Chapter 141

“Winter of 1830. Vienna, Austria. A severe cold wave. The Danube River froze solid. And then… cholera.”

Lloyd clenched his fist tightly.

At last, the puzzle pieces fit together.
The answer that had been hiding at the edge of his mind finally raised its head.

‘Yeah. This was it.’

His throat bobbed with a heavy swallow before he realized it.

Beside him, Javier tilted his head.
“Cholera, Lloyd-nim?”

“Hmm?”

“I thought I just heard you muttering to yourself… Austria, Vienna, the Danube River, and cholera. That’s what it sounded like.”

“Oh, that.”

He hadn’t realized he’d spoken the answer aloud in his moment of revelation. Of course, Javier’s sharp hearing hadn’t missed it.

Lloyd gave a brief chuckle and brushed it off.
“It’s just the name of an ancient city and a river.”

“An ancient city?”

“Yeah. I came across it once when I visited the academy to see Julian in the capital.”

“And why are you bringing it up now?”

“I just realized something. The situation there seems quite similar to what’s happening in our territory.”

“Similar? In what way?”

“Too many people crammed together.”

Indeed, that was true.
Vienna in 1830.
The current Frontera County.
There was a striking resemblance between the two, transcending both dimension and time.

‘They didn’t have a proper waste disposal system. Then the population suddenly exploded.’

In 1830, Europe was swept by the wave of industrialization.
With the Industrial Revolution in full swing, countless workers flocked to cities.
Austria’s capital, Vienna, was no exception.

As the city overflowed with workers, its population skyrocketed.
And that’s when the problem began.

‘Of course it did. Before that, they used some of the waste as fertilizer and dumped the rest on the streets or into rivers. But when the population surged, that system couldn’t keep up anymore.’

Yet, no one took proper action.
Then came winter—one of the coldest on record.
The Danube River, which flowed through Vienna, froze solid.

But people didn’t care.
They went on as usual, dumping waste by the riverbanks.

‘That was the beginning of the catastrophe.’

Normally, the river’s flow would have carried the waste downstream, where it would decompose naturally through microbial activity.
But that winter, the frozen Danube stopped it all.

The waste no longer flowed away.
It piled up along the frozen riverbanks.
Then it thawed in the sun, refroze at night, again and again.
Rot set in.

Huge quantities of decayed waste seeped into the ground, contaminating the groundwater.

And when spring came—
those who drank that water contracted cholera.

It was the start of a citywide epidemic.

‘The same thing’s going to happen here. That was the ending spoiler I saw—me dying from the plague.’

Now he understood.
The freezing of the Danube.
The outbreak of cholera that followed.
Lloyd explained the historical case to Javier, rephrased to sound natural.

“That record said a lot of people died.”

“In that ancient city, Vienna?”

“Yeah. I think something like that could happen here in our territory.”

And indeed, it could.
The current situation in Frontera County wasn’t much different.
If Vienna had been overwhelmed by workers during industrialization, Frontera was now overflowing with refugees from the monster domino disaster.

“Besides, we don’t even have a proper waste treatment facility. If this winter turns out to be unusually harsh, and the Frona River freezes over, the same thing will happen here—with a very high probability.”

Lloyd’s voice grew firm as he spoke.
With every word, his conviction deepened.

The image he saw in that spoiler—his future self dying from disease—must have been the result of a wrong decision made during this time.

He must have failed to establish a proper waste management system.
He must have chosen the easy way—dumping waste into the river.

Now he knew how it all happened.

Meanwhile, Javier tilted his head again.
“Listening to you, it does sound possible. But tell me, what exactly is a waste treatment facility?”

“Huh?”

“Is there a better way than digging pits?”

“Of course there is.”

Lloyd nodded confidently.

That sure expression made Javier fall silent.

“……”

What a peculiar man. No—an extraordinary one.

Javier suddenly recalled the strange event from earlier that day.

‘I went to report something to Lord Lloyd.’

He’d knocked on the bedroom door.
No answer.
But he could sense Lloyd’s presence inside.

So he carefully opened the door, not wanting to disturb his concentration.
And then—he froze.

‘Lloyd wasn’t there.’

He was gone.
Not at the table.
Not under the bed.
Not behind the curtains.
He searched every possible hiding place—nothing.

And yet, he could still feel Lloyd’s presence.

‘That was the first time something like that ever happened.’

