"However, despite this speculation, Takumi had no way to verify it for the time being, so he could only keep this idea in his heart.
After the completion of the resettlement housing project, Takumi took a long rest and started arranging major projects again. And it is the largest project since the construction of Dimension City!
He took Tomoko and Haruhime to a small river five kilometers away. After asking Tomoko to conduct an on-site investigation and give a feasible answer, Takumi waved his hand.
"Start!"
"Yes!"
He was planning to build a dam this time. This project had three purposes.
The first was to ensure a stable supply of water resources and prevent the river from running dry in the future. Although water magic can be used to create water, this is still an unconventional means at the moment, and when magical technology is immature, it cannot be commonly used. Moreover, after the dam is completed, it will be equivalent to a reservoir. The reservoir can also bring a lot of benefits, such as fish farming and other aquatic industries. Just relying on this, the dam will not lose money no matter what.
The second was to use water power to generate electricity. Dimension City has already seen a lot of power needs, such as Alice Nakiri's molecular gastronomy equipment, lighting, etc. Many electrical appliances have been recovered, but due to insufficient power supply, they have basically not been used. In addition to the projects and industrial production to be carried out later, this also requires a lot of electricity.
Diesel power generation is simply impossible to sustain; Dimension City needs more power generation. But it is impossible to engage in nuclear fusion right from the start, and the technical conditions are not available now. So Takumi plans to build hydropower first, at least for transitional use.
The third was a tap water system. That's right, Takumi is planning to provide running water along with the power system. Because he will receive two hundred immigrants next, the demand for water will also surge by then, and the issue of convenient water access has to be put on the agenda early. Otherwise, do you have to ask two hundred people to fetch water for washing? That would be a lot of effort.
Even if you don't consider this, the demand for drinking water is still a big problem. The original open-air reservoir is fine for agricultural water, but for drinking, the safety is still a bit poor. Therefore, the water plant must be developed as soon as possible.
...
Takumi took the lead. He squatted down, pressing the ground with one hand, and shouted: "Mountains and rivers turn!"
Boom!~~~!
As the ground shook and the mountains trembled, the banks on both sides of the upper reaches of the river gradually arched up, slowly forming a valley. At the same time, the riverbed sank and expanded to both sides. Eventually, the river turned into a long, wide-mouthed, pocket-like basin. The other two sides became a row of mountains like walls, descending from the upper reaches, from low to high, with a large entrance and a small exit.
At this time, the water could no longer flow down because there was extra space that needed to be filled. Then, Takumi used ice magic again, and a wall of water formed in the middle of the valley, completely cutting off the possibility of water flowing downstream.
Then, under the guidance of Tomoko, Haruhime and the other two girls began to clean up the mouth of the gorge. Because they needed to build a water supply plant, they felt the need to clear out an empty space. Fortunately, Takumi had already taken care of this when changing the terrain, so the cleanup was quick.
After cleaning, the first step of infrastructure construction began: laying the foundation! However, this first step was a bit troublesome. Even if the four of them were as efficient as an engineering team of more than a dozen people, they still hadn't finished it by the end of the day.
The main reason was that not only was the dam's foundation area large, but many factors also had to be considered. At the very least, it must be able to withstand the pressure brought by the huge water storage capacity in the future.
However, Takumi was not in a hurry. Anyway, there was still time before accepting immigrants. And it didn't necessarily have to be completed before the immigrants arrived. He could also wait until the immigrants arrived and then use their strength to complete it. Takumi was very optimistic and took Haruhime and the others back after dark.
But what he didn't know was that his actions inadvertently affected others.
In a corner of the Forest of Death, several beautiful figures were discussing in a camp with sad faces.
"What to do? The river is out of water. Will we have to go back to the days of collecting rainwater to survive?"
"If not? It's not like you don't know how dangerous it is here."
"Yes, as for that movement in the morning, it must be some terrifying high-level monster fighting upstream. I don't dare go there now."
"By the way, is there too much movement over there? It hasn't been quiet since last month~"
"Who knows, maybe it's a turf conflict between high-level monsters."
"I am also curious, and it's not necessarily caused by monsters."
"Oh, if it's not monsters, are there other people besides us in a place like the Forest of Death?"
"True..."
"Alas~, when will these days end?"
"Don't sigh, just have a good rest. Tomorrow we will go back to the previous camp. It is better to catch rainwater. The river is inherently dangerous. If it is gone, it is gone. It will also save us the risk of fetching water every time."
