~~Euthe’s POV~~

It has hardly been a week ever since that person has started staying with us. Kusakabe Soma, when I first heard his name, I thought ‘what a weird name’ and to make things weirder, Soma was his given name. A boy that hardly reached my shoulders, with black hair and black eyes. Another weird thing about him was the aura around him. He gave off an aura that felt like he was not of this place, or more like not of this world. I can’t describe it at all, but I felt something different from him. Even in the capital city, where I used to work as an apprentice for a blacksmith, I have never come across someone as peculiar as him. At a glance, he appeared weak, timid and a bit idiotic. His short ruffled hair matched with his good facial features and those black eyes which I have never seen didn’t carry any signs of power.

When he first came to our village, I clearly remember how hostile we had been to him. Grandma was practically barking at him, the ladies were bad mouthing him at every single chance they got and I had a knife to his neck a few times. And yet, the same person has become the savior of our village. A stranger who had turned to a benefactor in the span of few hours. It's not like I am ungrateful to him, but whenever I think ‘who is he?’ and ‘where is he from?’, I can't help but be a little cautious. And yet the person in question had become an integral part of our village in a few days.

His knowledge about things was really something that blew our minds away. Even though he appeared weak and timid, his mind was full of knowledge that was beyond this world. A swamp that produced iron, furnaces that did not need mana flames, cylinders that blew out air, everything he did was so fascinating that it sometimes sent a shiver down my spine. Not only was his mind sound, so was his body. He could keep up with the smelting process that lasted hours without much effort, which showed that his body was strong too. Sometimes, in between our conversation, he would often drift away to some place in his mind, and every time that happened, he would put forward outrageous ideas.

And today, I am with the same person, who was complaining about how the ladies have it tough. We were watching the women of the village carry pots of water from the river that was more than half an hour away from the village. We were talking about various things regarding the village and things when the ladies returned after fetching the water. And at that moment I clearly heard him sigh as he face-palmed himself.

“Sigh”, a long sigh escaped his mouth which I found amusing for some reason. “They really have it tough, don't they?”

“And why do you say that?”, unable to understand his reasoning I asked back. This was a routine in this village and I have never heard the ladies complain about it. Were things different in his place? Speaking about his place, he never told us where he was actually from. Let’s ask him when the situation is right.

“Don't you think carrying water from the river to the village every day is a bit tiring? I mean, isn't it really laborious?” he said like it was him that was doing the work every time.

“Even if you say that there is nothing that can be done. I mean the river won’t come to us, just because we want to”, I shrugged my shoulder as I replied. This has always been how we procured water. Every day the ladies would go to the river and fetch water, twice a day, in the morning as well as evening. When a girl comes to age, she too will have to follow her mother and the process will soon become part of her life.

“We can, you know?”, a vague reply came out from his mouth.

“We can what?”, unable to understand what he was implying, I asked back, a little perplexed.

“Bring the river here. It’s not that hard, I guess”

“EH?”, What did he say just now? Bring the river here?

“Euthe-kun, you are making a funny face. Pffft” saying so he started laughing out loud. To tell you the truth, watching him laugh birthed an urge in me to beat him up, I calmed myself down somehow and tried to move the conversation forward.

“Soma-sama, what did you mean by bringing the river here”, I tried to force a smile but it was pretty hard to fake one.

“Pffft! What a scary face you have! My stomach! Pffft”

And I lost all reason, “Stop laughing”, I growled unable to contain my anger.

“Fine, fine! Before that, let’s visit the river. There is something I want to check”

Thus the two of us started our stroll towards the huge river that has always been our source of water. We reached the river much faster than the ladies and once we were on its bank, I turned towards him to ask something. I saw him stare at the river, with his right hand supporting his chin. I traced his eyes and found him staring at the river before us. A wide and calm river that never dried up. The river was on slightly higher grounds as compared to the village and often acted as a food source too. These waters were abundant with fish and other life forms, but since the men are yet to return, we don't have any mean to catch fishes. Being on higher grounds, heavy rain always made the river overflow. Fortunately, may be because of god’s grace, there hasn't been a flood for some time. The last flood was when my father was my age or so I was told. Father told me that, that was the only time he was afraid of this great river in his entire life, such was the might of the river.

