Chapter 189
“Did you succeed?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“Did she sleep well?”
“More or less.”
“Are you satisfied?”
“Very.”
Lloyd chuckled, quietly shut the door to his lodgings, and winked at Javier.
The operation had been a success.
Scheherazade.
The Sultan’s daughter, and a Sword Expert with absurd talent.
In the novel, she was said to be at the upper tier of Sword Expert.
And after traveling with her to Kandara, Lloyd could believe it.
She couldn’t sleep.
Never resting for even a moment—constantly tossing and turning.
Her ears twitched at the faintest breeze.
Watching her day after day, Lloyd had become certain.
‘Swordmaster Syndrome.’
He was sure of it.
It was the same as when he’d first seen Javier.
The phenomenon where your senses become excessively sharp once your swordsmanship reaches the upper level of Sword Expert—
But because you aren’t a Swordmaster yet, you can’t properly control or suppress those senses, and you end up suffering for it.
That was Swordmaster Syndrome.
Scheherazade had it perfectly.
‘I haven’t seen her sleep more than ten minutes straight since we left Ahinsa.’
That was why her eyes were always faintly bloodshot.
It reminded Lloyd of his own days in Korea—sleep sacrificed to nonstop work and assignments.
So he used his ultimate lullaby.
The results were extremely satisfying.
“She finally slept properly. Probably the first time she’s slept that soundly in a long while. She’ll be catching up on all the sleep she missed, so she won’t wake up until tomorrow. Just like you back then.”
Lloyd smiled wickedly.
He remembered the first time he’d put Javier to sleep.
Maybe Javier remembered too.
He replied, expression colder than ever.
“Is that so.”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“So, are you pleased?”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. If things went as planned, then move on to the next task.”
With that, Javier turned sharply and strode down the hallway toward the exit.
But something about his back felt off.
His pace was slightly faster than usual.
His movements a little rougher.
Most people wouldn’t notice.
But Lloyd, who was almost always at Javier’s side, caught the subtle difference immediately.
‘Hmm? Don’t tell me…’
A hunch.
Lloyd’s lips twisted into a smirk.
He hurried after Javier and asked casually,
“Hey. Are you sulking?”
“What do you mean?”
“You look like you’re sulking. I’m right, aren’t I? You’ve got complaints about me.”
“No. I have no complaints.”
“Then why are you acting like that?”
“How am I acting?”
“You’re making it obvious you’re sulking.”
“…That’s an unpleasant assumption.”
“Not unpleasant. Accurate.”
“It’s wrong.”
“Is it?”
Lloyd’s smile deepened.
They left the lodgings and stepped outside, walking side by side.
Lloyd glanced at Javier’s profile with a pointed look.
“Is it because of the lullaby?”
“……”
Javier stopped and turned.
He’d hit the mark.
Finally, Javier spoke.
“Was the lullaby service free?”
“Huh?”
“I gave you the Asrahan Heart Technique to hear that lullaby.”
“Ah.”
Lloyd’s grin widened.
“So you are sulking.”
“I said I am not.”
“But the Asrahan Heart Technique is basically a joint work that I helped create. You were struggling to complete the core parts anyway.”
“But…”
“Relax. It wasn’t free. Did you think I give things away for free?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Right?”
“Yes. Because I can never imagine Lloyd-nim—petty, stingy, and always leaving a messy aftertaste—giving something away for free.”
“……Why are you so specific only at times like this?”
“I’m stating the honest truth.”
“Ahem. Anyway. That lullaby wasn’t free. So relax. I’ll be extracting plenty from that woman in exchange.”
“Is that so.”
“Yeah.”
“I see.”
“……”
Why does he look relieved?
Why is he smirking like that?
Lloyd could only manage a wry smile.
Anyway, he’d safely shaken off the Sultan’s daughter.
Now it was time to do what he came here to do.
“Are we touring the construction site right away?”
“First, let’s get a feel for the local atmosphere.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“We need to see what kind of situation the people here are in.”
With that answer, Lloyd walked on.
He headed toward the city center, a little away from the lodgings.
The scenery of a small desert city unfolded.
Bleak.
Under the morning desert sun, hot and merciless.
Wind filled with sand never stopped blowing.
