Chapter 153 Work Part 1

“…We’ve made a lot of progress in terms of our natural disaster preparation, all thanks to grandfather*.”

Listening to the reports from the merchants who had taken over the efforts, I flipped through the files.

For the Armenia territory that faced the sea on one side and had several rivers and lakes in the middle, preventative measures against floods were very important.

What to do to further the healthy development of one’s land…although some might consider policies like that, very few actually think ahead to rare but possible catastrophes that might occur in ten, twenty, thirty, even hundreds of years, especially in this world.

It was especially so for natural disasters. Most viewed them as inevitable.

Before such a grand force as nature, humans were powerless.

In that sense, confronting things that may or may not happen…no, those who don’t even think about what might happen, are just delaying when they’ll have to deal with the problem.

Grandfather, who thought ahead to see what he could do for the people, really loved this land.

And then my father took up the same ideals. Now it was my turn.

“And that’s my full report.”

“Thank you. After reviewing it I’ll send out more directions”

“Lady Iris, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Although it’s a stupid question to ask as someone accepting a job…is this project really necessary?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve never heard of the two rivers that we’re currently working over flood. In comparison with doing a river project, it might be a better use of our money to open up more land in the northern realms, or increase funding for the docks. It seems more practical that way, at least, and might help increase our territory’s wellbeing in a more realistic way.”

When he said this, there was knock at the door. Rehme walked in.

“It has flooded, actually. A hundred fifty years ago and a hundred years ago.”

Hearing these sudden words from a third party, the merchant looked back at Rehme in surprise.

“Excuse me. Milady, I’m here to tell you that the space is ready.”

“Thank you, Rehme.”

“…Miss Rehme, right? I’m sorry, but where did you learn all that from?”

“The notes of previous household heads, especially reports. They also have record of how large each disaster was, and the way that they did recovery work for the situation. It’s quite inspiring.”

“…You read reports from a hundred fifty years ago? And a hundred years ago? How much did you read?”

“Not just that. Since the first Duke Armenia received this land, all those records…I’ve read all of them.”

“How is that even possible…”

It’s no wonder that he was this surprised.

Although it was only the records that survived until now, that was still centuries of materials.

Even just thinking about it, it seemed like a dizzying amount. Only someone like Rehme could read them all happily.

“The one with the biggest affected range was the flood of a hundred and fifty years ago. Two whole villages were drowned, and all their crops were lost. But with the help of the country and other territories, we managed to make it through…that’s basically what happened.”

“You’re not wrong. If we put that money into developing land, it might boost our territory’s economy. But who can say what kind of disasters will come our way in the future?”

“That…”

He couldn’t answer my question.

“It won’t happen in this generation, yes. But what about your children? Your grandchildren?…If we wait until it has already happened, it will be too late. I don’t want to have the regret of ‘if only we had prepared back then.’ If there’s something you could protect just by acting on it now, would you really ignore it?”

“Reducing future risk, huh. I understand then. I’m not an official but I still asked such an insolent question about the territory’s politics. I’m very sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m the one at blame. I should have communicated the meaning behind our current tasks better. If there’s anything else you want to know more about in the future, please feel welcome to come ask me.”

“Of course.”

*Apparently this grandfather refers to the paternal grandfather, not the maternal grandfather who is the general.

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