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The Maritz Wetlands was an abandoned land.
There were a lot of muddy swamps there. The dense swamps were home to a plethora of unknown creatures.
Naturally, it was impossible to build any buildings or do some farming there.
It was a useless land, one that couldn’t be used.
Thus, Maritz Wetlands had been treated as a forgotten land for generations.
The northern part of the wetlands belonged to the Frontera Barony, meanwhile the southern part belonged to the Lacona Viscounty.
Regardless, both parts of the land were being ignored all the same. After all, the land was considered impossible to develop.
‘… However, that’ll be a thing of the past.’
It’d change from now on.
With that in mind, Lloyd raised his head. He looked back and asked cautiously, “Is my Lord all right?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Baron Frontera, who was following behind Lloyd, nodded. Lloyd looked up and down quickly to assess the Baron’s condition.
The Baron was wearing knee-high boots. Because the leather was fully oiled, the boots were almost completely waterproof. Unfortunately, the boots were not able to do their job properly today.
“I don’t think My Lord looks all right. It seems mud and water have already gotten inside the boots.”
It wasn’t that the boots weren’t working, but it was because the swamp was much deeper than the Baron’s knees. The water even reached the top of their thighs every time they walked.
As a result, water had already filled the Baron’s boots. His pants were also completely drenched.
However, the Baron was a manly man with an unexpected tenacity.
“I’m fine. I already expected this much.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Lloyd didn’t think so.
Suddenly, Lloyd recalled what had happened two hours ago.
Two hours ago, Lloyd went to the Baron’s office. He informed the Baron of his intention to develop the Maritz Wetlands that was located at the southern part of the territory.
The goal and reason why he wanted to develop the wetlands was clear. It was to boost the territory’s food productivity for the future.
‘I have to feed the Orc miners. Even if that is not the case, expanding the territory’s farmland is something that has to be strongly encouraged.’
Food Production. Agriculture was the foundation of all industries, regardless of how advanced a society was. Only after problems regarding eating and living were solved would the next step of development become available. This also applied to the territory, Lloyd thought.
‘The orc miners are just the beginning. One day, the population will increase. However, it will be difficult if the territory’s food production capacity is insufficient to feed the growing population.’
The food production capacity needed to be increased to accommodate the growing number of mouths that needed to be fed. But, there was no other land in the territory that could be cleared and cultivated for farming.
The only available land was the Maritz Wetlands, which was located directly at the south of the territory.
That was the reason why Lloyd had to drain the swamps and carry out a land reclamation project. To do so, he needed the Baron’s permission. Thus, Lloyd revealed his plan to the Baron.
Should the Baron oppose his plan, another plan had been prepared to persuade him.
However, things didn’t turn out as Lloyd had expected.
The Baron gave an unexpected reaction.
“If that is the case, are you thinking of going to survey the topography of the wetlands?”
“Pardon? Well, yes, I am.”
“Good. Then, I’ll go with you.”
“… Pardon?”
“Don’t bring the servants. It will be alright for you to go with this father alone. I should change into some comfortable clothes first. Wait a minute.”
After that, the Baron went to change his clothes without hearing Lloyd’s answer first. He put on a comfortable shirt, pants, and knee-high leather boots. He also wore a sword on his waist. What was more, he even ordered the maid to pack lunch!
“Umm, uh, this is not a picnic.”
“I know.”
“Then, why bring lunch…?”
“Even if we’re only going to the wetlands, it’ll be a problem if we get hungry, right?”
“Umm, still.…”
“Am I wrong, by any chance?”
“….”
Lloyd had no choice but to stop talking after that.
The Baron wasn’t wrong. However, in Lloyd’s eyes, it seemed that the Baron really considered this trip as a picnic.
‘A pretty fun picnic, too, to boot.’
This was something Lloyd couldn’t understand.
They were going to survey and examine damp wetlands full of swamps. Lloyd couldn’t believe the Baron got so excited and prepared for the trip like going to a picnic.
‘What’s so fun about it?’