“Hm! Guess things weren't as complicated as I thought to be. I was thinking that we’d need a watermill to get the water to the village. But since the river is on higher grounds then we only need to build a channel. Building a channel is complicated by its own, but I think we can manage it somehow. In the end, the problem is with the lack of people. Hm! Hm! Hm!”

Ah!There he goes again with those weird terms again. This has almost become a routine where he goes on spouting things that make no sense. Maybe that’s why the name ‘wise’ fits him perfectly. And as usual, I ask him, knowing all too well I won't understand half of his explanation.

“And? What kind of outrageous ideas have you come up with now?”

“What do you mean outrageous? What kind of attitude is that to someone older than you?”

Hearing him complain, I wanted to retort, ‘Then act like one’, but decided not to. “Ok, ok! Let’s talk about the plan, shall we?”

“Tch! Fine. Come here”, he gestured me to come close as he squatted down on the ground. Then using a stone he picked up he began drawing on the ground.

“Let’s say this here is the river, and this here is the village. You already know that the river is on higher grounds, so if we cut an opening somewhere and make a path, then the water will flow along this new path.”

“But then what if the amount of water that flows out is too much and it floods our fields? We already thought about it, you know. The idea was abandoned since we couldn't control the flow.”

“True, but that is only if the path is on the surface. What if the path is underground? A narrow path that will only bring in small but enough amount of water?”

The ideas seem plausible, but there are still problems with it. “That doesn't mean that our fields won't flood, right? The water flows even though small, is continuous. In the end, if we can't control the flow of water then it is meaningless, I think”

“I knew you’d say that and so I thought of a solution already!” with an ugly smirk on his face he replied.

‘If you did then just spit out already’ was my thoughts. Sometimes his behavior became a little irritating, often making me think, ‘is this how having a brother feels like?’. And at such times I feel a strange warmth in me, something I don't dislike. Of course, I am not going to let him know or he will get more conceited.

“So you see, Euthe-kun, we just build a water tank that can store water. And we give an outlet for the tank to let the excess water flow back to the river. We take we need and send the rest back to the river. What do you think? Aren’t I smart? You can praise this big brother if you want to. Fufufufu”

“Who is a big brother? Look at that smug face and that petite body, you are more like a brat.”

“Oi! Who are you calling a brat, you over sized gorilla?”

And I finally lost my nerve.

*--*--*--*

The sun had started to set, and soon darkness would envelop us. I was back in my home, having my dinner with grandma, mom, and my little sister. While We were eating grandma asked me where I and Soma-sama were this morning. I told her how he felt bad watching the ladies carry water every day and how he wanted to bring the river to the village. Hearing that grandma almost choked on the bread and my mother stared at me with wide eyes. My little sister who didn't know what was happening paid us no mind as she continued with her food.

“What did you mean Euthe? Wise-sama can do something like that?”, mother was trembling, her face had gone all pale. Grandma had a serious tint in her eyes as she waited for me to answer mother’s question.

And so I explained to them what he had told me, about the underground channel, the water tank, about sending back the excess water in all. After I finished I waited for the two to truly grasp what I had explained.

“What terrifying knowledge? No, I guess calling it terrifying is rude.”, was mother’s response. Grandma, on the other hand, was still staring at the rough drawing of the setup I had drawn on the ground.

“What do you think Euthe? Can it be done?”, she asked looking deep into my eyes.

For some reason, I couldn't help but smile as I answer, “What makes you think he can’t?”

Maybe because the two of them were surprised with my reply that they stared at me with wide eyes, then suddenly the two started laughing out loud.

“Hahaha! Indeed, indeed” was all what grandma said.