He could sense someone there, but see no one.
It was bizarre.
Unfathomable.
Impossible to understand—especially for a Sword Master like him.

‘There’s no way he could deceive my senses.’

And yet, he had.
It was as if Lloyd had become a ghost—his presence remained, but his body was nowhere to be seen.

Baffled, Javier left the room to clear his head, handled other work, and returned that evening.
That time, Lloyd was there as usual, lounging about.

“……”

What on earth had happened in that room earlier?
How had Lloyd managed to fool his senses?

Javier had no answer.
Neither for Lloyd’s mysterious knowledge nor his inexplicable abilities.

‘Should I… be suspicious?’

Or perhaps it was better to leave it alone, out of curiosity.

He pondered for a moment, but the answer was simple.

‘I’ll just keep watching for now. Out of curiosity.’

Lloyd definitely had secrets.
It had been that way since the day he built the heated room for the tavern owner.

He had changed completely overnight.
But Javier didn’t want to doubt him.

Even if Lloyd had secrets—
even if he possessed inexplicable powers—
he always used them for the good of the territory.
He worked for the people.
He saved lives.
He served the Frontera name faithfully.

So for now, curiosity would suffice.
‘That’s my duty as his knight.’

Javier smiled faintly.

He was a knight who served his lord, nothing more.
As long as Lloyd continued to devote himself to the territory’s prosperity, Javier’s role was to protect him.

“Understood. Shall we return to your chamber now, my lord?”

“Huh? Why?”

“You’ll be making new construction plans tonight, won’t you?”

“Well, yeah.”

“You’ll likely stay up all night thinking and planning.”

“Probably?”

“That’s why.”

“You mean… you’re staying up with me?”

“Yes. I’ll stand guard.”

“What the—creepy.”

“……”

“Ugh. That gave me chills.”

“……”

“But you’re saying you’ll stay up all night out of loyalty?”

“Yes.”

“Well, if that’s what you want.”

“……”

“Then let’s grab some late-night snacks.”

A smile tugged at Lloyd’s lips.
He had plenty of work to do that night anyway.

Thus, the long night of planning began.

♣

The next morning, Lloyd presented his plan to Count Frontera.

“A… main sewer system?”

“Yes.”

“And what exactly is that?”

“A network of underground tunnels to process the territory’s waste.”

It was during breakfast.
The table was laid with fragrant cheese, tangy salad, rich eggs, juicy sausages, and warm milk. (T/N: Nice timing to tell about waste and sewers lol. )

Lloyd glanced around the table and spoke carefully.
“If this is a bad time for such talk, I can explain later.”

“No, go on.”

Discussing excrement at the breakfast table would have made most people grimace.
But the Count simply laughed heartily.

“It concerns our land and our people. And by the look on your face, it’s more important than any meal.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“So, a way to handle waste—you must have a reason for bringing it up.”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s hear it.”

Lloyd began recounting the same story he had told Javier the night before.
As he went on, the Count’s expression gradually hardened.

“So that’s another way an epidemic can start?”

“Yes. It’s a well-documented fact.”

“Then it’s possible such a thing could happen here as well?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Hence, the need for this… main sewer?”

“Yes.”

Lloyd nodded firmly.
That was his conclusion.

At first, he had considered simply dumping the waste far from town.
But there wasn’t a suitable place for it.

To the east lay the mountain range.
Dumping there would contaminate both groundwater and the drinking supply.

The south belonged to the Viscounty of Lacona—also off limits.
‘If an epidemic breaks out there, it’ll spread back here in no time.’

He couldn’t dump it westward either—that land belonged to the crown.
That left the north, but even the thought of hauling massive amounts of waste there made him shudder.

The reason was simple.

‘The volume’s just too much.’

By a rough estimate—
an average person produces about 200 grams of waste per day.

‘Multiply that by the refugee count… that’s about 9 to 10 tons a day. In a month? Around 300 tons.’

Three hundred tons of waste in a month.
Three thousand six hundred in a year.
And in ten years…

‘Tsk. Let’s not even go there.’

The thought alone was nauseating.

No matter how they hauled it—by wagon or bucket—it was unmanageable.

Moreover, unlike major cities like Cremo or the royal capital, Frontera had never housed more than a few thousand people before the refugee influx.

A weak infrastructure.
An overwhelming population surge.
To solve the problem, he needed a precedent.

‘Vienna. That’s the key. They already solved it once.’

