By the time things finally settled down, it was already a little past noon.
Jin decided to head back to the village chief’s house for lunch. Barrow’s parents had invited him to join them, but he politely declined, not wanting to keep Elsa waiting.
"Alright, Barrow. Take your time and enjoy the reunion."
Leaving him with those words, Jin returned to the chief's residence.
"Ah, Jin-nii, welcome back."
Elsa met him at the chief’s annex.
"They said lunch was ready a moment ago."
"I see. Let's go, then."
Leaving Edgar behind to watch over the annex, Jin, Elsa, and Reiko made their way to the chief’s main house.
The tax collector, Felix Becker, was also present at the table.
"Ah, Jin-dono, Elsa-san. I must apologize that we could only prepare such humble fare."
Lunch consisted of boiled corn, bean soup, and salad.
"The soil is so dry in these parts that corn and beans are about the only crops we can manage," Felix explained.
"Recently, a deep well and a pump were installed with the help of the Magi Engineer Guild, but they've already started acting up."
"Oh?"
Jin recalled that when he had first traveled through the Shouro Empire with Reinhard, the main road had been known as the "Trockenbahn."
"Since this region sees so little rain, the wells have to be exceptionally deep. We used to need long well-buckets to draw any water at all, but recently, these 'deep well pumps' were introduced."
Jin dug through his memories. He was fairly certain he had sold the rights for the deep well pump to Coats Roadite, the head of the Hatata Magi Engineer Guild.
"Would you like me to take a look at them?"
The pump Jin had originally helped Coats Roadite build wasn't bad, but he was curious about the quality of these mass-produced versions. With that in mind, Jin made the offer.
"That would be an immense help!"
Without a second's hesitation, the village chief bowed to Jin. Even if he didn't fully grasp the weight of the title, he seemed to understand that a Magi Craft Meister was someone of great importance.
Jin finished his lunch quickly and followed the chief to inspect the pumps. Elsa joined them, of course. Felix followed as well, seemingly driven by personal interest.
"This is the first one. There are two more, three pumps in total, and all of them are in poor condition..."
Water still came out, but the flow had become a mere trickle compared to when they were first installed. It now took two or three times as much effort to draw water.
The village had a population of about two hundred. It wasn't hard to imagine that three pumps being used daily by that many people would lead to significant wear and tear.
Jin tried the handle. The movement was heavy, yet the resulting water flow was meager.
"Let's see here....Reiko, sorry, but could you lift it out?"
"Certainly."
The village chief and Felix stared in sheer disbelief as the petite Reiko effortlessly pulled up the deep well pump, which extended over ten meters into the ground.
"...Good work....Ah, just as I thought. The sliding parts are worn down."
In a pump that operated under such high pressure, water-tightness was paramount. Jin concluded that the issue was a combination of poor initial machining precision and insufficient Hardening on the surfaces, which had led to terrible durability.
"Elsa, can you tell what's wrong?"
"…Un. I understand the structure and the principle."
Since Elsa was already familiar with standard suction pumps, she grasped the mechanics of the deep well pump immediately.
As for the fix:
"Forming. Hardening."
Jin used magic to reduce the gaps to a minimum and hardened the surfaces to prevent further wear. Furthermore:
"Surface Treatment. Toughening."
He gave the surfaces a mirror finish to minimize friction and processed the components to be even more resistant to abrasion, thereby extending their operational lifespan.
"That should do it. Reiko, put it back in."
The chief and his companion looked even more stunned as Jin finished the entire maintenance process in less than five minutes. Jin also applied Hardening and Toughening to the bearings of the pump's lever, reducing the friction there as well.
"Now, let's see."
He tried the handle himself. It moved much more smoothly than before, and a healthy stream of water gushed out.
"This one is finished. Please lead me to the other two."
"...Y-Yes! Right away! Ah, this will be such a relief. Thank you so much!"
Snapping out of his daze, the chief bowed repeatedly in profound gratitude.
They proceeded to the other pump locations, finding that both suffered from the same symptoms. Jin applied the same repairs. Even including the time spent walking through the village, all three deep well pumps were fully restored in less than an hour.
"Lord Jin Nidou, that was truly a magnificent display of skill! You are every bit the Magi Craft Meister!"
Felix, who had remained silent during the work, suddenly became talkative once the village chief stepped away.
"I had heard the rumors from the Technology Expo and had imagined what you might be like, but you have far exceeded my expectations!"
"I-I see."
"...In my younger days, I wanted to become a magi engineer myself, but I was told I lacked the talent. I stumbled at the very basics, which at least made it easier to give up. Still, old dreams are hard to let go of, and observing the work of magi engineers became a hobby of mine. Among everyone I have seen, your workmanship is exceptionally brilliant..."
From there, Felix launched into an endless monologue about himself. Just when Jin thought he was finished, the man began a relentless barrage of questions regarding magi craft.
Elsa had long since slipped away, but Jin didn't have that luxury. He was trapped in the conversation for over an hour before he realized it was already three o'clock.
"Jin-nii, it's tea time."
Realizing she couldn't let it go on any longer, Elsa finally called out to him. Seizing the chance, Jin excused himself and headed for the annex.
Felix looked like he still had plenty to say, but his throat was likely parched from all the talking; he headed off toward the main house to get some tea of his own.
"You saved me..."
Jin looked like he was about to collapse onto the tea table from pure exhaustion. Elsa gave him a sympathetic look.
"Good work. But I suppose that's the price of being famous."
"Even so..."
Elsa had brewed some Peruhya tea, which Jin had brought from Kaina Village. He was fond of its light, refreshing flavor.
"After this, let's go check on Belle."
"Un."
They had heard that Belle's house was on the northern outskirts of the village. Jin, Elsa, and Reiko set off toward the north. Edgar remained behind to watch the house just in case.
After confirming their direction with a villager once along the way, they found Belle's home without further trouble.
It was located at the very edge of the village, situated in a place that was practically a wasteland. It was less of a house and more of a shack. Having been uninhabited for a long time, the roof and walls were in a state of severe decay.
From a distance, they spotted a figure inside the structure. There was no doubt it was Belle. She was sitting on a broken chair, staring blankly out at the landscape.
Since her usually energetic expression was replaced by a dark, sunken look, Jin decided to call out.
"Belle."
She gave a visible start at the sound of his voice.
"Ah... Jin-sama, Elsa-sama."
Belle stared at them in shock.
"W-Why are you in a place like this?"
"Well, I was worried about you, Belle," Jin told her truthfully.
"A-About me?"
Belle looked even more surprised.
"Well, of course. You're an important member of my household, after all."
"...Thank you very much."
Belle lowered her head slightly at Jin's words.
"As you can see, this is where I grew up. My parents and my younger sister were here, but... they all died at once from a sickness."
Apparently, Belle was the only survivor. From the details of the story, it sounded like a highly contagious respiratory infection—something like influenza.
Many others in the village had died during the outbreak, but Belle's family had been hit the hardest. Since the concepts of prevention and disinfection were non-existent here, Jin realized that a single mistake could lead to catastrophe.
(It's the same here as it is everywhere else. I’ll have to be careful about Kaina Village... and not just there, but Toka Village next door as well.)
Since the land was naturally dry, it was an environment where a virus like the flu could easily run rampant. Jin found himself thinking about what measures he might need to take in the future.