Even when Lloyd left the mansion with the Baron, or when they traveled across the territory towards the south where the wetlands would be, or when they eventually arrived at the muddy swamp and struggled to move in it, Lloyd still couldn’t comprehend the Baron’s attitude. The truth was, even now, he still couldn’t.
“Huf, huff!”
The Baron was gasping heavily. Every time he took a step in the muddy swamp, the Baron was doing a slapstick comedy with his whole body. The reason was simple. It was because he raised his hands high to protect the basket filled with lunch.
Unable to watch it any longer, Lloyd asked, “Um, shall I carry the lunch basket?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“But if My Lord keeps on carrying it like that, your arms will be sore, and it’ll be more difficult to keep your balance.”
“No, it’s not difficult. You should focus on your work.”
“Well, I don’t think carrying that is going to distract my work.”
Lloyd was telling the truth. In fact, Lloyd had been activating his Survey Skill for quite some time. The thing was, his Survey Skill didn’t require him staying focused.
‘Because the results of the survey are automatically saved as data.’
Later, Lloyd could go back to the mansion and whip out the survey data at any time. He only needed to concentrate at that moment. Hence, it wasn’t difficult at all for him to help the Baron carry the lunch basket now.
But, the Baron persistently refused.
“Aren’t I the one who wanted to go together with you? How could I make you carry this?”
“Umm, it’s absolutely fine. My Lord doesn’t have to carry that.”
“I’m really okay, so turn around and look to the front.”
“All right. Then, shall we take a break there first?”
Lloyd happened to see a slightly higher ground in the middle of the wetlands far ahead. There, dry soil piled up, forming a small mound that arose above the swamps.
‘It’s not more than a few meters ahead anyway.’
Furthermore, now seemed the right moment for them to take a short break.
“Then, please follow me carefully. Don’t fall down,” Lloyd said.
“Yeah, don’t worry. Huff huf!”
Lloyd then led the Baron to go towards the small mound.
When they arrived there, there was a fairly wide flat rock. Lloyd sat down on the rock and took a deep breath. Meanwhile, the Baron opened the lunch basket. There was a wooden stackable picnic container wrapped in a pure white cloth inside.
“I’ve been wondering for a while, but what did My Lord bring that he protects so vehemently?”
“It’s nothing, I just brought the most delicious thing in the world.”
The Baron smiled and opened the stacked wooden container.
What was inside the container was….
“It was hard-boiled eggs and tomatoes.”
“Sorry?”
“The tomatoes are plentifully doused in honey. Here’s your fork.”
“….”
It was a little unexpected. They were nobles after all. It wasn’t bad, but Lloyd expected something better.
The happy smile that was adorning the Baron’s face grew warmer.
“Are you a little puzzled because it has been a long time? Still, wasn’t this your favorite food when you were young?”
“….”
“I still remember it to this day. You refused eating all kinds of greasy foods with all of your might. You said hard-boiled eggs and honey tomatoes are the best. How I feel at a loss about what to do every time back then.”
“….”
“Even now, I sometimes regret it. When you said you liked boiled eggs and honey tomatoes back then, I should’ve understood you… and gave you that as much as you wanted.”
“….”
How should Lloyd respond to this?
Lloyd only pursed his lips, the fork was held in his hand. Before he knew it, he had already stopped using the Survey Skill. He just silently stared at the empty fork.
The Baron smiled and offered the egg he peeled himself for Lloyd.
“Here, dip it in the salt and eat it. Make sure to drink water afterwards to avoid choking.”
“….”
“You’ve been quiet for a while. Does this father make you feel awkward?”
“Oh, um, no, you don’t.”
“It’s okay, I fully understand how you feel!”
“….”
The Baron was looking at Lloyd. An inexplicable feeling of regret filled his eyes. That feeling, however, was fleeting. The Baron soon burst into a hearty laughter.
“Hohoho, you’re going to get indigestion at this rate. Come on, let’s eat.”
“… Yes.”
After that, neither Lloyd nor the Baron said anything.
They ate the hard boiled eggs and honey tomatoes while sitting on an unknown gray rock in the swamp.
In the meantime, the Baron regretted the past; for the time he had spent feeling disappointed about his son, who failed to meet his expectations; or his past self who had treated his own son like a sore finger the whole time.
