129
sewer
‘The weather is nice.’
I sent Kel on patrol and headed to the synagogue.
After all, there was nothing like divine power to heal a tired body.
Since the church was an insider in the cartel, they were able to get free treatment and potions at a low price.
I took the evidence of the cartel, the cape, and wrapped it around my neck.
‘I caught a lot of demons, but won’t you raise my level?’
I liked the term honorary priest better than honorary monk because it had four letters.
At that time, as I was walking down the street, a foul smell wafted from somewhere.
In the Middle Ages, no matter which city you went to, there was always a bad smell, but this smell was unusual.
He hurriedly headed towards the smelly place and saw two familiar guys.
One of them was carrying a large piece of cloth like a cloak, and he was covering the large one next to him with it.
‘It’s Scar, right?’
However, because the Scar guy was so big, his face looked bulgy, and he was grimacing as if he was concentrating.
‘···Fuck, really.’
“Hey! I told you not to do that!”
He was the guy who had caught me and gotten in trouble several times.
I heard that he covered up people who were defecating on the street and received money for it, and the pay was pretty good.
These guys had this incomprehensible mindset that it was okay as long as they didn’t see him, and he took advantage of that gap perfectly.
Even though I introduced you to a pretty good job, you’re doing that again.
I couldn’t help but frown at the strong, shitty smell that wafted through my face.
“Aaron! Good morning!”
The guy wrapping the cloth greeted me brightly. His nose was caught with something like wooden tongs.
“I told you not to do that.”
“But Srun is so picky, the work is so hard, and they only pay little.”
The man who faced me looked embarrassed and handed Scar a small piece of cloth. It was a useless display of craftsmanship.
“Oh- there’s even a wiping cloth, that’s the best cover-up I’ve ever seen! Ban!”
“I told you I’m the biggest swindler in Catholic.”
I shook my wrist briefly to break the friendly conversation between the two.
“Aaron? You don’t look so good. Are you feeling sick too?”
“If it’s Aaron, I’ll cover it up without taking any special money! The best cover-up guy in Cassidy… Aaak!!”
There was no need to talk to those medieval guys.
As they were beaten one by one, the self-proclaimed best veil-bearer in the Catholic Church threw down the cloth and ran away.
Scar tried to follow him, but stopped when he saw my gaze.
Where can I escape to in this narrow castle?
“Clean it up.”
Scar grumbled and gathered him up with the cloth he had left behind.
“Ska, aren’t you going to the woodshop today?”
It was originally a time when I would be working in the woodworking shop.
I asked with the intention of grabbing him by the collar if he ever spoke that kind of nonsense again.
“The old man at the carpentry shop died. That’s why the carpentry shop is closed today.”
Scar’s answer reminded me of the old man at the carpenter’s shop.
Although he was short, he was an old man with strong muscles, as befitting a man who ran a woodworking shop.
Although he had an eccentric personality, he was a hot-tempered and pretty decent man.
“You’re dead? You’ve lived a long time.”
In a place where people died before getting wrinkles, unless they were nobles, an old man with wrinkles all over his face could be considered to have lived a long life.
“He lived a long life. The old man had such a quirky personality that he kept postponing his death until it inevitably came.”
Scar laughed heartily. The refreshing smell of alcohol wafted from the man who couldn’t drink.
“Then what about the carpenter’s shop?”
“The old man left it to me, but I don’t know what will happen. The decision is made by the lord.”
Scar asked, furrowing his bushy eyebrows.
‘Why did I inherit thick eyebrows, but not hair…?’
I clicked my tongue as I looked at Scar’s shiny hair.
“And is it okay for the guy who’s supposed to be the Cassidy Shadow to shit on the street like this?”
“In Zone 5, the restrooms and sewage treatment facilities are too far away. And I can’t carry a chamber pot around either.”
“Plague.”
It was a Catholic church that even had a separate toilet installed because of the chaos that was happening on the streets.
However, medieval people were the kind of people who would stop and poop even while walking if they were in a hurry. There was even a strange profession called a sitter.
