INBE 02

Chapter 02

“What’s going on?”

“Right? Tabin asked us to spare a little time, so we came, but…”

Since it was such a small village with only about ten households, even if everyone gathered, there were barely thirty people.

“The reason I gathered you all is to prepare for the rainy season.”

I stood in front of the confused villagers and spoke loudly.

“If you keep piling leaves and grass on your roofs like now, they’ll absorb rainwater, get heavier, and your houses could actually collapse.”

I explained as simply as possible so they could understand how dangerous and inefficient this was.

“We’ve always done it like this. You’re saying it was dangerous?”

“Yeah. Other villages do it this way too…”

But the villagers didn’t believe me.

Well, they had lived like this all their lives—there was no way they would accept it so easily.

“If we remove all the grass and leaves and the rainwater overflows during the rainy season, will you take responsibility?”

A man with prominent cheekbones pointed at me, telling me not to act smart when I didn’t know anything.

“If we follow what Assistant Han says and something goes wrong, will you take responsibility? Don’t step out of line—just do what you’re told!”

Seeing him reminded me of Manager Park, my former direct superior.

It was to the point that I wondered if that jerk had possessed him—the way he acted was exactly the same.

So damn annoying and infuriating!

“Yes. I’ll take full responsibility.”

“What responsibility could a girl who just stays cooped up at home possibly take?”

The man kept nitpicking to the end.

“We’re already busy to death, and now we’ve wasted time for nothing. Let’s go!”

At his gesture, the villagers quickly dispersed.

I stared dumbfounded at them—especially the man who had incited them—when Tabin placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Are you okay, Eileen?”

“Ah… yeah. I’m fine.”

The resistance was stronger than expected, but I hadn’t expected them to believe me right away anyway.

“Still, I’ll try doing it your way.”

Tabin said, holding my hand tightly.

“I trust my daughter.”

Despite his rugged appearance, Tabin was kind and simple. He was also a father who loved his daughter dearly.

That’s why I couldn’t call Tabin “Dad.”

The body was his daughter, Eileen—but the person inside was someone completely different.

Anyway, judging by what Tabin and the villagers said, it seemed the original Eileen had been timid and stayed at home all the time.

“Alright. Then please gather the things I mentioned.”

To prepare for the rainy season, not just our house but the entire village needed to be renovated.

“First, please get wood that doesn’t rot easily even when wet.”

But since the villagers opposed it, we decided to fix our house first.

There needed to be visible results to move people’s hearts.

If this were my original world, I would have specified exactly what kind of wooden boards to bring. But here, I didn’t know much, so this was the best I could do.

“These are the boards used to make ferry boats. Will these work?”

“They’re perfect.”

I had been worried about whether he could find them, but thankfully Tabin brought exactly what I needed.

“What are you planning to do with these boards?”

“I’m going to make this.”

While waiting for him to bring the materials, I showed him the roof blueprint I had drawn.

“Oh, Eileen. You can do this too? That’s amazing.”

It was quite rough since I drew it by hand, but Tabin gave me a thumbs-up in admiration.

Getting praised for something like this made me a little embarrassed.

“Is there anything Dad can help with?”

“First, we need to cut the boards to size…”

Instead of explaining in detail, I figured it would be better to show him, so I picked up a saw.

Thanks to my father, who had been a carpenter, I was confident in my handiwork.

“Wow, this is a saw?”

The problem was that the tools in this world were all terrible.

The spacing of the saw teeth was uneven, and it was rusted, so I had to exert enough force to make my wrist ache just to push and pull it once.

“If you have something like animal fat, please bring it.”

Remembering a method my father used, I applied a thin layer of oil to the rusty blade.

After that, the saw moved much more smoothly. The cut surface was still rough, but it was far better than before.

After four days, I was able to build and install a triangular roof.

Of course, before that, I repaired the ceiling and created a drainage path so rainwater flowing from the roof could run off.

“The roof looks quite unusual. Will this really help?”

“Of course. It lets the rainwater flow off instead of pooling.”

“Oh, how fascinating.”

Tabin looked over the triangular roof from every angle, constantly expressing admiration.

“I hope it rains soon.”

Only then would people admit that I was right.

As if the heavens heard my wish, heavy rain poured down two days later.

Because of the heavy downpour, there were various damages—leaks, collapsed ceilings, and more.

But our house suffered no damage at all.

It was thanks to the triangular roof and drainage system I had made.

“…Eileen was right?”

“That strange-looking roof and those ground channels really work?”

Hearing that only our house was fine, the villagers whispered among themselves in shock.

“This is your last chance!”

I didn’t miss the opportunity and shouted loudly.

“If you refuse my method again, I will never help you, no matter what problems arise in the future!”

At the word “last,” their eyes wavered greatly.

Even so, no one stepped forward easily, and they all hesitated—until Hanson, who lived next door, suddenly raised his hand.

“Install that on my house too!”

“M-me too! Do mine too!”

“Our house needs it as well!”

Once one person broke the ice, the others who had been hesitating began raising their hands one after another.

Even those who had been reluctant slowly followed.

“……”

All except one person—the man who had nitpicked and incited the villagers against me.

“Uncle Peter, don’t you need it?”

When I asked directly, Peter flinched and snorted.

“I don’t really need it, but if you insist on doing it, I won’t refuse.”

Even his stubbornness was exactly like Manager Park.

“Ah, so you don’t need it.”

But I wasn’t the same as before.

Assistant Han, who used to watch Manager Park’s mood, no longer existed.

“Then we’ll proceed without Uncle Peter.”

At my words, Peter’s eyes widened in shock.

“Alright, everyone else, please follow me.”

Ignoring him, I led the people who had raised their hands back to my house.

It was about two days later when Peter came to find me again.

I was in the middle of building triangular roofs with the villagers.

At first, he lingered around me like a restless dog that needed to relieve itself.

“Ahem… what are you making?”

When I kept ignoring him, he coughed awkwardly or tried talking to Tabin.

Even then, when I refused to look at him, he finally tapped my shoulder.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

“What is it? I’m busy, so just say it here.”

When I replied curtly without even looking at him, Peter’s face twisted unpleasantly.

After glaring at me for a while, he let out a deep sigh and said,

“Install a triangular roof on my house too.”

“I thought you didn’t need it?”

“That’s because back then you were being annoy—!”

“Uncle Peter.”

As he started to shout, I cut him off.

“If you’re going to ask me for a favor, be polite. And apologize for ignoring me last time.”

“What did I even do wrong—!”

“You did nothing wrong?”

I lifted the saw I had been using to cut boards and asked. Peter’s face instantly turned pale.

He hesitated, then finally lowered his gaze and shouted,

“Fine, fine! I was wrong! My house was leaking, I was irritated, and then you started saying strange things…”

“Strange things?”

“No, I mean… sorry. It was all my fault.”

Even as he admitted it, his face was still full of dissatisfaction.

“I want to make sure Uncle Peter is truly reflecting. How about you go over there and shout ‘Eileen is the best!’ three times with your arms raised?”

I wasn’t about to let it slide so easily.

“Y-you want me to do something that embarrassing?”

Peter shouted in disgust.

“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”

Then I had no intention of making him a roof.

“……”

His face flushed red as he trembled, but eventually, he trudged over to where I pointed.

“Eileen is the best! Eileen is the best! Eileen is the best!”

He raised both hands high in the air and shouted loudly.

“Puhaha!”

It was so ridiculous that not only I, but the villagers burst into laughter.

At that moment—

[The tutorial has ended.]

A translucent window appeared before my eyes.