Kivamus chuckled. "No, the log axle or the trim hammer aren't alive, but don't worry, there will be a simple lever to change what it's doing. You'll see it when you read the blueprint. We will build another waterwheel in the future to use in front of the other sluice gate, and after that, the triphammer can be moved there, and the lever can be used for other purposes."

"I see..." Taniok said before glancing to the south. "I think I should go now. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast, so my stomach demands some food now."

Kivamus sighed, remembering the recent announcement by Duvas that there will only be two meals for everyone in the village for now. "Of course. Go on then. Don't forget to take that blueprint from Darora."

Taniok nodded and gave a bow, before he walked away. Kivamus decided to turn around as well, along with Duvas and the guards, when his eyes went to the solitary smoke house in the northeast, which was idle these days because of a shortage of raw meat to smoke.

"We really need to buy more food, you know?" he muttered. "We can't even risk sending our guards out to hunt until the danger of a raid has passed away, which means we won't be getting fresh meat anytime soon." He sighed. "I just wish we had some more gold to buy wheat easily... Having to pay the taxes right when we needed the gold for sowing and stocking up again after the winter was a really bad stroke of luck."

Gorsazo shook his head. "It's not like you can just decide not to pay taxes. While Feroy was right this time and a single knight might not be able to force anything on us, we can't break the status quo and risk the Count sending a dozen knights to us in punishment to take gold or slaves by force."

"What are we even paying taxes for anyway?" Kivamus spat. "The roads are shit, the forests are just as dangerous as always, and we can't even expect any help from the Count or his knights during Torhan's raid! Who knows if the Count is also in cahoots with Zoricus—who must be foaming at the mouth to kill me and grab my barony."

"Calm down, Kivamus!" Gorsazo spoke sharply. "This isn't the place to talk about something like that," his former teacher whispered, before he gestured to the guard captain to move the guards some distance away. Once no one else was in earshot, Gorsazo stared at him. "Whatever the Count may be doing, he is still higher ranking than you in this kingdom, and this kind of talk might even be counted as treason!"

Kivamus glanced around them, noticing that the guards had walked further away and were looking ahead, trying to give them space, although some of the nearby villagers had begun to look at them in curiosity after hearing his raised voice. He sighed. "You are right..." While he trusted the guards with his life and knew that they wouldn't tattle on him, losing his temper wouldn't help anyone.

After making sure once again that they were away from everyone else, Gorsazo continued in a much lower voice, "We have no reason to think that the Count wants to kill you, but I realize that it's very likely that Lord Ebirtas is also in Zoricus' pocket. That is even more of a reason that we can't let anyone else hear this kind of talk from you. Judging by Sir Tuilas' behaviour, I don't think Zoricus has enough sway with Cinran's knights to order them to assassinate you—not yet, anyway—but if you don't pay the taxes or if Cinran got word of you talking like that, the baron can still persuade the Count to send a punitive expedition to Tiranat, which we are simply not in a position to resist. You know that!"

The teacher glanced at the guards for a moment. "I'm hardly a military expert, but I don't think the knights' plate armors are going to be damaged with a crossbow bolt, which is our only hidden advantage. You'd designed the crossbows in a small size to be more handy. Like Sir Duvas had told us in the past, our crossbows aren't like those bulky arbalests in the Duke's army which are made to pierce plate armor. So we can't do anything if a dozen knights come to attack us..."

"That won't be the case when we've put a scorpion on every watchtower!" Kivamus retorted. "Let's see the knights try to attack us after that!"

Gorsazo shook his head. "Even if the scorpions manage to scare a dozen knights of Cinran from entering the village, what about after that? The Count will immediately ask for help from Fort Aragosa, which is controlled by your brother Tarilus. From what Duvas told us, while Lord Tarilus might knowingly dawdle in sending help to Cinran in case of a raid from Binpaaz to weaken the Count, but if he hears that the Count needs help against you and there is a good enough reason for that, do you think he'll hesitate to send his full force against Tiranat?" He exhaled. "I have no idea just how many armed men live in that fort, but if it is considered strong enough by the kingdom to resist a full scale invasion from Binpaaz, you can be pretty sure that they can crush Tiranat like a fly—with or without the scorpions."

