Chapter 167

Episode 167

At my words, the two fell into deep thought. Jericho was the first to speak.

“First, we need to consider the Margrave’s intentions. Blocking us at the border is no small matter.”

“I agree. They recognized you, my lord. They also know you were sent by the Imperial Family. Blocking you is practically treason.”

Jericho and Selendis each expressed their thoughts. I nodded in agreement.

“As I said before, sending Prince Chertan might have only aggravated the situation. The Margrave probably feels that the Imperial Family insulted not only his family but also him personally.”

“Then wouldn’t it be impossible to cross the border? Even the name Kalisto didn’t work.”

“Probably.”

We fell silent, lost in thought.

A few methods came to mind.

Even if it was a fortress-like border, we could find a way to sneak in. It would be easy with Jericho and my magic.

‘But the problem is that the Margrave has completely forbidden my entry. Trying to force our way in would only backfire.’

If things went wrong, a battle would break out immediately. We had already experienced firsthand that the warriors of the north didn’t fear death.

Jericho sighed and said, “If sending a representative is also impossible, then there’s no solution. We can only wait for the Margrave to change his mind.”

“I can’t think of any good ideas either, my lord. What are your orders?”

Time wasn’t on our side.

It was highly likely that Muon’s magical experiments were still ongoing somewhere. We had some leeway, but it was best to return as soon as possible.

Then I remembered my mentor’s advice.

A simple yet effective method.

“If he won’t grant us entry, then we’ll make him summon us.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“I’ve been observing the lives of the people in the northern territories on our way here. The residents of this village, in particular, seem to be struggling against nature itself.”

This village was geographically situated between mountains.

The peaks were covered in perpetual snow, and the slopes were also blanketed in thick snow.

The village was built some distance away from the mountains to prepare for avalanches, and there were walls made of stone and wood, but you never knew what kind of whims nature might have.

Above all, the deadly cold was sapping everyone’s energy.

“We’ll start from the bottom. If we gain the support of the people by solving their problems one by one, word will surely reach the Margrave. I think there are already people watching us.”

“I didn’t sense anyone. How many are there?”

There were two presences detected by ‘Automatic Combat.’ The energy they emitted was unusual.

“Two. They’re not soldiers, but aura users. Sending knights, or rather, warriors of that caliber means they’re not completely ignoring us.”

“Oh, you’re right. It means they’re very interested in us. If they weren’t, they would have just sent a few soldiers.”

Jericho was excited, but Selendis tilted her head.

“But I don’t think it will be easy to win over the villagers. If I recall correctly, even the residents of Bluefjord, which is far from here, weren’t very welcoming.”

“I know. Let’s approach this as if we’re starting from scratch. We have nothing to lose in terms of reputation, right?”

“That’s true.”

The two agreed to my plan. Now it was time to work out the details.

“Jericho, what do you think the villagers need the most right now?”

“To escape this damn cold and blizzard. Should we make a magic amplifier and cast a shield over the entire village? That should block some of the cold.”

I shook my head. Openly using magic wasn’t a good idea.

“It would only antagonize the knights. If we use it, we have to be discreet.”

“Then how about triggering an avalanche? It looks pretty unstable right now. We could cause a massive avalanche to roll down the mountain towards the village, and then we appear and heroically stop it!”

“If the people of Whitefield find out, it’ll lead to a territorial war. We’ll be the ones who write the glorious history of the north and south dividing. If you want to be remembered forever in the Empire’s history, go ahead.”

“…Hmm, this is difficult.”

After calming down Jericho’s enthusiasm, I snapped my fingers and changed the subject.

“Let’s start with something small. I don’t think what the villagers need is anything grand. It’s warmth itself. When I was cold and hungry, I longed for a warm place.”

“Then should we build a big campfire? It’ll be a sight to behold!”

“Gathering wood and lighting a fire is something the villagers can easily do. Let’s think outside the box. If we give them something they can’t easily experience, wouldn’t they open their hearts a little?”

I already had an answer in mind, but I waited for their suggestions. But they didn’t have any, so I shared my idea.

“I’m thinking of building an open-air bath in this village.”

“An open-air bath… Oh! That’s a good idea! They’re common in the south, but there’s nothing like a hot spring here.”

“I think it’s a good idea too. But it’ll be difficult to build the facilities. There’s nothing but snow here.”

“We can melt the snow to get water, and then heat the water with magic. We can build a large bathtub out of wood and fill it with water.”

