Toka Village was the neighboring settlement to Kaina Village.
That said, it was roughly eighty kilometers away by road—a distance that took two full days to traverse on foot.
Lishia, the lord of Toka Village, spent her days and nights agonizing over how to facilitate her village's development.
One of her efforts, the dish known as Pashta—essentially pasta—had enjoyed a brief surge in popularity, but it hadn't quite reached the point of becoming a major tourist draw.
In time, however, Pashta would spread from the Klein Kingdom to the rest of the world as a signature dish originating from Toka Village.
"What we need next is... a local specialty, I suppose."
Lishia sat in her manor house, brooding over the problem once again.
There were precious few things that could be called products of Toka Village. Being a village tucked deep in the mountains, the soil was thin and the water supply was poor.
Kaina Village, on the other hand, was blessed with the Erme River. The fact that the meltwater from the northern glaciers flowed as an underground stream nearby was nothing short of a miracle.
"If that's the case, the solution must be irrigation."
Lishia concluded that if they could only secure abundant water resources, Toka Village could finally prosper.
"The question is... how to achieve it."
As a member of the Jin Family, Lishia made a point of visiting Hourai Island whenever she could find a spare moment to further her studies.
"Diverting water from the Naudo River seems like the best option."
She had considered building a reservoir, but rainfall in this region was sparse. While rain and snow fell in the northern mountains, the plains remained relatively dry.
"But it would be a massive undertaking..."
Even so, Lishia believed that if they could pull it off, it would sustain Toka Village for generations to come.
"I could consult Jin-san... no, the proper course of action is to petition the kingdom first."
She decided to proceed under the official stance that she was a servant of the Klein Kingdom.
To relay her request for the project to the royal capital, she entrusted a letter to a Raglann Company wagon that happened to be passing through.
"I'll need you to deliver this, please."
"Understood, my lady."
Peddlers' wagons like these frequently handled the transport of non-confidential letters.
Of course, the letters were sealed with wax to prevent tampering, and the company issued an acceptance certificate, agreeing to pay a penalty if anything happened to the delivery.
Since the matter was important but not exactly a state secret, Lishia felt comfortable using the wagon service.
"It should reach the royal capital in about a week, which means the earliest I'll have a reply is in fifteen days."
There was plenty of work to do in the meantime. Lishia turned her attention back to her other duties.
＊ ＊ ＊
One week later.
"My Lady, you have a visitor."
"Eh?"
Lishia, who had been completely absorbed in her paperwork, was startled back to reality by the voice of her secretary, Fred.
Lishia had a tendency toward workaholism; once her focus was engaged, she became entirely lost in her tasks.
Had she not been interrupted, she likely would have stayed at her desk for another two hours.
"A visitor?"
"Yes. It's Jin Nidou-sama."
"Jin-san is here?"
Lishia stood up and rushed toward the entrance. Fred hurriedly trailed after her.
"Jin-san!"
Reaching the foyer slightly out of breath, she found Jin and Reiko waiting for her. Now that the Large Ship Development Project had reached a stable milestone, Jin had taken a short leave.
"Hey, it's been a while. I know we're technically neighbors, but I'm sorry for being so out of touch lately."
"No, the feeling is mutual."
Lishia had been so busy that she hadn't visited Hourai Island for anything other than reading reference materials, and since Jin had been traveling frequently, they had kept missing each other. It was their first proper reunion in some time.
"So, what brings you here today?"
"Ah, well, I went to the Raglann Company this morning to drop off some magi-devices. Apparently, word of my presence reached the Royal Palace through a messenger who was there at the time. I was just about to head home when they sent a carriage to fetch me. Since I had the time, I went to see what was up."
"Oh my."
The one who had summoned him was Second Prince Arthur.
Jin explained that, while in the prince's office, he had been shown Lishia's formal petition.
"Prince Arthur asked me to take on the job. I accepted in exchange for one hundred kilograms of Magi-Quartz."
Magi-Quartz was a transparent-to-white crystal with a weak light-attribute. It was highly transparent, and its refractive index could be manipulated with magic—a property used in the construction of Reiko's eyes.
Since it was rarely found on Hourai Island, Jin had recently been asking the Raglann Company to buy up whatever they could find.
It seemed Prince Arthur had heard of this and prepared the crystal as a reward.
"The demand for Magi-Quartz is going to go up once we start producing more telescopes, prescription glasses, and microscopes. I wanted to secure a good supply now so I can focus on research."
Jin paused for a moment.
"...Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. I read the gist of it in your letter, but could you tell me more about what you have in mind, Lishia?"
"Yes, of course."
Lishia explained her plan to draw irrigation water from the Naudo River.
"...I see. Does the Naudo River actually have a high enough water volume for that?"
"No, it's not particularly high."
"Hmm... It might be best if we go take a look for ourselves. Alright, let's go!"
"Eh?"
Jin invited Lishia aboard Konron 3.
While he could have checked the surveillance footage from the Watcher, subtle variations in the elevation of the terrain were difficult to judge from such a great distance.
"Edgar, keep our altitude at fifty meters above the surface."
"Understood."
"Reiko, I'll need you to take photographs at key points."
"Yes, leave it to me."
As Jin gave the orders, Konron 3 arrived over the Naudo River.
"Hmm. The water level really is low."
"It is, isn't it..." Lishia's expression darkened.
"What's more, from this position, the elevation is wrong. You won't be able to draw water to Toka Village from here."
"Oh..."
Lishia looked even more discouraged. Seeing her like that, Jin decided to investigate further.
"Hmm... Alright. Edgar, head further upstream."
"Yes, understood."
At his command, Edgar steered Konron 3 toward the upper reaches of the river.
"Hmm... The volume is even lower up here."
The source of the Naudo River lay in the low mountains separating Kaina Village and Toka Village.
"Let's check downstream."
"Understood."
Konron 3 turned toward the lower reaches. Stretching out before them was the Great Shama Marshland.
"There's so much water right there..." Lishia sighed at the sight.
"Edgar, take us back. Reiko, did you get the photos?"
"Yes, Jin-sama."
"Yes, Father."
"Good."
Konron 3 returned to Toka Village.
Jin immediately had the photographs Reiko had taken developed so they could use them for their consultation.
"Now then, Lishia, let's look at this again."
Having viewed the topography from the air, an idea had begun to take shape in Jin's mind.