To begin with, since there were a lot of livestock like cows and pigs running around and there was a lot of waste, they seemed to think that adding a little more of their own wouldn’t make much of a difference.
‘No matter how much I hit this, there’s no answer.’
Crimes like this would subside if those caught were severely beaten, but when it came to hygiene, they just wouldn’t listen.
Since there were a lot of livestock, as they said, the livestock waste was more than the livestock’s excrement.
That’s why, even if I beat up a few guys, the characteristic medieval smell of shit remained.
I thought back to my old memories and thought about when I was in modern times.
‘There was no shit on the streets back then.’
There was a difference in level of consciousness to begin with, but there also seemed to be a difference in convenience.
This is because they either built toilets outside the house or just left them on the street.
However, the sanitation of the capital city of the empire was incomparable to that of other places.
Sure, it was still horrible to me, but at least no one was spewing shit outside.
‘Was that a sewer?’
I checked the bottom, recalling my memories of when I went to the capital.
‘It’s a sewer···.’
I continued my thoughts, looking at the strange, sticky mud.
At that time, the construction of the wall had just finished and there were quite a few people playing around. There was also a noisy excavator, so it seemed like it would be good.
However, I don’t know much about sewers, so it might not work out…
‘I’ll tell Orange, but if that doesn’t work, there’s nothing I can do.’
I can at least give my opinion. And since there’s a wizard here that wasn’t there before, I’m sure they’ll figure it out somehow.
There is a reason why wizards are so popular and expensive.
“Are you doing well with the kids in District 6 these days?”
“Oh, Joji? Oh, thanks to your daughter, I’m doing well. Damn it! I asked!”
‘···canna?’
It seemed like Kanna was holding onto the kids and muttering something, but it seemed like she was really working hard on something.
“Then what about the carpenter’s shop?”
“I have to go out tomorrow. I’m going to teach Jo Woo-ji how to do carpentry work. He’s always loafing around. Now that I’ve gotten to know him, he’s nice.”
Contrary to his dream of becoming a shadowy figure in a back alley, he was quite an honest man.
“And the carpentry shop building is big, so it can be used as a base. Oh, did you know that? Jo Woo-ji got married. The child has become more sincere.”
Scar was a talkative man, unlike his size. He scooped up a cloth full of mud, swore loudly, and ran off somewhere.
I shook my head as I looked at that stupid back.
However, when I turned the next alley, there was another awning doing business-.
“I’ll feed you next time I catch you.”
He beat the janitor and his guest one by one and then made them clean up.
“That… should I eat it? Or….”
The veil maker asked curiously.
I thought about it for a moment and then answered.
“I’m going to share it.”
Judging by the terrified faces, it seemed like one of the thugs had been dealt with.
***
‘It’s still the same here.’
Monks with pale faces were wandering around the synagogue.
In the past, the monks rarely came out of the synagogue, but after the abbot came, they began to go out quite often.
It may have been to avoid the abbot, but it was a welcome change for the people of Cassadic.
Thanks to this, the inside of the synagogue was rather empty.
“Ah, Honorary Monk Aaron.”
As we entered the synagogue, Monk Ains, whose complexion was brighter than the others, greeted us.
“Have you come to see the abbot? He is currently praying inside, so please wait a moment…”
“No. I came to get some potions. And get some treatment while I’m at it.”
I hurriedly cut off Ains’ words.
If I had happened to run into the abbot here, I could have experienced the terrible fate of being dragged into a service. It wasn’t for nothing that I had stopped by during the service time.
“Oh, is that so? If it’s a potion… please follow me.”
Ains, who had been thinking for a moment, nodded and headed inside.
“The synagogue is empty.”
“Yes, we are all busy these days because we receive letters from the church.”
“Is it a letter?”
“It is said that pagans have recently come over to the east. Because of this, we must be more thorough in our religious practices and be more vigilant.”
‘···pagan?’
When I met the brothers, I thought of the priest I had seen.
He seemed like a clean priest, but his stories about the Bible were strangely different.
‘They must be pagans.’
The guy I was talking to smelled like a sweet devil candy, but the other guys behind him didn’t smell anything special.