Jericho pondered for a moment and raised a question.

“But the outside temperature is so low that the water will cool down quickly. Do you have a more specific method?”

“We can make it a circulating system.”

I channeled aura into my finger and drew a large and a small circle on the ground. Then I drew a square below them. Finally, I connected the three shapes with lines.

“Imagine the large circle is the hot open-air bath, and the connected small circle is a less hot bath. Let’s say the square is the water supply facility.”

I pointed at the square with my finger and moved it along the connected path towards the large circle.

“We heat the water and let it flow into the large open-air bath. When the water level reaches a certain point, we connect it to the small bath with a slight elevation difference in the channel, so the excess water flows there. The temperature will naturally decrease as it circulates.”

“Oh? So the cooled water from the small bath flows back to the facility and gets heated again?”

“Exactly.”

The two looked surprised, but it was a familiar concept to me, a modern person. It was a ‘district heating’ system.

When I realized that what the people of the north needed was warmth, I thought about ways to fundamentally change their living environment.

Some scholars had argued for relocating the northern residents further south, while others criticized it as going against the laws of nature.

Naturally, I had no intention of getting involved in such theoretical debates.

Having experienced various modern amenities, I managed to find a more practical solution.

Introducing ‘district heating’ to Whitefield County.

In a way, building this open-air bath could be considered a test phase for implementing district heating.

‘There’s an abundance of snow here. We can melt the snow and ice to obtain water. We can install magic tools to heat the water with magic power and connect them with magic-treated pipes to minimize heat loss.’

If this were my previous world, there would be many limitations due to practical problems.

But this was a game world. A world of swords and magic.

With transcendental powers like magic and mana, we could defy the laws of physics.

‘If we bring skilled dwarves from Plantier to build the pipes and create a magic power storage facility, we could make it semi-permanent.’

I had already confirmed through Jericho that magic power could be stored like a battery.

If mages came by occasionally to recharge the batteries, heating the water wouldn’t be a problem.

I would promise the Margrave to provide the residents with warm water all day long. That’s why meeting him was important.

‘It would cost an astronomical amount of money, but it’s an opportunity for me.’

House Walker was making a fortune from the gold trade.

If I invested some of it in the northern district heating project and succeeded, I could gain the trust of both the Imperial Family and the north.

‘Then even the mastermind would have no choice but to acknowledge me as a partner.’

What I needed most wasn’t wealth or fame. I just wanted the mastermind to reveal her true identity.

“Shall we get started? Selendis, gather some wood nearby. Jericho, process the wood and build the bathtub. I’ll go meet the village head.”

“Understood. Be careful.”

We dispersed to carry out our tasks.

The village head’s house was located at the edge of the village. It was the first place that would be swept away by an avalanche.

“Is anyone home?”

There was no response, even after knocking several times. Light seeped out from under the door.

Did he think I would leave if he didn’t answer?

Then it was only natural to persevere.

I persistently knocked and called for the village head. Finally, the door opened with an irritated bang, revealing an old man with white hair.

“You were inside. Greetings, Village Head. I am O’Brien of House Kalisto. I am the head of House Walker and an Inspector of the Lucius Inspection Unit. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“…”

As expected, mentioning the name Kalisto first seemed to calm him down.

Even if they didn’t welcome us, the fact that House Kalisto had provided the most aid remained unchanged.

I took advantage of that.

“What brings you here?”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“We have no place for you to stay.”

“That’s not it. I’m planning to build an open-air bath here. I hope the villagers will use it once it’s completed.”

The village head scoffed and laughed at me.

This was truly a land of tough men.

“Build an open-air bath? How much wood do you plan to burn? Stop it right now, or I’ll call the warriors!”

“We’ll only use wood to build the bathtub. We don’t need much. Because…”

I raised my left index finger.

*Snap!*

A flame ignited on my fingertip.

“I’m a magician.”

The village head’s reaction was priceless. He hadn’t expected that.

“We won’t cause any trouble. I promise on my honor. But I hope you’ll join the villagers once it’s completed. That’s all I ask.”

“Hmph, I won’t fall for your tricks.”

*Slam!*

The door slammed shut. The impact shook the snow off the roof, which fell on my head.

‘You’ll soon find out if it’s a trick or not, Village Head.’

I brushed the snow off my head and turned around.

Jericho was taking out various tools from his subspace inventory. As we worked on the open-air bath, the two presences that were watching us didn’t leave their posts.