He wanted to apologize for his past actions.
It was, however, difficult to put such feelings into words and and say them out loud.
The Baron silently handed Lloyd a bottle of water instead. Lloyd wordlessly received the bottle and chugged it down to moisten his throat. Lloyd then passed the salt for the Baron to dip his eggs in.
The whole time, the two of them were enveloped in silence.
On their way back to the mansion, Lloyd picked up and carried the lunch basket. Only this time, the Baron didn’t turn down Lloyd’s help.
The lunch basket felt lighter than it had been when they first came here. This made their steps feel a little lighter too.
With this, Lloyd’s first day of surveying the wetlands had come to an end.
The next few days, Lloyd focused on surveying the area. The Maritz Wetlands was larger than he thought.
It was impossible for him to cover the whole area with his Survey Skill in only a day or two.
‘Still, I’m glad that my Survey Skill’s rank is intermediate!’
The skill could now survey an area of about 40 m in width and length, or about 1600 m² at a time.
After pushing the skill usage several times to the limit, he was able to survey a fairly large area.
Just like that, 20 more days flew by.
Up until now, Lloyd had surveyed most of the area where the main reclamation project would take place. Shortly speaking, all topographic data within the range of the project had been obtained.
Of course, this didn’t mean the project would be easy.
‘The design is a separate issue.’
Lloyd furrowed his brows as he examined the topographic data of the Maritz Wetlands obtained through his Survey Skill.
‘I already predicted this, but there are too many variables.’
The wetlands was located in a lowland that was surrounded by two river tributaries. Water entered the wetlands whenever the river flooded on a regular basis. However, the water couldn’t flow out. Thus, it accumulated. Eventually forming a swamp after many years had passed.
‘In any case, regardless of whatever perspective I look at it, this pool of old stagnant water is the problem.’
Just like in games, the principle could be applied into real land. In the game, one had to properly control the stagnant water so that the soil could be revived.
Keeping this fact in mind, Lloyd devised a plan to carry out a wetland reclamation project.
‘The truth is, I’ve already figured out how to do it. I can ask the fantasy species’ assistance to do the vertical drainage method. With that, we can accelerate the soil consolidation1Soil Consolidation refers to the process in which the volume of a saturated (partially or fully) soil decreases due to an applied stress. Land consolidation is an important technology for sustainable agricultural development. Directly associated with the permeability of the soil, the length of the drainage path and the direction or directions of the drainage path.. However, the embankments and waterways have to be properly positioned and built at the same time.’
The area was vast, and the variables were numerous. Lloyd wasn’t confident that the water would drain properly with the design he had in mind.
‘If I blindly go for it and start the construction, it’ll be a huge failure.’
He’d be in big trouble if he went through all the trouble of building embankments and waterways, only to have the water not drain properly. He’d literally waste a lot of manpower and money to shovel something that’d do nothing.
Lloyd wanted to avoid that.
‘Hmm, I wish I could run a simulation.’
How much Lloyd hoped he could put the topographic data obtained by his Survey Skill into a supercomputer and run a simulation. However, here, that seemed like an impossible tale from the dreamlands.
At that moment-
“Mmh….”
In the corner of Lloyd’s bedroom, Javier turned and tossed his body in the armchair. Perhaps, he was having a nightmare.
Javier’s elegant eyebrows furrowed.
If he left Javier be, Lloyd thought he’d wake up soon. So, Lloyd chanted a magic spell(?) for the silver-haired knight who was tossing and turning in his sleep.
“The draining method consists of some drainage sections to collect and distribute the rainwater and river water that has entered the embankment during the flood, a side channel to receive the drained water and a filter section with filter to prevent the drainage from getting clogged. The diameter of the drainage channel is… blah blah blah… at least 0.5 meter above the ground inside the embankment… on average… the average hydraulic slope (H/D) in the entrance of the drain hole does not exceed 0.3… blah blah blah…. With a structure that ensures a certain degree of safety against landslides…. Sleep tight, bye~”
“… zzzz.”
Javier fell deeply asleep. Lloyd grinned softly.