When I talked to them briefly at that time, although their doctrines were different, they seemed to be well-versed in the contents of the Bible from the religious side, so it seemed like it would be a headache to judge them.
Since it was a religious order that stretched across the entire continent, its membership must have been enormous.
In the Middle Ages there was no means of controlling him, so if he wore priestly garb and was well versed in the Bible it would be difficult to distinguish a pagan from another.
Of course, both the church and the pagans were cults to me, but what bothered me was that the pagans were with the devil.
Even the guy who talked to me was a devil candy.
‘······But if I talk to the abbot, won’t he reveal his true colors?’
I wondered if a pagan could survive the torture of the abbot’s never-ending prayers.
Ains, who had just arrived at the potion room, opened the door.
There was an oddly familiar face sitting in a room that looked like a pharmacy.
“Oooh-! Honorary Monk Aaron!!”
‘The kid has lost more weight.’
The original compliment vending machine, which had become so thin that it was hard to remember when we first met, stood up with a bright smile.
“Your face looks even better.”
I wondered why a priest was managing the potions, but I smiled brightly and greeted him.
“Father Blian, the Abbot of Brighton was looking for you earlier···.”
“Ha! Ha! I’ll take care of Honorary Monk Aaron, and Monk Ains, take care of your work.”
The compliment vending machine awkwardly laughed and cut off Ains’ words, then pushed him out.
‘Even if I lose weight, I still gain too much.’
When he was a pig, he had an appearance that made you feel bad just looking at him, but now he’s just very skinny.
Eventually, the praise vending machine that had pushed Ains out closed its door and let out a deep breath.
“Honorary Monk Aaron. Is the plan underway?”
The earnest expression on the compliment machine’s face made me wonder for a moment what plan he was talking about.
‘Oh, I decided to get rid of the abbot.’
He received a considerable amount of down payment and additional fee for it.
‘I completely forgot.’
Of course, I never specified the exact details, but the guy just gave me money without permission.
“···I’m still having a hard time because my opponent is formidable.”
“Ugh! You felt it too. He is a very vicious and meticulous abbot! I have never seen such a strong opponent in my entire life!”
The compliment vending machine and empathy were better than expected.
“They even said that I have the potential to become a true priest! How dare I be a true priest! My dream is a three-fold one! Do you know how much you are tormenting me these days?! Every day, I have to interpret the Bible! Pray! What a terrible thing! Now I can recite the Bible by heart!”
The compliment vending machine shouted with its bony arms shaking. The voice was full of desperation, making the onlookers feel sorry.
When I responded, the praise machine began to read from the beginning without even opening the Bible, while shedding tears. He did not hesitate even once.
‘···You’re becoming a great priest, aren’t you?’
The praise machine, who had been reading the Bible for a long time, now preached about what he had done to avoid the abbot.
“That guy is so meticulous, he’s found out all our secret locations! So to avoid him, we start from District 1 and go all the way to District 7! We go around every day! We even memorize the names of the residents!”
The content was truly desirable and did not match the voice full of resentment.
Considering that other priests were receiving money to treat patients, his actions were almost like those of a saint.
‘Oh, I told you.’
After the last service, I threw their secret base as bait to escape from the abbot who was holding me back.
“Even those who, like me, kept the keynote speech, eventually knelt before that bastard’s persistent torture! Now, we are the only ones left.”
I told the compliment vending machine, impressed by my outstanding empathy, that I needed some potions, and it gave me four potions.
I had no intention of giving it, but seeing him say that he didn’t need money and that he would take care of it himself, it seemed like this was the best.
I grabbed some potions and started talking a lot about the praise machine and the ‘great undertaking’.
However, he strongly advised us to be careful because we were dealing with an opponent and not to let it get out that we had done it.
Just then, the door opened wide-.
“Emeritus Aaron, you are right on time for the service.”
The abbot looked at me with his exacting eyes and said:
‘···You must have arrived on time for the service, right?’
I quickly looked at the abbot.
The Bible he always carried around was nowhere to be seen, and his neatly slicked-back hair was a little disheveled.
