

The drink in Kazura's glass was water, not fruit wine.

Incidentally, the reason Marie was careful to open the can without being seen by others was because Haber had instructed her in advance.

"What is it? Is it stew? I hope it hasn't gone bad in the heat..."

Liese glanced at the clam chowder being transferred from the can to the silver plate.

Since Liese didn't know about the existence of canned food, she thought it was stew made at the mansion and brought as it was.

If the stew was left in the cart for several hours under the scorching sun, it would probably not have gone completely bad, but it would have been somewhat spoiled.

"Let's eat. Ah, Marie, you can take a lunch break too. You don't need to assist me, so feel free to take a break."

When Kazura said this, Marie showed a slightly surprised expression but immediately

"Understood."

She bowed and walked to the cart to get her lunch.

"You should eat too. Take a break for a while."

Following Kazura's example, Liese gave instructions to the attendants and guards who were standing by.

The attendants responded a little awkwardly and called out to Marie, who was taking out lunch from the cart, and they all sat down by the river to start eating.

The attendants seemed very interested in Marie and were talking to her enthusiastically.

Although it was not clear what they were talking about from where Kazura and Liese were, it seemed to be a pleasant conversation with no problems.

"Mr. Kazura, if you like, would you like to try this meat?"

As Kazura was about to eat the clam chowder, Liese pushed her plate slightly and offered it to him.

"It's homemade by Eira, and it goes well with the bread. I prepared plenty, so please try it if you like."

"Hmm, okay. I'll try a bite."

Following Liese's suggestion, Kazura speared a piece of meat with his fork and brought it to his mouth.

The chicken seemed to be from the thigh, well-seasoned with salt, soft, and the aroma of herbs added a nice accent, making it very delicious.

"Wow, this is delicious. Maybe I'll ask Eira for the recipe next time."

Kazura's cheeks lit up with the taste of the meat, and Liese smiled.

"I'm glad you like it. There should still be some left in the cart, so I'll bring more if you need it."

"Thank you. I'll share my clam chowder with you... but I don't have a plate. Is there one in the cart?"

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'll have it another time."

Liese hastily stopped Kazura, who was about to get up to get a plate from the cart to serve his clam chowder.

In fact, Liese had suggested her food to Kazura because she was worried that the clam chowder he was about to eat might be spoiled.

By preparing plenty of food and suggesting it first, and getting him to say it was delicious, if the food Kazura brought was spoiled, he would be more likely to try Liese's food.

If he were to say the food was spoiled, it would embarrass Kazura, so Liese had taken preventive measures.

If Kazura noticed that the food was spoiled after eating it, he would also realize Liese's consideration.

If that happened, a significant increase in his favorability would be certain, so Liese was secretly hoping the food would be spoiled.

"Hmm, okay. I'll share it with you another time."

Unaware of Liese's intentions, Kazura brought the clam chowder to his mouth.

Of course, the clam chowder, which had just been opened, was not spoiled, and Kazura showed no unusual signs, tearing off pieces of bread and dipping them in the clam chowder.

"Huh? It's fine. What a pity."

Liese was slightly disappointed by Kazura's reaction but did not show it, nodding with a smile.

It wasn't necessary to immediately increase his favorability, and Kazura already seemed to like her quite a bit.

Since Kazura would be staying at the mansion for a while, they could take their time to build a good relationship.

"I also noticed this when we had a meal at the mansion, but the food from Mr. Kazura's country seems a bit different from the food in Arcadia. Do you usually eat this clam chowder often?"

"Hmm, not really... I usually ate grains cooked in water for every meal. That was the main dish, and side dishes included grilled fish and cooked vegetables."

"Grains? Like wheat or rye cooked in water?"

"Yeah, probably something like that. We don't make it into porridge but cook it to retain a bit of firmness."

While chatting and eating, Liese thought about the future with Kazura.

If the predictions she made with Eira this morning were correct, Zirconia would likely continue to arrange for Kazura and herself to act together.

It was a bit concerning that she didn't know which country Kazura was from, but even if he was a commoner from Clayrats and not a noble, he would still be very wealthy.

Whether he was a noble or not was not a big issue; what Liese valued was the power and wealth Kazura possessed, and whether he had a certain level of generosity.

Since Zirconia was recommending him, he was likely not a suspicious person, and if he was someone that Nelson trusted and treated warmly, his character was probably not a problem.

From her observations over the past few days, Kazura was polite and considerate to everyone and a hard worker.

He also had the generosity to give her an expensive pendant as a gift.

It might just be that he knew when to spend money and when to save, but he didn't seem to have the thorough frugality of Nelson or Isaac.

The fact that he was very close to Nelson and Zirconia and had been invited to family meals suggested that he would be a suitable marriage partner.

"Sometimes he looks at me intently, but unlike the people who come to meet me, his gaze isn't lecherous. He seems quite innocent. Maybe I can make a move."

Liese was used to being stared at by men, so she didn't mind if their gaze was lecherous.

She had a philosophical view that men were just that kind of creature, but she could still feel uncomfortable if the gaze was too sticky.

Kazura sometimes looked at her intently, but he would quickly look away when he noticed, and he seemed to be careful not to stare.

This kind of attitude was rare among the men she usually interacted with, so she had a good impression of him.

Incidentally, Isaac also seemed to be careful with his gaze, but Liese didn't pay much attention to it.

"I'll keep probing for a while, and if there are no problems..."

"Hey, is something wrong?"

Kazura suddenly realized that Liese was looking at him and tilted his head.

"Hehe, you have a bit of food on the corner of your mouth."

Liese said this, took a napkin from the table, leaned forward, and gently wiped Kazura's mouth.

"Oh, ah, thank you."

Kazura blushed and thanked her, and Liese smiled, thinking to herself,

"I'll go all out, maybe."