"Yes, Sister Ria."
After the topic was over, it was time for them to keep watch and rest. They were none other than the first group of High Elves to arrive at Big Tree Village in the original work, which is now Dimension City—Ria and her entourage. And at this time, they were troubled by Takumi's actions. If Takumi knew this, one wonders what he would think.
Ria, who was on guard, stood on a tree, looking at the sisters sleeping peacefully below, and couldn't help but turn her head to look in the direction of Dimension City.
If that doesn't work, maybe she should go and have a look. What if?
She got up. During the discussion just now, a young girl felt that those movements were not caused by monsters. If that was the case, then they might be able to settle down. If she went down, she would no longer need to run around trying to survive in the cracks like now.
But she didn't decide to go there right away; she just regarded it as a choice when there was no other way. After all, this was just a guess. She would not take her sisters on adventures if she was not sure.
...
The southern mountains of the Forest of Death.
There is a castle on the highest peak of the mountain range. At this time, a middle-aged man was standing on the observation deck high in the castle. This man was actually a dragon, the Gatekeeper Dragon Draim.
He was looking in the direction of Dimension City and couldn't help but shed a drop of cold sweat.
"This new neighbor's strength is a bit scary. Should I go over and say hello?"
...
Farther south, on the seaside separated only by a mountain range from the Forest of Death, lies the port city of Shashato in the Human Kingdom.
A figure hidden under a cloak was also looking in the direction of the Forest of Death. When they looked up, they revealed a beautiful face with silver hair and blue eyes. Lulushi, the eldest daughter of the contemporary younger generation of the vampire royal family. Well, you can also say she is the eldest princess.
At this time, she was looking curiously in the direction of Dimension City.
"The changes in the earth's veins are man-made and interesting. It seems necessary to get over there as soon as possible."
After saying that, she walked directly out of the city and headed towards the Forest of Death. Shortly after she left, an angel also chased her here but missed her. When the angel inquired about her whereabouts, it was already a few days later. But this is all a story for another day.
...
Let's talk about Takumi. He didn't know that his unintentional move would trigger a series of reactions from the outside world.
The next day, he also took Haruhime and the girls to continue building the dam. However, not long after he started working, Takumi received a prompt from the system.
"Ding dong! Note: A visitor named Hermione has arrived. Please pay attention to the host and go to the reception."
"This girl has to come at the right time."
Takumi couldn't help but sigh. Hermione was very good at timing her second visit. But there was no need to say more; Takumi put down what he was doing and said hello to Haruhime and the others.
He teleported to the heart of the great tree. At this time, Zabuton was not awake yet. She noticed the strange movement and then woke up.
"Hmm~, Master, do you have anything to do with me?" She asked as she yawned in a human-like manner and rubbed her eyes.
"I'm going to receive guests, so I'd like you to help me oversee the dam project."
This was not to ask Zabuton to supervise Haruhime and the others, but to protect them. With their current strength, any monster that randomly escapes from this forest will be a fatal threat to them. Originally under his protection, now that he is leaving, he naturally needs someone to replace him.
And Zabuton is the best choice. Who makes her the strongest? As long as she is around, they will feel safe.
"Ok, no problem."
As soon as she heard that there was a job to do, Zabuton agreed without saying a word.
"I'll send you there."
Zabuton did not move when she heard this and allowed Takumi to teleport her over. After doing this, Takumi jumped off the big tree and walked towards the Dimension Gate. And Hermione was also heading this way.
Running in both directions, the two of them soon met.
"Hi, little Hermione, welcome to Dimension City again."
"Hello, Mr. Takumi, I'm here again."
"How about it? A big change, right? Were you shocked?"
"Hmm, it has indeed changed a lot. I almost thought I was in the wrong place at first."
The two got acquainted and chatted, and Takumi took her to the hall of the Dependents' Branch. Now Takumi completes receptions here. After all, it's not appropriate to always bring people to his own house. Well, mainly because there are some privacy issues there now.
Later, Takumi briefly introduced the changes in Dimension City to Hermione. At the same time, Takumi also learned why Hermione came this time. It was her parents who asked her to come.
After she returned, she verified Takumi's words under her own observation and then sent a letter to her parents. In the letter, she explained her adventure and the things about Dimension City, and then relayed Takumi's words and asked for their opinions.
Hermione soon received a reply from her parents. In the letter, they first expressed their guilt for almost pushing their daughter into a fire pit. They regretted it so much. At the same time, they also asked Hermione to convey their thanks to Takumi. Thank you very much for Takumi's reminder.
