Chapter 64: The Rainy Season’s Fury

The Ryuker Brick Factory was gradually buzzing with life again.

Of course, no products were coming out yet.

Jansen was devoting himself to further honing his skills.

By the time Asen is released, he might be a proper craftsman, right?

I didn’t know much about art, but Jansen’s bricks looked pretty decent to me.

Judging by the nobles’ reactions, they’d need a bit more polishing, though.

In any case, it felt like I’d wrapped up my first civil lawsuit reasonably well.

That included the dispositions for Asen and Lawyer Palmer.

Perhaps that’s why a pleasant hologram message appeared after so long.

「The promulgation of laws has laid the foundation for the rule of law.」

「Through meaningful precedents, the people of Delriat are beginning to trust the governor’s office.」

「However, this is largely due to your reputation.」

「Probability of reversion to original state if Abel Carius leaves: 60%」

「A reward is granted.」

「Item Summon Ticket acquired.」

“Whoa!”

A weird sound escaped my lips involuntarily.

Good thing no one was around; it would’ve been pretty embarrassing otherwise.

What are you doing?

Ah, something was there after all.

It was the voice of Shugl, the mountain demon who always sprawled asleep on the windowsill of the governor’s office.

He’d been constantly dozing off while digesting the vitality I’d given him last time.

Looks like he finally felt like moving around.

But why so noisy?

“What do you mean? It’s quiet right now.”

I heard all sorts of strange sounds. Every one of them praising you.

“You even pay attention to that?”

It’s fascinating. The very existence of a guy like you. Humans usually change once they grab power.

“Hah! A creature that’s only lived in the mountains knows that too?”

Of course. What do you take me for? I can see right through humans’ dark insides. Yawn.

His languid yawn was adorably mismatched with his true nature.

Weren’t angels supposed to be terrifying and demons seductive?

What a sly little guy.

I smirked and turned my head toward the window.

The scenery Shugl saw every day was changing by the day.

Infrastructure laid out smoothly as planned, along with new commercial buildings.

In truth, basic living facilities weren’t anything grand.

Roads, bridges, water and sewage systems, schools, hospitals, government offices, cultural buildings, and so on.

They were just nominally in place—qualitatively far from what a modern person would expect.

The state was worse than the poorest countries on Earth, so this much progress is something.

When such social overhead capital grows, economic activity flows smoothly.

Delriat’s potential was immense.

Like Korea after the war.

They had nothing, but by the 21st century, it became a solidly prosperous nation.

Delriat could do the same, of course.

As long as things stayed on this track.

“No matter who becomes governor, the territory needs to run normally.”

To make that happen, I had to quickly establish the rule of law and create checks on power.

Once a complex, balanced system was in place?

No governor could act tyrannically.

Tap! Tap!

As complicated thoughts filled my mind.

Something cold touched the bridge of my nose and my cheeks.

“This is…”

I lightly wiped my face; a clear, transparent liquid smeared on my hand.

When it freezes and crystallizes, it becomes trash falling from the sky.

Rain in Delriat, where the sky was always clear and the sun blazed mercilessly?

I looked up at the sky in confusion, but even in broad daylight, it was dark and gloomy.

At the same time, an ominous sound reached my ears.

Rumble!

An eerie feeling that something was about to happen.

It felt like imaginary thunder and lightning were striking in my head.

“Ah, right! The rainy season!”

Delriat was a city built on flatland near the desert.

No four seasons—just dry and rainy.

Nearly all the rain for the year poured explosively in two or three months.

Then the flood plains expanded massively, and countless lakes formed in the desert.

“I prepared diligently, but isn’t this a bit early?”

I thought the rainy season was still a month or two away.

I immediately summoned the governor’s office administrators.

“Is everyone here?”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“It’s raining a bit—is this a precursor to the rainy season? I don’t know Delriat’s weather inside out.”

“Well…”

The administrators glanced at each other.

They seemed reluctant to voice opinions.

Not understanding why, I shrugged and said,

“Speak freely. No one’s going to scold you for being wrong.”

The atmosphere loosened a bit, and everyone started chiming in.

“It seems the rainy season has come early.”

“No. This happens sometimes. It drizzles a bit, then the real thing starts a month or two later.”

“There have been many times when downpours this time of year caused major damage. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

“Still, it’s far more likely to be just ordinary drizzle.”

I thought an answer would come quickly, but surprisingly, opinions clashed fiercely.

Even administrators who’d lived here long couldn’t predict the weather.

That was actually normal.

Climate is fickle by nature.

Even with supercomputers and experts, weather forecasts get it wrong.

Here, without any of that, we could only leave it to the heavens.

Whatever the case, the conclusion is clear.

Even if it was just drizzle, preparing in advance couldn’t hurt.

The rainy season was coming soon anyway.

If we readied thoroughly, damage would be far less than last year.