It was clear that the passionate worship had already ended.
“Didn’t you just pray?”
“It was a preparatory service. You came at a good time.”
The abbot spoke firmly.
There was a determination in his voice that he would not listen to any excuses.
‘It’s not even exercise, it’s just a preparatory worship service… It’s a plague.’
I couldn’t think of anything to say in response to the word I was hearing for the first time in my life.
“I have to go quickly because I’m working.”
“You are an honorary monk. Worship is part of your duties. Follow me. You too, Blian.”
The compliment vending machine hidden behind me looked at me with a start.
A look of determination on that gaunt face.
The guy looked at me and nodded vigorously.
‘what.’
The guy who made the gesture immediately ran.
“The sun is shining!!”
Suddenly he rushed at the abbot.
The abbot had such great stamina that he could walk around all day without resting, and his physique was also huge compared to the others.
On the other hand, the compliment vending machine had lost all its weight and had no strength at all, so the result was obvious.
“What are you doing, Priest Blian?”
However, the abbot’s response was overly neat.
As if this kind of thing happened often.
“I… I got it! Now! When no one is watching! Our faith!”
“Did you two talk about something?”
“Ah… Honorary Monk Aaron! Now is your last chance! To regain your freedom…!”
I tried to avoid the eyes of the compliment vending machine that was dangling while being caught by the abbot.
‘A priest rushing at the abbot… What a mess.’
Eventually, I was dragged to the chapel next to the compliment vending machine.
The chapel was full of monks with faces like corpses, and I could see the monk sitting at the very back.
The lungs were expressionless as usual, but the corners of his mouth were slightly downturned.
Then, at the sound of the door opening, Pyeop turned his head and met my eyes.
A small glimmer of hope appears in the lifeless eyes of the old man.
It was like the face of a comrade who had been locked up in prison and found himself looking for himself.
‘···I was caught too.’
My heart felt heavy because of the expectation on her face, so I tried to avoid eye contact and sat down next to her.
Then a very deep sigh is heard from the side.
“They finally caught everyone. Now we can start the real worship.”
Everyone sighed deeply at the abbot’s voice, which was higher pitched than usual, as if he was excited.
Knock knock.
He nodded, covering his mouth with his index finger and holding out the crumpled cake.
I had no choice but to accept that determined face.
Nod.
The cake was very salty and I didn’t feel good.
***
‘What is Adela?’
Nova frowned and pushed aside the pile of papers on her desk.
With Geral gone, operations had become a little more comfortable, but Adela suddenly intervened, making things difficult again.
‘You’re stupid, you’re saying weird things again…’
Nova couldn’t completely ignore Adela’s words because they were also annoying.
It was true that Behar’s second son had great ambitions.
However, the third one was definitely not hopeless.
‘How do I solve this···.’
No proper conclusion was reached and it was postponed to the next time.
I would probably get a call soon, but if the response was slow, it would definitely be disadvantageous.
Knock knock.
At the unusual knocking sound, Nova quickly adjusted her clothes and quickly touched her hair.
And then he straightened his back and opened his mouth.
“Come in,”
The door opened and it was Aaron who came in with a bad complexion.
“What’s wrong, why are you so pale? I told you you could skip work-.”
“Okay.”
At Aaron’s short answer, Nova opened the drawer and took out the potion she had kept inside.
“this···.”
Nova opened her mouth after fidgeting with her hands for a moment at the sight of Aaron quickly gathering up the items before she could even finish speaking.
“But what’s going on?”
“Oh, the smell in the street is so bad.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it, right?”
Nova nodded in response to Aaron’s disgruntled voice.
The stench from the streets was not an area that could be solved.
“Some of the cities I visited had water running underground. They would dispose of things like sewage there, so it smelled less.”
“Water under the ground?”
“okay.”
Nova recalled what she had seen in books when Aaron’s abstract explanation came to her mind.
If it was water under the ground, it probably meant sewage. He had read that there was one in the capital of the empire, and that it was great for eliminating the stench of the city and for hygiene.
