Chapter 144

A quarry.
The word itself meant a place where stones were dug up.
It was a facility designed to extract high-quality rock in bulk for use in construction, sculpture, and all sorts of other applications.
And for Lloyd right now, it was exactly what he needed most.

‘Of course. You can’t build a proper main sewer without a massive amount of stone.’

This would be a sewer system spanning the entirety of the Frontera County—
from the central village to the Marez reclamation fields, the Eastern Mountain farmlands, and even the northern apartment complex.
A truly large-scale project that would cover every major zone.
Naturally, it required an enormous volume of stone.

‘Sure, I could use rebar and cement since Bangul’s around. But realistically? That’s nearly impossible.’

The rebar and cement Bangul produced were already committed to the apartment construction.
There wouldn’t be enough left to use for the sewer.
No matter how much he pushed her, the numbers just wouldn’t work.

‘A fantasy beast isn’t a machine, after all.’

Bangul was a living creature with limits.
And overworking her past that limit wasn’t an option.

‘If I do, her poor butt’s going to chafe and tear.’

Every day, she already strained herself—
‘Puhwaah!’ belching molten rebar,
‘Kuwaaang!’ erupting cement like a volcano.
Her rear end never had a break.
He’d even been feeding her select soil and treating her carefully just to keep her from getting sores.

‘So that’s her limit. I can’t make her work harder. For the sewer, stone will be better than cement. It’ll also last longer with less maintenance.’

Cement was a magical material, but not an eternal one.
Over time, it cracked and crumbled.
When that happened, constant inspection and repairs were needed.
Cracks had to be filled, chips had to be patched.
Otherwise, cement structures aged fast and fell apart.

‘Just like those old abandoned buildings you see in the countryside—neglected, crumbling, and full of holes.’

Lloyd didn’t want that fate for his main sewer.
He was about to pour immense effort and time into this project.
It had to last—strong and stable for decades.

‘That’s why stone, especially granite, is the best option.’

Granite.
Known colloquially as ‘ssuk-dol’ back home.
A rock with an incredibly uniform internal structure.
In simple terms—it had no grain.
That meant no twisting, no splitting, no cracking.

‘It barely deforms with time. That’s why granite’s used as the foundation for precision instruments or semiconductor equipment. Even curling stones are made of granite.’

It could withstand immense loads.
Water couldn’t penetrate it.
And it resisted external contamination perfectly.
That’s why it was often used in lighthouses built by the sea—exposed to storms and salt for decades without warping.

Durable, stable, nearly eternal.
Granite was exactly what Lloyd needed for this sewer project.

That’s why he stood there now, pointing toward the southern hills of the Lacona Viscounty border.

“From here to there. Today, we’re building a quarry. So what do we do first? We dig out every last bit of dirt from this slope! All right, let’s begin—with spirit!”

He raised his voice, arm extended.

The combat engineers, the White Spear Cavalry, and the orc warriors all gripped their shovels.
Ppodong, now ten meters tall, gleamed with determination.
Bibeong flexed his tower-sized forearms.
Even the five baby mastodons raised by Sir Bayern joined in—each already the size of two bulls.

“Puiii-aaaaang!”

They let out a collective trumpet.
Sir Bayern gave them affectionate pats before hitching them to the heavy plows.

‘Perfect. No big construction goes well without proper equipment.’

Lloyd’s eyes glimmered with satisfaction as he surveyed the worksite.
Thanks to the [Underground Scanning] option of his surveying skill, he already knew that beneath this slope, three meters down, lay a thick granite bedrock.

That’s why he’d picked this spot for the quarry from the start.
He’d drawn up plans, then ‘visited Viscount Lacona’—and more or less forced the man to agree.
Now it was time to execute.

“Clear it all! Trees, shrubs, everything! Keep digging until you hit the rock layer!”

“Uwooo!”

“Kuiik!”

“Ppodong!”

“Bibeong!”

“Puiii-aaang!”

Lloyd grabbed a shovel himself, demonstrating the proper form.
He even channeled the [Asrahan Heart Technique] to show perfect, efficient motion.
The combat engineers—veterans hardened by endless construction work—watched in admiration.
The physically gifted White Spear soldiers, competitive as ever, dug faster to keep pace.
And the orc warriors flexed their massive chests, eager not to be outdone.

The tempo soared.

Six days later, the southern slopes of the Lacona Viscounty had transformed completely.
The trees were gone.
The soil was cleared away.
And the solid granite layer beneath had been fully exposed.

‘Now, the next step—building a transport route for the quarried stone.’

Digging stone was only half the job.
They had to move it efficiently to the construction site.
And stone, by nature, was huge and heavy.
He needed a properly paved route to transport it.

Lloyd called for Sir Bayern.

“You remember the road construction we did before, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“The method’s the same. Width, depth, the layering materials, order of filling—you remember all that?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Good. I’ll still include detailed blueprints just in case. Like before, Ppodong will assist daily. One hundred and fifty engineers should be enough, right?”

“Yes, that should suffice.”

“Good. The route will start from the quarry, pass through the Marez farmlands, and extend north to this point on the estate. Follow the plans precisely. And remember—keep the roads as straight as possible.”

