The short autumn day had already begun to wane significantly, and the wind was growing cold.
"Belle, what do you plan to do today?"
Jin asked, wondering if she intended to stay in the house. As far as he could tell, it lacked both furniture and bedding.
While Jin wondered if she had even eaten lunch, a soft, adorable rumble emanated from her.
"Ah..."
Belle’s face turned beet red; it seemed her stomach had betrayed her.
"Alright, Belle. Elsa and I are staying at the village chief’s annex tonight. Why don’t you join us?"
"Um, but..." Belle hesitated at Jin’s invitation.
"It’s fine. If you come as our maid, no one will have any grounds to complain."
Presented with such an offer, she couldn't refuse. Belle gratefully accepted.
Just then, someone else arrived.
"Ah, Jin-sama, Elsa-sama. What are you doing here?"
"...I could ask you the same, Barrow."
"I came to fetch Belle."
It seemed Barrow had been worried enough to come looking for her.
"Come on, let’s go. Everyone is waiting for us."
"Eh, but..."
"Why are you being so shy all of a sudden? It’s not like my family are strangers to you."
"Un..."
As Barrow pulled her along by the hand, Belle stole a quick glance back at Jin and Elsa.
"Ah, that works out then. So you’re staying at Barrow’s house tonight, Belle? Barrow, look after her, alright?"
"Yes, of course!"
"..."
In contrast to their usual dynamic at Nidou, it was Belle who allowed herself to be led by Barrow.
Jin and Elsa watched with smiles as the two silhouettes receded into the distance.
"Belle... she seemed so listless," Elsa murmured softly. "The opposite of her usual self."
"Yeah. I suppose she feels like a stranger in her own home."
"A stranger?"
To Elsa, who repeated the phrase back to him, Jin explained his reasoning.
"A village is a closed society, in a sense. Being alone without any family in a place like this... I think it makes her feel unwanted."
Jin recalled his own days at the orphanage and how long it took for new children to find their place.
"...Being alone is hard."
Elsa nodded, remembering when she had left her home only to be taken prisoner by the Unifilar.
With the wind growing colder, the two headed back the way they had come. Reiko followed silently behind them.
＊ ＊ ＊
Back at the village chief's annex, Jin was forced to face reality.
In a village plagued by water shortages, baths were non-existent. One simply wiped themselves down with water. At most, using hot water for that purpose was considered the ultimate luxury.
"...Well, I expected as much."
While repairing the pumps earlier, he had confirmed that the deep wells reached a depth of roughly twenty meters.
"Grand Search."
Jin decided to survey the ground beneath them, just in case.
Layers of soil and sand, a layer of gravel, then bedrock. Below that was another layer of gravel, followed by more bedrock.
The gravel beneath the first layer of bedrock was the permeable layer—the level where the groundwater flowed. It was an unconfined aquifer with almost no pressure, meaning water had to be mechanically drawn up.
If they dug deeper and hit a pressurized layer, the water might gush out as an artesian well, but such things were difficult to maintain.
"Hmm, how should I handle this..."
Excessive groundwater extraction could lead to land subsidence, but based on Jin’s observations, the water was abundant enough that the village's small population wouldn't pose a threat.
As he continued his Grand Search while pondering the situation, Jin stumbled upon something else.
"...Native copper?"
Copper ore usually consists of sulfides, but like gold dust, native copper is occasionally found in its pure, metallic state. He recalled that back in Japan, places like Chichibu had once yielded large amounts of it, just as records mentioned massive finds in Michigan and Arizona.
"It’s a bit deep, but this could become the foundation of an industry here."
Jin paid an immediate visit to the village chief.
Since the tax collector, Felix Becker, was also present, Jin informed them both of the native copper deposit sleeping deep underground.
"What?! Copper beneath this village?"
The village chief was overjoyed. To be told that abundant copper lay beneath a poor village capable of growing little more than corn and beans was a miracle.
"If we can mine that, it will be the salvation of this village and a boon for the kingdom!"
Felix was equally enthusiastic.
"It’s at a considerable depth, so you’ll need to plan your mine shafts carefully," Jin cautioned.
"Quite right. It will require professional engineering."
This discovery would eventually lead to the village’s prosperity, though that was still some time off.
"Now then, onto the main issue."
"?"
The village chief and Felix both looked puzzled, wondering what could be more important than native copper. However...
"Would you mind if I excavated enough copper to mass-produce some pumps right now?"
"Huh?"
Jin had realized that despite the abundant water veins below, the village suffered from chronic shortages simply because there were too few wells.
His plan was a self-sustaining cycle: dig a well in a suitable spot, use the native copper and traces of tin found during the process to make bronze, and then use that bronze to craft more pumps.
Of course, this plan was also fueled by Jin's desperate desire for a bath.
In Japan, there are people who will dig into a riverbank just to create a personal hot spring. As a Japanese man, Jin was no exception to this cultural obsession.
＊ ＊ ＊
Since it was already late, the well-digging was scheduled for the following morning.
With Elsa and Reiko assisting him, Jin began scouting for a suitable site. After the three of them had surveyed the entire village, they decided the eastern outskirts were the best spot and sought the chief’s permission.
"That land is nothing but waste, and it would take far too much effort to turn it into farmland. You’re more than welcome to conduct a trial excavation there."
With his approval, Jin had Elsa perform another Grand Search, using the opportunity as a training exercise.
"Listen, Elsa. Beneath the bedrock, there’s another layer. Try focusing your search even deeper."
"Un."
Elsa gave a single nod and used the Grand Search magic.
"...Found it. There is groundwater deep below."
"Good. We’re going to dig toward it, but we also need to extract the native copper sitting above it."
"Understood."
Under Jin's guidance, they dug the deep well. Along the way, they extracted native copper and a small amount of cassiterite from a different stratum. Cassiterite was a vital ore for tin, meaning they now had the ingredients for bronze.
Elsa’s mana capacity had increased significantly since being cured of Mana Overload Syndrome. Jin surmised that this was likely a result of her improved ability to manipulate free ether.
"My, as expected of the Magi Craft Meister’s sister—she truly is a top-tier magi engineer."
Felix, who was observing, spoke in a tone filled with admiration.
Within two hours, they had completed the digging, the mining, the smelting, the crafting, and finally, the installation of the deep well.
While Reiko handled the heavy lifting during the installation, the overall process was a clear testament to Elsa’s growing expertise.
Jin and the others installed two more deep wells in the same area.
With Jin helping this time, the task was finished in less than an hour. They successfully installed three deep well pumps in total.
With the three existing pumps, the village now had six in total. The village chief was overwhelmed with gratitude and bowed repeatedly to Jin and Elsa.
Jin’s only request in return was to use the fresh well water for a bath that night—a request the chief granted with enthusiasm.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Ahhh, the water feels great."
The water was a cool fifteen degrees Celsius when it came up. After warming it himself with Heat magic, Jin soaked contentedly.
Perhaps as a side effect of his cell activation, Jin’s love for baths had only deepened. In the past, his inactive cells hadn't produced much in the way of grime, but now his body functioned like anyone else's—a fact that likely contributed to his newfound appreciation for a good soak.
"Hometown, huh..."
Jin’s thoughts drifted to a distant home he could never return to.
"...But, right now..."
Kaina Village, Hourai Island, and his Family.
"...I'm a lucky man."
Gazing at Reiko, who stood by as his bath attendant, Jin whispered softly to himself.
In the darkening sky, the early stars had begun to twinkle.