Kivamus clenched his fists. "You are not wrong, but I hate this, Gorsazo! I hate this feeling of powerlessness! Those noble bastards use the threat of force to make us obey their wishes just because they are our so-called superiors, and make us pay them our hard earned gold, and for what! I just want my people and my village to be allowed to live freely, but this is like being forced to survive with their damned boot on our throats!" He shook his head. "These are the moments when I wish nobility never existed in this world, even if it meant I would also have been a commoner here."

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Gorsazo took another look around them before he patted Kivamus' back. "I simply can't imagine how a world without nobles would work, but either way, this is a different world. For better or worse, you don't live on Earth anymore, Steven." His former teacher smiled. "But don't worry, everyone knows you are doing your best for Tiranat. That's all we can wish for."

Kivamus took a few deep breaths and forced himself to calm down. Hearing that name had made him remember and miss his life on earth even more. He looked at Gorsazo. "Whatever I do, it never feels enough... Whether it's finding enough food for the villagers, or dealing with greedy nobles, or defending our village from one bandit group after another..." He exhaled. "Even after doing everything to buy or hunt food in the past few months, once again we can't feed everyone three meals a day! No matter what I do, it always feels like there is a bigger problem rearing its head at us..."

"That's just called life." His teacher smiled. "I still had some doubts after your intentions when you told me about your real origin, but by now I'm absolutely certain that you have been doing your very best to help everyone here. I'm sure every single person who lives in this village will agree with me, whether they are commoners like the carpenters and the coal miners, former slaves like Hyola or Joric, or even sons of nobles like Duvas."

Gorsazo snorted. "In fact, even with all my experience teaching others and despite considering myself quite knowledgeable for this world's standards, if I had been transported to another world so much different from the one I know, I don't think I would have done half as well as you have done in Tiranat. I can't even imagine how difficult it must be, but you are doing good. You are doing really well. Even if we are forced to cope with the demands of the Count and the higher nobility, you are still helping everyone around you far more than you realize - and in more ways than one. I am proud of you, Steven."

Kivamus took a deep breath once again. While he had been an adult even back on earth, it still felt good for someone to say that he was doing well here. He glanced around them. The villagers had continued with their tasks, with more and more workers returning to the longhouse blocks now. Some of them were using wheelbarrows to bring sacks of wheat from the storage rooms of the manor, while some frail-looking elderly villagers were sitting on a crooked log someone had dragged there and chatting merrily.

A few kids were running and laughing nearby, and playing a game of tag, while inside the courtyard of the longhouse, some younger children seemed to be having loads of fun playing on the swings hanging from the Bilona tree, looking happier than anyone else. Whenever any of the villagers passed near him, they always gave him a nod in respect, while some even bowed deeply, thanking him for one thing or another.

Eventually, he shook his head and smiled. "You are right, Gorsazo. We are doing well, and Tiranat has come a long way from the state we found it in before the winter. There is still a lot we need to do, starting from making sure the villagers can return to three meals a day soon, but I know we will get there in time." He gazed at the bustling village around him. "I know I didn't choose this life, but I want to keep doing my best for these people. For my people."

"I'm sure you will," Gorsazo returned the smile.

"Let's go back to the manor now," Kivamus said while gesturing to Hudan to bring the guards. "Coming out for a walk was a really good idea. I guess I was just feeling too stressed after dealing with the tax collector and the knight."

Gorsazo chuckled. "That's okay, it happens to everyone. It just proves that you are also a normal person like the rest of us, no matter how many wonders and miraculous ideas your brain contains inside it."

Kivamus laughed loudly, surprising the guards. "You have no idea, Gorsazo, you have no idea..."

***

Later in the evening, after Gorsazo had gone back to the longhouse blocks to teach, Kivamus was sitting in the manor hall with Duvas, while Pydaso had just handed over the 532 gold he owed them.

"Before I leave, milord," Pydaso began with a grin, "I have a surprise for you. I had nearly forgotten about it after the excitement of everything you had shown me today." He put his hand into a satchel he had brought, before he pulled out a long rolled up parchment and handed it to him.

Kivamus unrolled the sheet, before he grinned. It was a map of the southern part of the Reslinor Kingdom and the nearby areas in Cilaria. It was hand drawn, as he expected, and outside of the major towns and cities, it only seemed to be filled with a very basic survey of the land.

It was certainly nothing compared to seeing an easily zoomable and scrollable satellite map on your phone, but it was still much better than having no idea of what lay around Tiranat. Handing it over to Duvas for safekeeping until he had more time to study it, he looked at the merchant. "This is wonderful! I had also forgotten about asking you to buy it. Where did you get it from?"