“sewer?”
“Oh, right. Sewerage. Let’s install Cassidy too.”
Nova hesitated for a moment as Aaron spoke simply as if it was nothing.
‘I wonder if he doesn’t know much about sewers?’
Dig underground and let the water flow out.
The installation cost couldn’t have been just a penny or two.
But to speak of him as simply as building a building.
“Are you saying we should let the water flow under the castle?”
“Hey, you don’t know about sewers?”
Aaron’s monotonous answer made Nova ponder again.
‘Isn’t the sewer a bigger problem than I thought?’
No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way that the sewer could be simple.
However, I didn’t want to answer Aaron’s calm voice and say that it was impossible. I felt like I was losing.
Nova seriously reviewed the situation in the castle.
‘There are quite a few people left over since the construction of the wall was recently completed. …Construction of the wall? Come to think of it, there are two magicians, right?’
Even among them, Kanna had already proven her skills by carving a castle wall. I don’t know much about magicians, but she could carve a huge stone that was put into a castle wall, so there was no way she couldn’t carve dirt.
The amount of money I gave to Kanna back then was quite large, but it wasn’t enough to build a wall.
If we build a sewer like that back then…
‘···Will it work?’
If it were built, it would clearly provide tremendous benefits.
Additionally, a moat could have been built.
Watching Aaron yawning lazily, it felt like such a simple task.
It wasn’t a matter for him to decide and it was up to Pulpouts to decide, but Pulpouts said that if it was what Aaron wanted, he should probably tolerate it…
“Isn’t it possible? If it’s not possible, then don’t worry.”
“It can’t be done… It can be done.”
However, Aaron’s light words made me feel a needless repulsion.
For some reason, I ended up answering because I didn’t want to lose.
“Oh, really? It’s orange after all.”
Aaron gave a thumbs up and left.
Judging by his reaction, it seemed like Aaron didn’t think it would work out either.
Jire was the only one who accepted the offer because his competitive spirit was aroused.
‘···I’m screwed.’
Nova was dumbfounded for a moment, then realized the situation and grabbed her head.
‘No, it’s not completely impossible. And since there might be another opportunity to have two wizards in the castle, it might be a good idea to install one… Since the one in the capital is definitely effective, I had to install it at some point.’
Since I had already answered, I had to do something about it.
I was incompetent at Flitton Castle, but I couldn’t lose in this regard.
‘First… let’s discuss the cost of the wizards… Oh, by the way, I decided to come.’
Since the Yeongju side proposed recruiting Kanna, I contacted Kanna to talk about it.
That was today···.
Suddenly.
A little boy came in without knocking.
Kanna came in with bright eyes and a confident gait and sat down across from me without permission.
And Nova could tell from the eyes looking up at him.
‘You know exactly what you’re holding.’
Nova, who had thought lightly of him as a child, had no choice but to admit that his opponent was stronger than he had thought.
Nova took a moment to catch her breath and handed over the paper she had written on.
“You’ve probably heard the whole story. So, how much do you think it will cost?”
Since we already knew everything, there was no need to say anything else.
“You first.”
Kanna answered, swinging her iron club, which had Aaron’s face carved into it.
***
“···miss?”
The maid Blossom knocked on Vivian’s door again.
There’s a sound inside, but there’s no answer-.
Blossom opened the door hurriedly.
Vivian was sitting on the window sill with her arms full of bread, looking ready to jump out at any moment.
“Miss! I told you not to sneak out of the castle at night!”
Blossom ran over and grabbed Vivian.
Luckily, I was able to catch Vivian before she fell.
However, Vivian’s face was flushed like a drunken person.
“miss?”
“Blossom! I’m weird!”
“You were always weird, weren’t you?”
“My heart was pounding, my body was shaking, and I couldn’t help but close my eyes!”
Blossom held Vivian’s neck and thought about those words carefully.
It had a strangely strange feel to it, but it was exactly the kind of story that only girls in love would tell.
Blossom’s head turned quickly.
Perhaps, if something had happened···.
“What happened then?”
