Chapter 104
Chapter 104 – City Development
After coming back from the Land of Demons, Ares decided to focus on the city development plan once again .
Two months had passed since the development first began .
With the funding and magic stones obtained from the Land of Demons, the development was progressing at a terribly rapid pace due to the increased manpower and the introduction of golems .
Ares and George, who went to sightsee around the city with Ramires… were both amazed and pleased with how far the development had gone .
[This is shocking to say the least . The speed is way too fast…]
Not only are most of the roads in Heinz had been paved with cobblestone, but the waterway had also been established . Boats are now operating on set routes along the waterways, as both a means of transportation for the civilians and to help transporting goods .
In addition to that, the waterway also serves as the hub for Heinz’ plumbing system, which extends to the entire city .
The houses were made of bricks and stones, changing the cityscape immensely . The city was more well-organized now and various shops had opened for business . Not only in Brittany, but merchants from other places such as Romaria and the Royal Capital had also gathered here in Grants . There were many street stalls along the main street, creating a lively atmosphere .
A large square had also been set up in the middle of the city . Many children were playing there around the fountain at the center .
[It’s totally different from Heinz a few months ago… Truly like dream…]
Ramires who often went around the city to patrol was the most obvious of the changes .
The people were confused with the rapid changes at first, but gradually got used to it . It’s interesting to see how their old feelings also gradually disappeared as their living place changed for the better .
[When the cultural life improves, the peoples’ consciousness will also change . Soon, it’ll be on par with the Royal Capital or Romaria . ]
George explained .
[The new cityscape seems to be well-received by the citizens . With Heinz’ scale, full development should be finished in about a year . ]
After a while, Ares asked George .
[George, what is that building?]
[Ah, that’s public restroom . Just in case people is too far away from their home, but is in dire need to do ‘that’ . We’ve educated people about the usage of this building . And it’s been built all over Heinz . ]
George made use of the waterway plumbing system to enable to flush the toilets . The system made it so that water would always flow, making the sewage to move along . The sewage will be then collected to one place, where it would be purified with the water spirit’s power . The cleaned water would then be flowed back to the waterway .
Not only in Grants, but he also applied this to the other cities and towns . Serious illness usually occurs on unsanitary city, therefore these public restrooms were set up around the major cities to prevent illness .
The toilet itself has water drawing apparatus installed, which made sure the bowl will always be washed with water . This maintained good hygiene .
[Plumbing and its equipment, as well as the installation, are urgent matters . In rural areas, human feces can be used for fertilizer, but in cities, it will become a hotbed for diseases . The level of hygiene is proportional to the occurence of disease . ]
[But, who was the one who came up with this… equipment?]
[I quoted a paper written by a friend who is familiar in civil engineering . Of course, I also sought advice from him . ]
George said with a small smile .
[Soon, he will come to Heinz . Afterward, perhaps I can leave it to him to further develop the city . ]
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When they arrived at the suburban area, Ares noticed a building that lets out steam .
[What about that?]
Again, George answered the question .
[It’s a public bath house . ]
[What?! Hot bath!?]
Ares raised his voice upon hearing George’s reply .
[What do you mean by that!? Can you explain in detail?]
[There are some hot springs in the area . So I made use of it to make a public bath house . ]
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[What are we doing here~ we should’ve gone to this place much earlier~]
Ramires was surprised with Ares’ sudden change in attitude .
[Erm… George-dono, a hot bath is…]
[Ah, I guess Grants had no customs of soaking in the bathtub filled with hot water . ]
And so, George explained to Ramires .
[That aside, people living inthe Royal Capital tend to have a bath in the river on the suburbs or just wipe their bodies with hot water . ]
[Too bad it’s only now that you’ll experience the pleasantness… By the way, George, why don’t we stop here…]
[……Perhaps Milord wants to try it out?]
[Yosh, let’s enter . ]
Replying George almost immediately, Ares took out a hand towel from his waist bag .
[Alrighty then, let’s check it out!]
Ares entered the building while whistling happily . Ramires asked George in a low voice after seeing this .
[George-dono… To even make His Excellency this happy…]
[Milord has an unusual liking to baths . Especially hot springs… This was also true in Romaria . It was him who promoted the public bath with hot spring in the Schwarzer Territory . ]
George chuckled as he said so .
[Then… should we also follow inside?]
And so, the two also entered the building .
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When George and Ramires entered the bathhouse, they were immediately greeted by two entrances .
On one side is [Men] while on the other side is [Women] .
The signs said .
[When we have a mixed bath, some guys tend to do stupid things . That’s why we divided the baths for security reasons . ]
George said as he went through the entrances with ‘Men’s’ sign . Ramires quickly followed .
Inside was a rather large hallway . The floor was boarded, making it easy to step on .
There was a door at the end of the room… and George opened it .
A lot of hot steam instantly rushed out . Looking more closely inside… there was a figure of Ares happily immersing himself in a large bathtub .
[How is the water?]
[The best . ]
Ares responded with a compliment .
Having heard the reply, George resumed his explanation to Ramires .
[ I myself had no prior experience of soaking in hot water before I went to Romaria . Such kind of bath was only available for aristocrats after all . However… Ares-sama promoted making public baths everywhere, spreading bathing culture in Schwarzer territory…]
[So, this was His Excellency’s idea?]
Ares’ reply surprised Ramires .
[Well, I guess it was~]
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[I took note that once the bathing culture has been established, hygiene, which correlated to one’s health, also improved . It also has the effect of healing fatigue, maintaining if not improving quality of work . ]
George continued on .
[The popular bathhouse… it’s only possible because Romaria was abundant with water, and there was a water spirit helping out . The same goes with this area… moreover, the hot spring exists because there is a volcano nearby . Otherwise, it won’t even be possible]
[Certainly… It’s not something I would expect to actually exist in the suburban area . ]
George explained a bit more in response to Ramires’ words .
[This hot spring is different from a regular hot spring as it has various effects . I want this place to eventually become a resting spot for the common civilians . Therefore, the bath house in the city proper will have to resort to boiling water manually while this hot bath will make use of the hot spring . ]
And thus, public bathhouses steadily increase in number around Heinz .
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Ares was fully refreshed after the bath .
[By the way, I was wondering . ]
He then asked George a question .
[The number of houses had become considerably large… and you intend to build even more? Is it really alright to build so many?]
[Recently, there is a rumour that people from various places, including the Royal Capital, are about to gather here at Grants . If that really comes to pass, as it is, there will be not enough houses for them to live in . I’ll say this as many times as I need to . I want to make Heinz to become a city comparable to that of Romaria . ]
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Indeed, a few years later, Heinz population would swell by several times, that it became the city with the largest population in the entire Arcadia continent . It was exactly as George said .