“Yes, Lloyd-nim. I’ll remember.”

“Excellent. I’m counting on you.”

“Please leave it to me.”

Lloyd entrusted Sir Bayern with the “Southern Highway Construction Project.”

For three years now, Bayern had been overseeing major construction as commander of the engineers—a stern but reliable man.

Still, Lloyd’s workload remained mountainous.

‘All right, next—back to the apartment project.’

Spring had arrived.
It was time to resume apartment construction, which had been paused during the freeze-thaw season.
They had to complete it before next winter if they wanted people to move in on time.

‘Thankfully, I’ve got someone capable to handle that while I focus on the sewer.’

He smiled faintly and turned to the elf beside him.

“Right, Muirah-nim?”

“I don’t know exactly what you mean, but yes—I’m glad to have work again.”

The elf chieftain, Muirah, smiled faintly as she looked toward Building 103 of the Honeybee Apartments, where the foundation work had just begun.

“Honestly, winter was boring and dull. I’ve been waiting eagerly for spring.”

“Eagerly?”

“I wanted to run across the high-rise sites again.”

Her gaze drifted to Building 102—
the one already completed and standing tall.

“I still can’t forget last early winter. Running across the eighth floor like the wind… it was exhilarating.”

Her voice turned wistful.
She remembered the sensation vividly—
soaring between rebar frames high above the ground,
balancing along the outer walls and safety nets,
cutting through the breeze.

It was almost… addictive.

“The other elves feel the same. Everyone’s excited to get Building 103 up as soon as possible.”

The sooner it rose, the sooner they could leap across rooftops again.
Dozens of apartment buildings meant dozens of new playgrounds in the sky.
Just imagining it thrilled them.

“Good. Just don’t rush the job. We want it done well, not fast. Not that I need to remind you—you’re even more meticulous than I am.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve already memorized every line of your blueprints.”

The elves were thorough by nature.
They’d also gained experience managing the eighth floor of Building 102 last winter.
For now, Lloyd could trust them to handle the apartment work.

Elves were born ironworkers, after all.
They’d handle the rebar and formwork perfectly,
while the engineers assisted where needed.

And Lloyd?

‘All I have to do is supervise now and then.’

Not that he planned to rest—he couldn’t even if he wanted to.
There was another task only he could do:

Surveying for the sewer construction.

‘Phew. This workload’s insane.’

From the next day onward, he roamed the estate nonstop, using the [Asrahan Heart Technique] to replenish mana and repeatedly activating his surveying skill.

For days, he scanned the entire territory—mapping terrain, soil structure, and subsurface layers up to five meters deep with pinpoint precision.

Meanwhile, he refined the sewer’s design in his mind.

‘Instead of buried concrete pipes, I’ll make it a large underground passage—big enough for people to walk through.’

That would make maintenance easier.
If the sewer ever clogged or malfunctioned, a person could go inside to fix it.

‘Yes, something like those grand underground sewers in old European cities you see in movies.’

A central flow channel for waste and water.
Walkways on both sides.
That was the layout he envisioned.

‘And the flow channel itself should be egg-shaped. That’ll speed up the water flow and reduce sediment buildup.’

The concept was solid.
But one major problem remained.

‘As expected, sludge disposal’s going to be the biggest issue.’

Sludge—
also known as ‘oni (汚泥)’, the final sediment left from wastewater treatment.

When sewage sits still, water separates from solid waste.
The heavy residue sinks to the bottom.
That accumulated muck was sludge.

To deal with it properly, you had to collect, concentrate, decompose, and dehydrate it.

‘Then either bury it, dump it into the sea, or incinerate it. That’s how it’s done in the modern world.’

But reproducing that here… wasn’t easy.

‘I can build a sludge tank at the sewer’s endpoint. That part’s fine. But how do I ‘dispose’ of it afterward?’

He considered sending in the engineers to dig it up manually.
Then immediately shook his head.

‘No, impossible.’

The amount would be enormous.
And the gas—methane and others—would be toxic.
Anyone working inside would suffocate to death.

‘That includes engineers, orcs, elves—everyone.’

He couldn’t send a fantasy beast in either.
And even if he managed to extract it safely, he’d still need somewhere to bury it.

‘There’s no suitable site within the estate. Hauling it far away would just create more problems—trespassing, logistics, labor costs. Ugh… so what now?’

A deep wrinkle formed between his brows.

‘The ideal solution would be to burn it all at once with overwhelming heat.’

If only he could vaporize all the gas, microbes, and waste in one go.
That would solve everything.

From that moment, Lloyd locked himself in his room.
He spent two sleepless nights thinking.
On the third day, he finally called for Javier.

“Let’s go on a picnic.”

“…Excuse me?”

Javier’s brow twitched.

“A picnic, out of nowhere? Where to, and for what purpose?”

“The Dragon’s Lair. We’re going to meet a dragon.”

“……”

It sounded so casual, as if he were saying, ‘Let’s go grab lunch,’ or ‘Let’s stop by a café.’

That was how natural and serious Lloyd’s tone was.

Which was why, up until this exact moment—
Javier assumed it was just a joke.