The Peerless Kobold - Chapter 197
“Oh, it’s already noon… Come to think of it, I only had a few walnuts this morning.”
It’s typical that when one is focused on a task, they don’t feel hunger right away. However, my timing seemed to be just right, so Asta quickly put away his tools and straightened his back.
“Guruo garuoaan?” (What are you guys doing?)
“U~ wooaa waaou guafoon…” (Umm, well, our brothers haven’t come back from hunting yet…)
The “brothers” the two young male kobolds were referring to were Ax and Knuckle, who take them along when they hunt as a small group.
In addition to the prey that their hunting groups catch, the fruits and other things they get from exchanging their manufactured goods support their daily necessities, so the droopy-eared kobolds are always looking to improve their skills.
“Wau, ofuauu kurua “kuoruva” guruaou.” (Smith, while we’re waiting for them, let’s try making these “iron thorns”.)
“Waonn, guruo vagaruan!” (That’s a great idea! While we’re at it, let’s make saws for everyone too!)
“… Garua vorufaou?” (… Do we have enough pig iron for that though?)
My sister, together with Asta, extracted themselves from the circle of droopy-eared kobolds who began talking enthusiastically. She then ran up to me and held out her hands.
“Gaurukuua~n♪ Kuon oau, guguvoaann.” (We’re having wild boar for lunch! Give it to me, big brother, I’ll prepare it.)
“Gaoruau worukuau.” [Be careful not to drop it.]
“Wafuh!?”
After our exchange, I handed her the hemp rope bag and Selica supported my sister who was swaying from the weight of the prey that was bigger than usual.
“… Guruu, kuuau.” (… Let me help.)
“N, waoan.” (N, thanks.)
They carried the bag to the straw patch at the edge of the village square. After that, they both took out their favorite daggers and examined the animal carcass in front of them, and glanced at Asta who was standing beside them.
“Guruo woaruooauu.” [Maybe we should go fetch some water.]
“Ah, yes, let’s do that.”
Since we were going to the river for water, I thought of bringing the leather canteens along, but when I went to fetch them from the Elves’ tent… Well, I don’t know what prompted it, but Lancer was currently learning basic magic lessons from Listy.
There was no need for me to unnecessarily bother the two girls who were currently focused on what they were doing, so I hurriedly took everyone’s water containers and went to the upstream part of the Steele River to fetch some water.
Along the way, Asta told me that we couldn’t just build a waterwheel without determining its placement first. It seems the diameter of the waterwheel must be decided according to the water flow and depth to ensure its smooth operation.
(I guess I got it wrong from the start… Sorry, Smith.)
After apologizing to the skilled, floppy-eared kobolds at the back of my mind, I walked with the Bronze elf blacksmith who was measuring the water’s depth with a wooden pole by the riverbank.
“The depth of the water here is around 80cm… Basically, at least a quarter of the waterwheel must be submerged in the water and it should be able to float when fixed into the riverbed, so we could install a water wheel that’s at least 2m in diameter.”
“Wafu, guooon.” [Yeah, that should work.]
As I nodded in approval, Asta crouched down, dipped his hand in the water, and was deep in thought.
“This… It would be good to also make a stone weir in front of the waterwheel to create some elevation for the water drop.”
At this point, I decided to leave the specifications to the expert to decide and refilled the leather canteens by submerging them in the water, but… I finished my task soon, so I had nothing to kill time with.
“Gau, guoru gauruofau kuuaru oauruaan?” [Hey, won’t your wife get upset if we make them wait too long for lunch?]
“Well, she’s become sweet since we got married, but she’s actually impatient…”
I had a feeling that my sister would be the one getting angry for making her hungry from waiting, but our trek back should be peaceful.
After finishing the preliminary survey, Asta took some of the water bottles and walked back to the village. I did the same and carried the rest of the water bottles and followed him back, and distributed them to Selica and the others when we arrived.
