Rain Again

He woke up early as usual and noticed that it was darker outside than usual. The sky was cloudy and it was also windy. He checked his phone to see how much 'E' he had received yesterday.

[ 122E earned. 444E left ]

"It's going to rain heavily, and it looks like it could be bad. I might need to check and improve the drainage system, especially the one near the pool since it could overflow during the rain."

Fortunately, the [Night Owl] was still running since it wasn't yet daytime, so he finished everything in just one hour. It started raining just minutes later. He had told Alice to stay inside her cabin until the rain stops since the worst-case scenario would be her getting sick without any medicine available.

He gave Alice plenty of boiled water and food in case the rain lasted for more than a day. Nakami didn't really care about the rain since he had healing perks to aid him later, so he planned to mine stones for the fences. He had already marked the spot where he could find them when he ventured further from the spring the previous day.

Before leaving, he checked the drainage system to see how it was working. The drains were functioning just fine, but the pool was directly exposed to the rain and was overflowing quite a bit. So, Nakami constructed a wooden roof supported by four wooden posts that were just big enough to cover the whole pool.

[20E used. 424E left]

"It cost me a lot since I didn't have many materials. Sigh At least it solved the problem of overflowing water for now."

After constructing the wooden roof for the pool, Nakami left his base with the log cart to the mining spot. The journey was challenging due to the heavy rain and strong winds. The ground was wet and muddy. Nakami wore a raincoat that he had made the previous day and waterproof hiking shoes that he made along with the coat.

Nakami reached the quarry and found a spot to start mining. He found a spot to mine just in front of a small cave that was about 3 meters in height. He had previously explored the cave and found that it was only about 10 meters in length, not too big but not too small either.

He decided to build a temporary shelter here later. Fortunately, the log cart was able to fit inside the cave, which was quite convenient since he could hide it inside. Nakami then began mining.

After an hour of mining, Nakami collected a lot of stones with the log cart. He had to work very hard to pull the cart, especially under the rain. Thankfully, the rain had become lighter.

Nakami arrived back at his base two hours later, and the rain had almost stopped. It was just drizzling now. Nakami was glad to see that his base was doing fine. There were some muddy spots, but the drainage system was working properly.

He left he log cart first to see if Alice to let her know that he's back and she can go out now since the rain is almost over. Nakami knocked the front cabin door since he was covered in mud and he doesnt want to dirty the cabin. Alice opened the door a moment later, she seems to rush when opening the door.

"Welcome back, sir. I am so glad you made it back safely. Our base is doing great and I have completed some mathematics exercises for you to checked later. I will warm some water for you to shower, sir!" Alice looked genuinely happy, which warmed Nakami's heart a little.

"Thank you, Alice," Nakami said with a smile, then left the cabin to eat and drink at the dining area while waiting for the warm water to clean himself.

10 minutes later, Nakami went to clean himself with the warm water. Although Alice offered to clean his clothes, he rejected the offer because he preferred to do it himself. Alice looked a little disappointed when he rejected her offer, so Nakami asked her to make lunch and dinner today. She seemed to feel better after hearing that and left to start cooking.

Half an hour later, Nakami walked out of his house wearing his typical hiking clothes. He had a late lunch with Alice, then checked the math exercises he gave her earlier. Nakami was impressed with her progress, so he decided to reward her by upgrading the wooden cabin where she lived.

Nakami started unloading the stones he had gathered and scattered them nearby every wooden fence surrounding his base. He also put some stones next to Alice's wooden cabin to upgrade the bottom half of the cabin into a stone wall.

He was surprised to see that the cost to upgrade was only 15E for everything, even though he had expected it to cost more. He realized that his prior knowledge of building walls with bricks had reduced the 'E' cost. Additionally, he had provided a good amount of stones needed for the project

[15E used. 409E left]

The entire base is now enclosed by walls made of half stone and half wood that are two meters tall to provide protection. Nakami has constructed two gates, one leading to a spring and the other facing the beach.

Although he planned to improve the road, it's still too wet to work on for now. Nakami realizes that having a road would help him transfer heavier items using a cart, so he's keen to complete the project once the weather clears up.

The sun is almost down, and the wet ground won't dry today. So he heads to the dining area to eat. Alice isn't there; she's thrilled with her newly upgraded house. Nakami suggests that she studies alone and does some exercises tonight.

"I'm thinking about getting a solar-powered lamp and fan to help her with her studies. I could also use them in my room."

He made two sets - one for him and one for her.

[ 4E used. 405E left ]

He then visited Alice, gave her the fan and lamp, taught her how to use them, and asked her about the new place.

"Thank you, master! Oh, sorry, I mean thank you, sir. I couldn't find a way to repay you. You have been very kind to me since you saved me. I just hope I can be more useful to you." Alice looked normal, but her tone revealed her guilt.

Nakami, who was over 30 years old, was not dense. He knew how gullible 20-year-old women could be. Furthermore, he had researched how people in Alice's time lived and detested common practices like slavery, forced marriage, and having countless wives.

Nakami found Alice beautiful, smart, and trustworthy, but he felt that she didn't value herself enough. He wished for her to realize her worth and to understand that she deserved to be treated with respect and kindness.

He disliked telling people to change.

"Alice, I hope you'll stop calling me 'master' because it makes me uncomfortable. What matters more to me is that you value yourself and keep improving. That's the best way to repay me. And please, let's not talk about repaying me. I don't think I deserve it."

Nakami's tone was serious, but his sincere concern for Alice was evident as he spoke. He genuinely meant what he said and wanted Alice to understand that her self-worth was important to him.

Nakami left Alice's cabin to practice martial arts and study for the night. He had finished editing some videos earlier in the day but wanted to learn new editing techniques before uploading them at midnight.

After uploading his videos, Nakami looked out through the mirrorless wooden windows he had made and realized the importance of glasses. While making glass wasn't that difficult, crafting a good quality one was more challenging, but Nakami believed it was worth the effort.

Nakami decided that tomorrow he would gather sand and lime to make some raw glass, which could only be used as tableware. He also planned to teach Alice how to make items like this since it was relatively easy. However, he wouldn't ask her to do any heavy work.

Although he had never tried forging before, Nakami was excited to start smithing because of its vast potential. Learning the skill would also reduce the amount of 'E' needed to make something, as he would have prior knowledge of the specific things he wanted to create. To achieve this, he needed to improve his forge and create a good furnace.

Nakami thought to himself, "If the glass-making process is too challenging, I can always use [Tools Time] to help me overcome it later." With that, he turned off the lamp and closed his eyes to sleep.

Meanwhile, Alice had just turned off her light after studying non-stop for a few hours. She had cried for an hour after hearing what Nakami had said to her about valuing herself more. She was disappointed in herself for assuming that Nakami had a hidden intention.

She cried because no one had ever said those things to her before, not even her parents. She also felt that Nakami was genuinely trying to help her improve her life, and she was grateful for that.