“Activate the emergency response headquarters now and as quickly as possible…”

Bang!

As I was about to give orders to the administrators, the conference room door burst open roughly.

No matter how non-authoritarian I was, this crossed the line.

They knew a meeting was in progress—committing such rudeness.

It wasn’t grounds for discipline, but a stern reprimand seemed in order.

But I couldn’t.

The following words were too shocking.

“Y-Your Excellency! The embankment is collapsing!”

It hadn’t even rained heavily yet—how could that happen already?

It made no sense, but this wasn’t the time to stand dazed.

I quickly opened the window to check.

But the raindrops weren’t particularly intense.

A bit more than earlier, but the embankment collapsing from just this?

No way. It was completed not long ago.

But in the direction the intruding administrator pointed, a sight that made me doubt my eyes was unfolding.

“Over there!”

Whoosh!

Like a bugged game, an enormous amount of rain was pouring only near the river.

It was nothing short of a catastrophe.

I turned to the emergency headquarters administrators and shouted,

“Issue the evacuation order first!”

Doooong—!

Heavy metallic clangs echoed continuously throughout Delriat.

Administrators climbed the towers scattered across the city and rang the bells frantically.

It meant evacuate to higher ground immediately.

In fact, most people were already fleeing in panic.

Delriat’s residents had seen river overflows countless times.

“Wow, this is insane.”

When I was appointed here, it was right after the rainy season ended.

So this was my first time seeing such a massive spectacle.

Of course, Korea had big typhoons and floods too.

But rivers didn’t swallow half the city.

It felt like watching a movie about a tsunami.

“Surely it’s not like this every year?”

I absentmindedly asked, my expression entranced.

One of the trailing administrators quickly responded.

“It’s not usually this bad. And this time, the flooded area is far wider than average.”

“Worse than anything you’ve seen?”

“I’ve lived in Delriat for forty years, and I’ve never seen downpours this intense. And the rainy season advancing this much…”

Even locals were shocked—it showed how serious the situation was.

I observed from the bell tower.

The embankment, built two meters higher than before, was nowhere to be seen.

Parts had been shattered by the torrent, but now it was completely submerged.

Judging by the state, it needed to be at least five meters higher to be effective.

Who builds embankments that high?

It had never overflowed this massively before.

I’d prepared properly, in my view.

“Connect temporary bridges between buildings to rescue isolated people. We stationed them at each bell tower, right?”

“Yes!”

“Start the work here immediately. I’ll head over there.”

“Be careful!”

“I’m fine— you guys watch yourselves.”

“Y-Your Excellency…!”

At my worried remark, the administrators’ eyes reddened.

I just didn’t want to lose the employees I’d finally recruited.

I turned away with an embarrassed expression.

Now wasn’t the time to get sentimental over trivialities.

To save even one more person, I needed to move as fast as possible.

Grabbing ladders and ropes, I leaped across rooftops in an instant.

Thud! Leap!

Even dozens of meters were no issue.

Activating Beast’s Heart granted superhuman physical abilities.

“Everyone, cross this way!”

“Gasp! Huff! Thank you. W-Wait? Your Excellency? Why are you in a place like this?”

“I’m in a hurry, so ignore the greetings! Lives come first!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Some citizens recognized me, but I pushed their backs forward.

With that tsunami-like current threatening to sweep them away, who had time for pleasantries?

Connecting buildings with ladders and ropes created quite decent bridges.

Crawling across like inchworms, they wouldn’t fall.

“Whew! This area’s good. Now, let’s see…”

The embankment had failed, but flood preparations were solid overall.

Citizens were evacuating in an orderly fashion too.

If the river didn’t swell much more, it might end without major loss of life.

Though economic damage would be considerable.

Interesting.

Then Shugl’s voice rang out from somewhere.

Glancing back, the little guy was stuck tight to my coat.

He must have clung there all the way from the governor’s office.

“Why’d you come here? More importantly, what do you mean ‘interesting’?”

Usually, demigods are pretty moderate, you know? But that one’s incredibly violent.

“Hold on, what?”

The one causing this is a demigod.

Shugl was a mountain demon.

He could trigger everything from landslides to various natural phenomena.

Of course, types unrelated to him were weaker.

But such details weren’t important right now.

This chaos isn’t natural providence—it’s a demigod’s doing?

A surge exploding deep in my chest spread through my body.

Beast’s Heart began raging through my veins.

Rage seemed to amplify the skill’s power.

I gritted my teeth and flashed a wicked grin.

Hah! This rotten bastard.

Daring to destroy my achievements?

Whether god or whatever, I wouldn’t be satisfied until I held it accountable.

How exactly?

By the book, I’d have to arrest the demigod first.

But there were no prosecutors or security forces for that.

“Then how about a private citizen’s arrest of a flagrant offender?”