Rebirth in a Ruined Nation! The Life of a New Strategist Starting From Now - Chapter 67

The Road Reconstruction Project and The New Faces

Right after we returned, what was waiting for me was a meeting about the road reconstruction project. I quickly report to Rays-sama and rush to the meeting room.

Accompanying me were the two King’s secretaries (?) Nelfia and Sazabi.Wickharlt and Diku also wanted to accompany me, but I stopped them.

After all, for those who didn’t know us personally, they would feel intimidated by seeing the four of us together. Plus, Rufa seemed to be sulking since we didn’t bring her to the training mission, so I asked both of them to cheer Rufa up.

The meeting this time was about the start of the road reconstruction project.

The tar arrived sooner than expected. It seemed like the minister of Fezaris Kingdom sent the tar immediately to us, maybe as a thanks for allowing Fezaris to participate in the canned food project.

Gravel and crushed stone for the road were also not a problem. With how many mines Rudek has, there was no way we were short of stones.

Several people from the 6th Division would also participate in this meeting. Other than them, the people who would be participating in the meeting were some court officials, Drew, and lastly, us.

The 6th Division was the workforce for the road reconstruction project. The court officials were responsible for arranging materials needed for the construction and food for the 6th Division. Although Drew was also a court official, it was almost impossible to make her do the normal court official job, so several court officials were appointed to act as a coordinator for the project.

As for me…. For some reason, I was treated as the instigator of the project alongside Drew.

True, I was the one who proposed importing tar, I was the one who received the minister’s letter from Luluria, and I was the one who learned how to build the road from Luluria. However, in the end, my contributions were all thanks to Luluria. I, myself, didn’t really do anything.

Despite that, the reason I was also called for this meeting was Drew. Specifically, I was asked to ‘take hold of Drew’s reins’ by both the 6th Division’s side and the court official’s side.

Drew was a very free-spirited woman. There weren’t many people that Drew would listen to.

Or rather, I heard that the only people she would listen to in the entire capital were me, Rays-sama, and a female court official from the department located next to Drew’s room who has been taking care of Drew every time she collapsed because she didn’t eat anything for days. 

…sigh….She really was a troublesome person.

Well, I think there was no need to explain the reason Drew listened to Rays-sama. As for me, I guess she listened to my words because she thought of me as someone who would bring interesting ideas.

There was no way they could call the extremely busy Rays-sama to this meeting and calling the female court official who had nothing to do with the project was also out of the question, so by the process of elimination, I was the only person they could call to this meeting to ‘hold Drew’s rein’

“Sorry, I’m late.”

When I entered the room, everyone was already there.

“No, it was us who have to apologize for calling you here even though you have just returned from your mission,” O’Hook-san, the person in charge of the court official in this project, replied.

Although I had no direct contact with O’Hook-san during my time as a court official, I have heard that he was both excellent and experienced. If O’Hook-san was the one in charge of the official in this project, then everything would be fine.

As I was about to take my seat, I noticed that the arrangement of the seats was odd.

The table in the room was shaped square. The 6th Division knights, the court officials, and Drew were sitting on each side. What caught my eye were two court officers sitting on Drew’s two sides. At first, I thought they were sitting there because there was no space left to sit on the court official’s ‘side’ but no, there was plenty of space left there.

When Drew noticed my questioning gaze, she grinned.

“They are my own subordinates!” She said while spreading her hands, causing her two thin hands to hit the two officials on their faces.

Drew has subordinates!? No, it wasn’t like she couldn’t have subordinates, but would it be fine to let Drew have her own people? Or rather, would those two be fine having Drew as their superior?

“Chief, it hurts,” the man with short hair and a bit of an intimidating face said as he brushed off Drew’s hand. Judging from his youthful appearance, he was probably a new official.

“I’m Hornet. Nice to meet you.”

Unlike Hornet, the other person beside Drew, a woman, just let Drew’s hand stay on her face with an expression as if she didn’t know what to do in this situation. The woman waved her hands toward me.

“Ah, Heo! I’m Huiano! Nas tu mit u!” (Ah, Hello! I’m Judiano! Nice to meet you!)

“I’m Roa. It’s a pleasure to meet you two.”

It seemed like… unique people had joined us.

“Excuse me, will it be alright if we start the meeting?” Fogard-san who was the 6th Division’s captain, asked. 

Many of the veteran captains of the 6th Division have been demoted, so he was one of the few remaining valuable captains who still kept his position.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Please start the meeting.” (Roa)

“Then, I would like to start discussing the construction work on the road connecting Rudektard and Gedland. First, let’s talk about the route we will be using. O’Hook-dono, please.”

“Yes. Please take a look at this,” O’Hook-san said, and he posted the map he had prepared on the wall. 

That map has Rudektard, Gedland, and other major towns and roads of Rudek Kingdom marked on it. The town where we met the traveling troupe, the Ruelue Town, was also marked on the map.

“After considering everything, I think it’s more realistic for us to expand the existing road, rather than creating a new one. Otherwise, there will be complaints from the townspeople of the towns where the old road has passed through.”

Fogard-san nodded sharply at O’Hook-san’s words.

“I mostly agree, but there is a slight problem with doing so. The method of road construction given to me by Roa-dono requires that the ground be dug up, then filled with crushed stone and gravel to improve the road’s water drainage, closing it with more soil, and lastly hardening the surface with something called tar. Is that correct, Roa-dono?”

“Yes. That’s the method I heard from Luluria…I mean, the princess of Fezaris. However, I don’t understand the logic behind the method either, so I can only say that the method is probably correct…”

“I have also heard about the method from the minister of Fezaris Kingdom. I am sure the method you said is correct,” O’Hook-san added.

“Digging up the current road is the problem. Even for us, digging up the road that has solidified for many years is quite difficult. Is there a better way?”

“Hmm…Roa-dono, Drew, do you have any good idea?”

O’Hook-san asked me and Drew. Then Drew, who had an uninterested expression on her face before, suddenly turned to me expectantly. She probably thought I would come up with another interesting tool, but unfortunately this time, I didn’t know any tools that could be useful.

The only method I could think of was to dig the old road slowly with a pickaxe and shovel.

Seeing I didn’t say anything, Drew showed a disappointed face.

“There’s no need to dig it,” Drew said simply.

“Meaning?” Fogard-san asked with a frown.

“We can just dig along the side of the existing road. Just leave the old road alone. Who knows, maybe we can use it for something.”

“Ah, I see. That’s a good idea. It’s certainly more efficient that way,” Fogard-san agreed. He seemed to be impressed with Drew’s suggestion. 

This was the great thing about Drew. Sure, you would think that Drew’s idea made sense after hearing it, but the speed at which she came up with those ideas was just something else.

“Okay, let’s proceed like that, and next…”

In this way, the discussions about the road reconstruction project continued….

***

“Well then, this is all for today’s meeting. Everyone, thank you for coming.”

With that, today’s meeting ended. I stood up from my seat and was about to leave when Drew approached me.

“Roa, I finished with the thing you asked me to make.”

“Great, thank you. I was about to ask you to make another thing.”

“Another thing??? What is it!!?? What else do you want me to make???”

While calming down the excited Drew, we headed to Drew’s room.