And in the square, where that wind raged, residents stood in a long line.
A line to receive the food Lloyd had brought from Ahinsa.
“It seems everyone was very hungry.”
Javier frowned.
The residents were in bad shape.
Most were gaunt.
Their skin was cracked and rough.
Lloyd clicked his tongue and replied,
“They’ve endured a long drought. Water’s scarce. Crops won’t grow. It’s fortunate this place is one of the more fertile areas in the desert. Otherwise, they’d have starved to death already.”
It was true.
Iron-Blooded Knight came to mind.
Kandara City.
One of the places Javier had passed through in the novel.
After years of drought, nearly all the residents died or scattered, and the city eventually collapsed.
‘But the Sultan never did anything. No relief goods. He even forbade people from leaving, to keep their hearts from drifting away. So in the end, everyone was trapped here and died.’
That became the spark of rebellion.
Resentment. Hatred.
That flame rose and rose, until it finally toppled the Sultan from his throne.
In the novel, this place had been the trigger and symbol of the Sultanate’s civil war.
“Anyway, it was fortunate I received the Padashar. That food—do you know who provided it? The great and almighty Sultan.”
“So in the end, you’re taking credit with someone else’s money.”
“Well. Kind of.”
Lloyd shrugged.
He watched the residents receive food from the attendants, eyes turning bitter.
“Even though we brought food, they don’t exactly seem to like us.”
“Seems that way.”
Indeed.
Sideways glances.
Their gazes weren’t friendly.
No—more than that.
Even while accepting food, they looked at this side with wariness.
Some carried a faint hostility under the coldness.
But Lloyd didn’t feel offended.
Because he knew exactly why.
‘I came here under the Sultan’s orders.’
He’d signed a construction order contract with the Sultan.
He arrived under his authority.
With a bodyguard assigned by him.
With attendants.
With a flashy entourage.
So how would it look to these residents?
‘The Sultan’s dog. His accomplice.’
That was probably what they saw.
Lloyd’s bitter smile deepened.
This region had suffered years of drought.
Meanwhile, the capital, Ahinsa, was prosperous.
Ahinsa was always prosperous.
A city untouched by drought.
The reason was simple.
Because the Sultan lived there.
‘The Sultan spends money endlessly. He hires magicians, mobilizes thousands of carts and merchant ships, drags water into Ahinsa by any means necessary.’
So Ahinsa never lacked water.
But everywhere else?
When drought came, they suffered.
Land cracked and died.
Crops shriveled.
Parents held starving children and cried.
And they still couldn’t leave.
Moving to Ahinsa was a fantasy.
Because of status.
‘In this Sultanate, status is split cleanly. And it’s tied to region. People in Ahinsa are the highest class. The surrounding metropolitan area comes next. Then the provinces—the lowest.’
The closer you lived to Ahinsa, the higher your status.
And those with low status?
They were only allowed to live where their class permitted.
Meaning once you were born into the bottom, you would never set foot in Ahinsa in your entire life.
‘Dirty. Cruel. And climbing the ladder is basically impossible. The odds of winning the lottery are better.’
In other words, the lower class in the Sultanate spent their whole lives wrestling drought.
‘That’s why resentment has been piling up all over the Sultanate.’
When people had enough to eat, it held together.
For two hundred years, it held.
But once drought became frequent?
Discontent exploded.
And Kandahar—Kandara—was no different.
To them, the Sultan was already an enemy.
They just didn’t have the power to say it out loud.
And of course, someone who arrived here under the Sultan’s authority wouldn’t be welcomed either.
Even if he handed out food.
‘Of course. They aren’t fools. They suffer their whole lives, and then occasionally someone tosses them food? They won’t feel grateful. They’ll feel like livestock being managed. I would too.’
He understood the hostility completely.
Still, the frustration lingered.
“Hoo. We need cooperation.”
“Yes?”
A mutter that came out like a lament.
Javier tilted his head.
Lloyd chuckled and shrugged.
“No. Never mind. We’ve gotten a good enough feel for the atmosphere. Let’s move.”
He guided Javier somewhere with fewer people.
Then he pulled Ggoming from his pocket.
“Ggoming?”
“Ggoming!”
“You’ll have to carry us today. Are you okay with the heat?”
“Ggomiming!”