So Hermione came here today mainly to convey the message.
"Forget the thanks, I just can't help but talk too much." Facing the Grangers' thanks, Takumi replied with a smile. "I will convey your words to them."
Hermione nodded and did not continue the topic. In fact, apart from running errands and delivering messages, she came more of her own accord. Ever since she recognized the true face of the Wizarding World, Hermione was almost disillusioned. She felt a little uncomfortable staying at Hogwarts. So she took this opportunity to come out and let herself breathe.
"You seem troubled."
Takumi saw that Hermione was obviously not as lively as last time, so he quickly became concerned. Don't let the child become withdrawn, otherwise, he would be doing bad things with good intentions.
"Did you disagree with your parents?"
Takumi thought for a while, and this was the only possibility. Hermione hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Yes."
Then she told Takumi about the content behind the letter. She was really troubled and urgently needed to talk to someone. But when she was at Hogwarts, she really didn't know whom she could talk to about this matter. Because she was also a little worried that she would be deceived again.
At the same time, she didn't know what the adults in the Wizarding World would do to her if they knew that she understood so much. Would she be sent back? Or just silenced? Such suspicion made her dare not speak to the outside world at all, and she was usually very silent. This almost made her choke.
Now facing Takumi, the person who reminded her of these problems, she could definitely talk now! Takumi listened to her silently.
It turned out that her parents wanted her to return her focus to the ordinary world. After all, Hermione has a very good background there. Her basics have already been developed very well, and her academic performance is excellent. In the Wizarding World, Hermione has just started, and her future is uncertain. If she gives up now, she can stop the loss in time. Thinking from the perspective of adults and parents, there is no problem.
But the problem lies in Hermione's own wishes. She actually doesn't want to give up learning magic. Just like that sentence: I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the light.
It's not that Hermione didn't like her original environment. But now she knew the existence of the Wizarding World, and she also understood that ordinary people were nothing in front of magic. This made it difficult for Hermione to completely give up learning magic and go back to being an ignorant Muggle. In fact, for someone with her strong thirst for knowledge, this would be a kind of self-deception and torture. Just thinking about that situation made her unable to accept it.
And when she replied to her parents' letter, fully expressing her wishes and considerations, stating that she would choose to focus on magic with science as a supplement, the Grangers wrote back expressing their understanding. They agreed that Hermione should continue to study magic, but their request was to change the priority: let ordinary subjects lead and magic assist.
Their reasons were also very sound. Since ordinary people are powerless against wizards, it is not impossible to learn magic to increase their resistance, and they agreed. But after all, you still have to consider the future. The Wizarding World is so difficult to get along in, so it is basically certain that she will return to the world of ordinary people to develop in the future.
And focusing on learning magic wastes so much time and slows down the progress of learning science. Will she still be able to cope in the future? What should she do if she fails to get into college? So it's more stable the other way around.
Hermione is still just a child after all. No matter how smart she is, she is still just a child. She will definitely not be able to reason with adults. This incident left her speechless.
So, she resorted to the trick of children quarreling: cheating! On the grounds of conflicting school time at Hogwarts, she had a passionate confrontation with her parents for a few days. If you want to learn magic, you can't go to an ordinary school.
In the end, they replied: "It's okay. I'll sign you up for a holiday cram school and make sure your holiday is fully arranged."
Hermione: Cram school is not a panacea. It cannot compare with normal schooling, and it still cannot occupy a dominant position.
Parents' reply: It's okay. I will hire a professional tutor for you to ensure that you will not miss any knowledge points in each semester.
Hermione: I'm so stressed out by you guys. This is my holiday!
Parents' reply: It's okay, isn't Hogwarts very relaxing? Just treat it as a vacation when you are at Hogwarts, and go to school when you are home.
The two sides were in a stalemate, and Hermione took the lead in EMO (becoming emotional/depressed). There was no way; the parents on the opposite side were also cheating, crazy about adding study arrangements to her without any ethics. Now that Hermione thought about it, after returning home, she would face various cram schools and even have a tutor to supervise her study. She couldn't stop for a moment during the holidays, so she was a little afraid to go home.
"Ah, these... double the trouble."
After hearing this, Takumi was also shocked. Especially the part where Hermione was facing off against her parents. The Grangers were a bit fierce and could compete with the 'tiger parents' of China.
Are you sure you weren't born into the wrong family? These two people were born in England, so they were truly gifted.