The next day, July 3rd, Jin was being given a tour of the village by Helga.
"Taji Village has about two hundred households and a population of roughly a thousand people," she explained.
The two of them stood on a hill to the northeast, looking down over the sprawling settlement.
"It’s a big village," Jin remarked.
"Is it?"
Jin’s experience with villages was limited to Kaina, Toka, Yada, and Kalts. Since the largest of those, Kalts Village, only had about a hundred and fifty households, his impression that Taji Village was large was only natural.
The village's physical area was also vast. From Jin’s estimate, it was roughly four times the size of Kaina Village—though if one included the northern mountains in Jin's own territory, Kaina's range was technically much larger.
"Taji Village sits in the middle of a vast plain. Well, more like a corner of the Great Flot Plain, which includes forests and wetlands too."
"I see. That explains why the mountains are so far off in the distance."
Jin spoke in a low murmur, his eyes fixed on the mountain range that towered far to the north.
"Exactly. That river over there is the Noshina River. It flows north to south through the center of the plain, essentially splitting it in half. Most of the development is on the western side."
"Is the eastern side still wild?"
"Yes. There are a lot of wild animals there, so we only send out expeditions when we need meat or fur."
"I see."
"Come on, let’s keep moving."
Helga started jogging down the hill. Watching her back, Jin recalled the words her mother, Mina, had shared with him the night before.
"Actually, she had a brother three years older than her. But we lost him to an epidemic two years ago... Jin-san, your hair and eyes are different colors, but your overall atmosphere is very similar to his. That’s why she’s taken such a liking to you."
Jin remembered how Kaina Village had also lost much of its younger generation to disease and war.
"Jin! What are you doing back there?!" Helga called out from further down the slope.
"Ah, sorry! Coming!"
Jin snapped out of his thoughts and hurried down the hill after her.
"As you saw from the top of the hill, the Village Chief’s house—our house—is in the center, with roads branching out in the four cardinal directions. Then there are three concentric roads forming a triple Loop Line around it."
It was a classic radial and ring-road layout.
"Oh, what’s that...?"
Jin’s attention was drawn to a pump. A suction pump, to be precise. It was the same design as the ones he had built in Kaina Village.
"Oh, that? It’s a pump. They're very convenient for drawing water, but several of them are broken now. That one is out of order, too."
"Helga, could I take a look at it?"
"Sure, but... Jin, don't tell me you can fix it?"
By now, Helga had dropped the honorifics and was calling him simply "Jin." Jin had begun addressing her just as casually.
"I can't guarantee anything until I see it, but... probably."
"Really? That would be such a help! Please, take a look!"
"I'll see what I can do."
Jin walked over to the pump and performed an Analyze.
The spell revealed that the cylinder had worn down over time, creating a gap that prevented proper suction.
"The material is bronze... but it hasn't been treated with Hardening or Toughening. No wonder it didn't last."
"Um, I don't really get what you're saying, but can you fix it?"
"Yeah. It won’t take long. Forming. Hardening."
To fix the gap between the piston and the cylinder, Jin used Forming to adjust the shape of the piston and then applied a Reinforce. He chose Hardening over Toughening specifically to minimize future friction and wear.
"There, all done."
"Wait, you fixed it already?"
"Yeah. Put some priming water in and give it a try."
"O-okay."
Helga fetched some water from a nearby well to prime the pump. As she began to work the handle, water soon came gushing out of the spout.
"It works! Jin, thank you!"
"Don't mention it... You mentioned there were a few others that were broken, right?"
"Yes! Will you fix those as well?"
"Of course."
"You're a lifesaver!"
Following Helga’s lead, Jin went around the village repairing the faulty pumps. He fixed six in total.
"They’ve been in use since the village was founded, so I suppose it’s natural they'd break down eventually."
"Since the village was founded... was that about two hundred years ago?"
"Mmm, close. It was one hundred and twenty-four years ago."
If they had been in constant use for over a hundred and twenty years, the level of wear was perfectly understandable. In fact, Jin was impressed they had lasted that long at all.
"It’s almost noon. Let’s head back for a bit."
By the time they finished the repairs, it was nearly midday. Jin and Helga returned to the Village Chief’s home.
"Welcome back. I’ve made soba for lunch. Jin-san, do you like soba?"
Mina was busy in the kitchen. She seemed to have settled on calling him "Jin-san."
"Yes, I love it."
"Good, I'm glad to hear it."
Looking relieved, Mina began boiling the noodles in a large pot.
"Oh, Helga, could you get the dishes ready?"
"Sure, Mother."
"Um, is there anything I can do to help...?" Jin offered, seeing the two women working.
"Oh, Jin-san, you don't need to do a thing. You're a guest. Besides, I heard you fixed the pumps for us. This meal is hardly enough to thank you."
"She's right, Jin. Just sit back and wait!"
With both Mina and Helga insisting, Jin had no choice but to retract his hand and wait.
The final verdict was that the soba was delicious enough to satisfy even a connoisseur like Jin. It wasn't served on a bamboo mat, but was instead a style called "Plate Soba." The boiled noodles were cooled in water and then piled high in a large cup, served with a soy sauce-based dipping sauce.
The only slight disappointment was the absence of condiments like wasabi.
"Thank you for the meal. That was excellent."
"Fufu, I'm just happy you ate it all."
Jin, a true soba enthusiast, had polished off about four extra helpings that had been left over.
"I... I’m sorry. I ate quite a lot."
"Don't apologize. Soba loses its flavor if it sits too long, so I'm glad it didn't go to waste," Mina said with a warm smile.
After lunch, they resumed the tour of the village.
"The fields are on the south side of the village."
Before them lay wheat fields that had already been harvested, alongside soba fields with lush green leaves and fields of purple-flowered Devil's Potato <Devil Bulb>.
"Are these communal fields?"
"Yes. My father always complains about how hard it is to assign work fairly to every household."
"I can imagine."
It was a logistical nightmare to allocate labor without causing resentment, especially when food distribution had to be balanced against that work. The way Kaina Village managed it so effortlessly was actually quite extraordinary.
"The orchards are to the east."
Helga pointed out that loquats and apulul were the main crops. Staring at the small, green, unripened fruit, Jin noted idly that even in this world, apples were called apulul.