“Alright. Thanks.”
Ggoming nodded as if it was nothing.
Lloyd patted his round head and asked the other kids in his inner pocket,
“Are you all not hot?”
“Bboddong!”
“Bangul!”
“Hamang!”
“And you’re not bored? Not hungry?”
“Bbo! Bang! Ha!”
They answered cheerfully, saying they were fine.
He felt proud—and grateful.
“Good. Then let’s go.”
He fed Ggoming a red sunflower seed, then climbed onto his back with Javier.
With wings spread, they took off.
“To the west!”
“Ggoming!”
They rose quickly and left Kandara behind.
They headed west.
Sand dunes rolled beneath them.
As they flew, Lloyd activated his [Surveying] skill.
More precisely, he activated the [Underground Scanning] option.
‘Let’s see.’
His gaze swept the underground—up to five meters below the surface.
He moved carefully, methodically, refusing to miss anything.
But he couldn’t find what he wanted.
“It’s not here. Is it deeper than five meters?”
“……Yes?”
“No. Nothing.”
“……”
Nothing?
Then why does Lloyd-nim look so perplexed?
Javier felt doubt rise.
‘He’s looking at where the construction will happen. Surveying. But he doesn’t look normal. He isn’t just checking terrain. He’s trying to pinpoint something.’
And it wasn’t appearing easily.
‘What is he searching for?’
Before Javier could grasp the answer, the scenery below changed.
As Ggoming kept flying west, the desert vanished.
Patches of grassland appeared.
Then foothills spread out.
Streams flowing down from the mountains glinted everywhere.
“Higher.”
“Ggoming!”
Ggoming flapped upward along the foothills.
The wind cooled. Then grew colder.
Finally, pure-white snowfields spread beneath them.
Lloyd landed Ggoming on the snow.
Then he examined the area.
“Hmm. Good. No pollutants. No bacteria. And of course, low salinity. Perfect.”
Satisfaction rose in his eyes.
This was where he would secure water for the Qanat.
Once the snow melted, it became streams that flowed down the foothills.
Build an intake facility along one of those streams.
Collect the water.
Then send it underground.
“So, Hamang?”
“Hamang!”
“Let’s do some work today.”
“Hamamang!”
Lloyd pulled Hamang from his pocket.
Pointing to the snowfield, he asked kindly,
“Do you like ice candy?”
“Hamang!”
“You like anything with water in it?”
“Then how about this?”
“Hamamang!”
Hamang nodded as if it were obvious.
A satisfied smile spread across Lloyd’s face.
“Good. Then absorb as much as you can and turn it into water. You remember Kandara? The people there are very thirsty.”
“Hamang!”
That was the start.
Hamang sprinted into the snow like he’d found his true home.
He scooped up a mouthful of pure-white snow and swallowed.
The snow melted, filling his belly.
And Hamang’s happiness skyrocketed.
“Hamamang! Hamang! Hamamammang!”
He kept eating.
Slosh, slosh—his belly filled.
His body swelled rapidly.
Until he looked like a massive water balloon—seventy meters across.
“Is it good because your belly’s full?”
“Heumeumeung! Heumeung!”
Hamang answered happily, completely satisfied.
Lloyd smiled too.
“Good. Then let’s go back.”
“Heumeung!”
They took off again.
Riding Ggoming, they flew east.
Hamang rolled along beside them, round and wobbling, all the way back.
They descended the foothills, crossed the desert, and returned to Kandara.
By then, it was late at night.
“What will you do, Lloyd-nim? It seems Hamang-kyung brought water to give to the residents.”
“Oh. Right. I brought it to give away.”
“Then will you wait until morning?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because the residents will all be asleep…”
“So we wake them up.”
“Yes?”
Javier doubted his ears.
Lloyd smiled brightly.
“You saw it today, right? The foothills. The intake site.”
“Yes.”
“How far did it look?”
“Almost forty kilometers.”
“Exactly.”
Lloyd spoke as if it were obvious.
“The construction distance is too far. We can’t do this alone. We need the locals. So we wake them up right now and distribute the water.”
“But giving and good deeds—”
“You have to make it obvious.”
Lloyd smiled wickedly, satisfied with himself.
“That’s how you rack up points, right?”