"System, open the Construction Shop! Show me what I can buy with the first 100 CP of my life!" I shouted internally, wiping the drying sweat and mud from my forehead.
Kael gave me a bizarre look. I was standing in the middle of a dry river, clutching his heirloom sword like a walking stick and talking to thin air. "Count, who are you talking to? Has the sun finally rotted your already defective brain?"
"Silence, Employee Number One! I am communicating with my... business instincts!" I pulled a random excuse.
DING!
The neon-blue hologram appeared, brighter than before now that I had a "balance."
[AFTERLIFE CONSTRUCTION SHOP - CATEGORY: NOVICE]
Magic Theodolite Mark-I (Used) – Angle measurement tool with 99% accuracy, unless a ghost passes by.
Price: 50 CP
'Quick-Dry' Instant Cement (1 Sack) – Dries in 5 seconds, as strong as a debt collector's resolve.
Price: 10 CP
'Stalin's Will' Unbreakable Hoe – Perfect for forcing the masses into endless hard labor.
Price: 20 CP
Manual: 'How to Squeeze the People's Sweat Without Violating Human Rights (Fantasy Version)'
Price: 150 CP (You Are Too Poor)
[System: Host, seeing as your face looks like you want to rob a charity box, the System suggests you buy the Theodolite. Without it, your dam will be as crooked as your morals.]
"You really can't stop insulting me, can you?" I grumbled. "Fine, buy the Magic Theodolite Mark-I and one Unbreakable Hoe. Save the rest as emergency capital."
DING!
[Purchase Successful! Remaining Balance: 30 CP.]
[Items delivered via 'Logistics Wormhole'. Please check inside your cloak.]
Suddenly, my noble cloak felt heavy. I reached inside and pulled out a strange-looking device—like a telescope with multiple rotating crystal lenses—and a black steel hoe that looked incredibly intimidating.
"What is that?!" Kael jumped, his hand reflexively going to the hilt of his sword (which I was still using to dig). "Where did you produce those magic items from?"
"This?" I smirked deviously, my demon face resurfacing as I stroked the crystal lens of the Theodolite. "This is the future, Kael. And don't ask where from; let's just say it's a secret Von Tepez family heirloom I only remembered after being hit by a truck—uh, I mean, hit by trouble."
I immediately set the Theodolite atop a mound of dirt. The crystals began glowing red, scanning the entire topography of the river valley. Magical grid lines appeared in my vision, showing elevations, soil contours, and geological weak points.
"Incredible..." I muttered. "System, this tool shows an underground cave in the left cliff. If I build the dam there without grouting (cement injection), the dam will burst in a week!"
[System: A clever analysis for a human who was supposed to die in two chapters. But Host, you forget one thing: Who is going to do the construction? Just you and this stupid knight?]
Right. I needed labor. And I needed them now.
I looked toward the cliff above, where Princess Isabella still stood watching me with her black umbrella. Her gaze never left me, as if she were watching a circus performance she particularly enjoyed—and she owned the circus.
"Princess Isabella!" I shouted, waving my new black hoe. "I need 500 healthy men from the village! And I need them ready to work at tomorrow's dawn!"
Isabella slowly closed her umbrella. She stepped to the edge of the cliff, looking down at me. "Your people are starving, Alaric. They have no strength to lift stones. What will you give them? More false promises?"
I laughed. A laugh so arrogant and full of confidence.
"Not promises, Princess! Grain and Water!" I pointed to the hole I had dug earlier. "There is water down here. I'm installing an emergency pump—I mean, an artesian well—this very tonight! And as for the grain... didn't you just promise 100,000 gold coins? I'll use a portion to buy up the entire food stock from the neighboring territories!"
Kael protested, "Count! That money is for construction, not charity!"
"Charity?! Who said anything about charity?!" I snapped at him with a face so terrifying Kael actually took a step back. "This is Human Resource Investment! If they die, who will carry the stones?! If they are full, they can work 16 hours a day without complaining! That's called efficiency, Kael! Efficiency!"
Isabella fell silent, then a thin smile—stunning yet horrifying—appeared on her face.
"Interesting... how pragmatic," Isabella murmured. "Kael, do as he says. Gather the people. If anyone refuses... tell them that Count Alaric will personally 'visit' their homes."
"As you wish, Princess," Kael bowed, then looked at me with a gaze of pity, as if I had just signed my own death warrant.
That night.
I stood alone at the riverbed. Moonlight illuminated the barren red earth. In my hand, I held the single sack of 'Quick-Dry' cement I'd bought.
"System, I need one more tool. 'Mechanical Hand Pump'. How much?"
[System: 25 CP. You really want to spend your balance on the commoners? So unlike you.]
"Just buy it! It's part of the long-term plan!"
DING!
[Remaining Balance: 5 CP. (You have returned to near-absolute poverty).]
An iron pump appeared before me. With the last of my strength, I installed it into the hole I'd dug down to the aquifer. I used the instant cement to reinforce the pump's foundation. The cement hardened in seconds—incredible technology!
I began pumping the lever.
Creeak... creeak... creeak...
Empty.
Creeak... creeak...
Then, suddenly, GLUG!
Clear water sprayed from the pump's nozzle, soaking the dry earth which immediately hissed with steam from the heat. I didn't care. I kept pumping until the water flowed into a small pool.
"Water..." I whispered. "Liquid gold for a civil engineer in the desert."
Suddenly, I felt a pair of cold hands wrap around my neck from behind. A strong, intoxicating scent of jasmine hit my nose.
"So diligent..." Isabella's voice whispered right into my ear.
I froze. My heart raced at 200 beats per minute. I hadn't heard her footsteps at all!
"Princess... you startled me," I said with a trembling voice, trying to maintain my devious face.
Isabella rested her chin on my shoulder, her red eyes watching the water flow from the pump. "You are creating miracles in the middle of this dead land, Alaric. I am becoming quite impatient to see the dam finished."
She tightened her embrace, her sharp nails lightly scratching my neck.
"But remember my promise," she whispered in a tone so possessive it made my skin crawl. "If this water stops flowing... or if you try to use this water to lure any woman other than me... I will ensure this water turns into your own blood."
She licked my earlobe softly, then vanished into the night as quickly as she had appeared.
I slumped down beside the water pump, breathless.
[System: Congratulations Host! You've earned bonus points for 'Successfully Surviving a Deathly Temptation'.]
[CP Received: 50 CP.]
[System Message: It seems your fiancée truly wants to turn you into a 'living monument' in this territory. Good luck with the work!]
"Dammit..." I rubbed my stinging neck. "At dawn, I'll force those 500 people to work like they're possessed. If I have to live in this yandere hell, then this entire territory is going to suffer right along with me!"
I smirked under the moonlight, my demon face returning in full force. The real project had only just begun.