When Lloyd was reciting the contents of a textbook he used in his major to put the silver-haired knight to sleep, an idea he could use to replace a supercomputer’s simulation abruptly emerged in his mind.
‘I’m glad I recited the part about the embankment construction. As expected, the answer is in my major’s textbook. Let’s give it a shot.’
Lloyd exited the bedroom and went to the mansion’s backyard.
Under the moonlight, he picked up his shovel.
He dug the soil in the backyard, gathered it to one side, and carefully shaped it with his hands. Next, came in the water. Both crushed grass and red clay were properly mixed in the water. He also picked up and collected some small stones.
Lloyd’s sweat glistened under the moonlight.
From then on, Lloyd continued to work busily.
As a result, when dawn finally came, the fruits of Lloyd’s hard work began to take shape. It was a miniature model of the Maritz Wetlands, which was scaled down to 4m x 4m.
“Phew, is this good enough?”
Despite the fatigue that came rushing in, Lloyd smiled happily. The model was quite impressive, even by his standards.
‘This is the only way. It is made based on the data I gained from the Survey Skill.’
The overall topography’s height and inclination to the degree of the stagnant water’s slight flow; the model reflected numerous variables.
With this, he’d be able to run advanced analog simulations.
‘Then, let’s get started.’
Lloyd rolled up his sleeves and trousers. His fashion style became like rice farmer’s.
He then started to sculpt the model.
By simultaneously activating his Design Skill, he created a miniature embankment in the model. Then, he drilled a hole in the ground and dug a waterway on one part of the model. After that, he observed the drainage of the water.
It was not an easy task.
When morning went and noon came, the scorching summer sun fell on him without a filter. It hit him straight in the back.
Sweat was pouring down his whole body like rain. The eyes of the people in the mansion were also intensely gathered at him.
“Um, what is Young Master Lloyd doing this time?”
“Did he open his eyes this morning and decide to play with mud?”
“No, I’m sure he’s working on something.”
It was a relief that people didn’t criticize him as much as they used to.
Lloyd continued to run analog simulations amidst the many attention he garnered.
He failed every time. The design’s drainage wasn’t satisfactory enough.
Nevertheless, Lloyd didn’t give up. He was not going to give up until he found a solution.
‘I wouldn’t have even started if I was just going to lazily back down.’
He set his spirit on fire every time he failed.
While shouting ‘again!’, he restored the model with both hands, poured additional murky water, and created various types of embankments and waterways.
Many more attempts and failures followed after that.
Noon went and afternoon came.
Around evening, when the afternoon sun still dimly lit up the sky, Lloyd finally found a great embankments and waterways design that could drain the water well.
‘Finally!’
Despite his heavy fatigue and pouring sweat, he raised and clenched his fist in celebration.
The water was finally draining properly. Not only did it get drained properly, but there appeared to be no difficulty in maintaining its condition.
To Lloyd, this felt rewarding because he had done something close to hard manual labor all day long today.
That very moment, an unexpected notification popped up before his eyes.
Ding dong.
[You’ve overcome the hurdle of limited conditions and solved a problem through your wisdom and grit.]
[Your efforts have had a major impact on the ]
[You have unlocked a new optional skill.]
Author’s note: (Ding dong) I summon the supercomputer~
Tl/n: I was so confused because in the manhwa the northern part of Maritz Wetlands belongs to Lacona and the southern part belongs to Frontera, but I’ve double checked it in future chapters that indeed the northern part is Frontera’s while southern half is Lacona’s in the novel.
Anyway…. Aww, Baron Frontera wants to get closer to his son but his actual son is- I’ll stop. No, I’m not crying. You are. :’)
Oh yeah, thank you Sours for the ko-fi!
I’ll update twice or thrice next week, sorry I can’t do it this week because I don’t have any chapters stockpiled…. I’ll try to update more frequently.
1Soil Consolidation refers to the process in which the volume of a saturated (partially or fully) soil decreases due to an applied stress. Land consolidation is an important technology for sustainable agricultural development. Directly associated with the permeability of the soil, the length of the drainage path and the direction or directions of the drainage path.