The historical case of Vienna held the answer.

‘From 1830 to 1835, they built sewers along both sides of the river—1.5 meters wide and 2 meters tall. They called it the “Cholera Canal.”’

And later—
‘From 1890 to 1910, they constructed an even larger system, 15 meters wide and 8 meters high, connecting it all seamlessly with the earlier Cholera Canal.’

They dug relentlessly, creating an intricate underground system.
And at last, they eradicated cholera.

‘That’s what I need to replicate.’

Organizing his thoughts, Lloyd explained,
“The concept is simple. We’ll channel all waste and sewage underground, completely separate from the river and groundwater.”

“So, to prevent contamination of both?”

“Exactly. That’s the purpose.”

He had laid the groundwork well.
The Count now understood the necessity.

And this was the moment to push forward—swiftly, decisively.

“We’ll need a large workforce. That’s why I’d like you to issue a public notice.”

“A notice?”

“For labor recruitment.”

As the Count raised a brow, Lloyd explained,
“It’ll be a massive project, spanning the entire territory—the mansion, the villages, the refugee camps, and even the apartment complexes. We’ll have to dig and lay pipes beneath every inhabited area. And that’s not all.”

“What else?”

“The sewage must be channeled north, into the uninhabited zone. We’ll have to dig all the way there as well.”

“That’ll be quite an undertaking.”

“Yes. And it’ll require a great deal of manpower.”

Indeed, the existing engineer corps alone wouldn’t be enough.
They were already busy constructing apartment buildings.
The elven steelworkers and orc warriors were occupied too.

“The White Spear Cavalry might help a little, but that won’t be enough. We’ll need assistance from the residents and refugees.”

“So you plan to accept volunteers?”

“Yes.”

He had briefly considered enforcing labor.
Now that Frontera was a county, he had the authority to do so.
But he refused.

Memories of hardship back in Korea surfaced.

‘Working my butt off and not even getting paid on time… that was hell.’

Those days of scraping by, barely surviving, haunted him still.
Society had often answered his hard work with cruelty—
not insults or mockery, but the worst violence of all: unpaid wages.

‘Wages. That’s all we worked for—breaking our backs, bleeding from our noses.’

“Sorry.”
“It can’t be helped.”
“Just a few more days, we’ll pay you soon.”
He could still remember those empty excuses.

And those promises—never once kept.

One missed payment always led to another.
It always did.

He remembered how he’d worried about rent,
how he’d avoided the gosiwon manager’s eyes,
how he’d gone without a full meal.

‘Damn. Just thinking about it pisses me off.’

The memory was still bitter.

And so he vowed,
‘I’m not forcing anyone to work for free.’

He’d suffered under that system. He wouldn’t become the kind of scum he once cursed.

Even practically speaking, forced labor wasn’t wise.

‘It’ll only breed resentment.’

He could suppress dissent, sure—
but once trust was broken, it would never return.

‘Lose the people’s trust, and they’ll never volunteer again. Every future project will suffer. That’s a long-term loss.’

He wouldn’t make that short-sighted mistake.

“That’s why we need a proper notice,” Lloyd said.
“To hire workers legitimately. Even if the number of volunteers is small.”

“Understandable. It’s almost planting season, after all.”

The Count nodded.
Spring was near.
The locals and the refugees who had received farmland were busy preparing for the crops.

“But we don’t have a choice. We’ll gather what volunteers we can, and for the rest, we’ll hire professionals from Cremo City. Even if it costs us.”

“Agreed. I’ll draft the notice.”

“Thank you.”

The Count wrote up the public notice, distributing it throughout the territory.

Lloyd, however, didn’t expect much.

‘The last time people were eager because they got farmland in return. This time, it’s just day wages—and everyone’s busy with farming.’

So, they’d need to hire from Cremo.

With that settled, Lloyd flopped onto his bed.

“Phew.”

Maybe it was the sleepless night.
Maybe the exhaustion from running around all day.
Drowsiness overtook him.

‘Let’s sleep. I’ll worry about the rest tomorrow.’

Without even taking off his shoes, Lloyd drifted into sleep.

And then—

Ding-dong.

[The countless achievements and praises you’ve accumulated so far are now exerting comprehensive influence.]
[After reading the Count’s notice, most residents and refugees feel a strong desire to repay your kindness by helping you.]

A miraculous message appeared before Lloyd’s sleeping eyes.