Blossom asked, remembering Vivian’s brief disappearance at Flitton Castle with that man named Aaron.
‘What did you do to that innocent girl…!’
Vivian Youngae was so pure that the word naive is not enough.
Even though his strength had recently become abnormally strong, the reason he was wary of going outside the castle was because of his purity.
“Huh? Oh! At that time! Something happened!”
“What’s going on?”
Blossom tried to control her expression and asked again.
“···secret!”
Blossom’s eyes narrowed at the word secret coming from Vivian’s mouth, who had never hidden anything.
“Me! This is weird!”
At that time, something strange happened.
Vivian, who was holding a bread in her arms, crouched down with a thud! Then, an invisible force spread out around her.
Blossom, who was right in front of me, was pushed back as if someone had thrown her and hit the wall hard.
Blossom let out a small scream in shock that left her mind dazed and looked at Vivian.
The bread crumbled and fell to the floor in Vivian’s crouching arms.
Blossom gulped as she saw the bread, so hard that some joked it could be used as a blunt object, disappear without a trace.
Kuung!
“Ah… no.”
The shock spread along with Vivian’s tiny scream that seemed to escape.
The furniture in the vicinity was instantly crushed and scattered.
Blossom instinctively leaned back as she saw the hairband that had fallen and been pushed back crumpled right in front of her.
“AAAAAHHHH!!”
The first time I heard Vivian scream.
Her appearance, with her veins standing out and her body trembling, was completely different from the kind and gentle Vivian.
If there was a witch, it would look just like that.
Blossom’s mind was filled with fear as she looked at him.
Kuung!!
The shockwave spreads again.
“Gyaaaah!”
Blossom screamed loudly and struggled.
However, because my body was frozen in fear, I tripped on the edge. My right little toe was crushed as if a giant hammer had hit it.
“Gyaaaah!!”
Blossom screamed at the top of her lungs in pain she had never experienced before. There was nothing else she could do.
“B… Blossom? I’m so… I’m sorry- I’m sorry… Aaak!”
Vivian, who seemed to come to her senses for a moment at Blossom’s scream, ran to the wall.
Kuuung!
As the wall collapsed, Vivian’s new form disappeared beyond it.
After that, knights and soldiers came in urgently.
When I looked at the wound while it was being treated, I saw that it was smaller than I thought.
After calming down a bit, Blossom suddenly had the thought that the emotion Vivian had mentioned earlier might have been fear.
Because when I saw Vivian just now, I felt the same way.
***
‘I have to do it.’
Swallows let out a sigh as he watched Vivian break through the wall.
With each step, the ground cracked and made a dull sound, as if he were a knight radiating aura.
Swallows clicked his tongue at Vivian, who was clearly in pain, somehow looking around and heading towards a place where there were no people.
‘So that’s why those who receive Mana’s love die young.’
It was clear that his body was collapsing from the mana that exceeded the capacity of a human being.
That’s why the word love was added.
Because, as the word love says, Mana poured everything out without any control, regardless of the other person.
Swallows thought back to the one-armed wizard he had encountered then.
He prophesied that Swallows’ dream would come true.
Trusting him might be like the last gasp of a lost soul, but Swallows decided to trust him.
He had nothing left to lose anyway.
‘It’s as if I knew this would happen.’
The paper that was in his hand as he came to his senses.
Swallows frowned at what was written there and then nodded.
‘Thinking of people as magical tools, and having others consume their mana instead… It’s a cruel way of thinking that makes you not see them as fellow human beings, but it’s definitely effective.’
Although it was a theory and magic circle they had never seen before, Swallows believed that it would work.
However, how are you going to catch that idiot who runs wild at the level of a monster, and who has the concentration to form magic using other people’s mana?
‘···There it is.’
Swallows swallowed bitterly as he recalled the two of them slicing through the ice that resembled him.
It was very jarring how everything was falling into place so perfectly, as if someone was manipulating it.
However, I was curious to see what Kanna would do with Youngae’s huge mana.
‘Then shall we go?’
Kkieeeeeek-!
The Swallows let out a long scream and used levitation magic.
