Chapter 52: An Agricultural Building
After walking around for a while, Edgar finally stopped at the southern side of the Fortress, which was mostly flat.
Taking in a deep breath, he mumbled, "Time to create a field."
The only reason Edgar chose this part was because of its uselessness.
The southern side of the Fortress was nothing but barren land, which eventually led to the Han River.
Placing his farmland here meant there was no need for him to worry about his fields being affected by any conflict.
’If I expand the area of the Agricultural Land to a hundred square metres, I can grow a lot of things...’
But the more Edgar thought about it, the more incomplete the idea felt.
Back on Earth, there were three things needed to grow plants: water, soil, and sunlight.
But things were different here. There was no sun, yet the plants didn’t seem to need it to grow.
’If I don’t have any sun, then why spread the plants around?’
Edgar slowly raised his head, and a particular method of mushroom farming came to mind.
’What if I create a building specifically for plants to grow upward?’
As the idea began to take shape in his mind, Edgar couldn’t contain his curiosity.
Walking into his house, Edgar sat down in the main hall with a parchment and a quill in his hand.
Without waiting, he began drawing the blueprint of a building.
His plan was simple: a three-story building with open sides, sturdy enough to hold large amounts of soil spread across each floor.
’If the Agricultural Land can function indoors...’
Edgar’s quill moved even faster.
’...then a three-story building would triple my farmland while using the same amount of space.’
He quickly added wide ramps connecting each floor.
Wheelbarrows would be able to move freely without relying on stairs. On one side of the building, he drew a water tank connected to pipes.
The rainwater harvesting system from his house could easily be adapted for irrigation.
’Hm... no.’
Edgar paused and began rethinking his plan for the water.
Right now, Andrew brought water from a nearby lake, but that couldn’t be used for large-scale irrigation.
’Underground water...’
While searching for an idea, another thought surfaced.
’Why do people in this world rarely use underground water?’
In Soragon Bazaar and even in the Yamhad Clan’s Fortress, Edgar hadn’t seen a single thing used to draw water from the ground.
’Is there a problem with it?’ he wondered. ’And if so, what could it be?’
Still, Edgar didn’t stop himself from designing a simple hand-operated pump that could draw water from underground.
It was only a side project, so he kept the design rather crude and simple.
’I can always make a better one once I confirm its usability.’
After addressing the water problem, Edgar returned his focus to the agricultural building.
While he was busy designing it, the sky had already cleared, and the Eternal Night had taken over.
Edgar only stopped when his room became completely dark.
Only a shade of light from the ⟨Unbroken Fire⟩ illuminated the place.
"...Already?"
Edgar stretched his stiff shoulders before setting the quill down.
His stomach growled in protest. "I forgot to eat again."
A helpless smile appeared on his face as he looked at the blueprint on the table.
Even though most of it was complete, a few touch-ups were still needed.
’I will complete it outside.’
As Edgar stood up from his seat, the door of his house was slammed hard.
"Young Master!?" Andrew’s panicked and anxious voice echoed from the other side.
"You need to see this."
Edgar’s expression immediately turned serious as he quickly walked toward the door and opened it.
He was greeted by Andrew’s terrified face as the young boy bit his fingers nervously.
"What happened?" Edgar asked.
"...T-there are Nightmares," Andrew stammered. "T-they are weird."
’...Why is he acting so strangely?’
Edgar quickly looked toward the Fortress Wall and found Oswald standing alone on the patrol path.
He immediately rushed over and stopped beside the old man.
"What is it--?"
Edgar asked as he looked down, but his voice slowly trailed off.
The orange hue of the ⟨Unbroken Fire⟩ illuminated the land around them.
On the ground, hundreds of *things* were crawling toward the Fortress.
But those things were not ordinary monsters...They were twisted humans.
Some had their necks bent at impossible angles.
Others dragged only half of their bodies behind them.
One woman’s jaw hung loose, swaying with every movement.
A child with only one arm crawled beside her, its vacant eyes staring directly at the Fortress.
"...."
Edgar looked at them with a myriad of unexplainable emotions on his face. He wasn’t sure what to say.
Slowly turning his head, Edgar asked, "What are they?"
The old man never let his eyes wander from the creatures below.
In a soft tone, he whispered, "Forgottens."
Edgar’s voice carried rare confusion. "Forgottens?"
"They are those who didn’t reach the ⟨Unbroken Fire⟩ before the Eternal Night descended." Oswald explained with a pale expression.
"Because of the corruption of the Night... they turn into these."
Edgar could only look at those below with pity.
They had never done anything wrong, yet they had become something like this...
"We are in trouble, Young Master," the old man said quietly.
Edgar shifted his focus back to him. "...What do you mean?"
With some difficulty, the old man explained,
"The presence of the Forgottens is always an omen of something bad. These things are used by powerful Nightmares as a warning to humans."
Edgar spoke grimly. "Are you saying we are being targeted by a Nightmare Commander?"
"It’s much worse than that, Young Master," Oswald whispered. "A Nightmare Commander can’t do this..."
’So, it’s someone even more powerful than a commander...’
Edgar didn’t know how to react. He silently looked at those beings scraping against the walls.
’Wait...’
Only then did something occur to him. He slowly looked at the ⟨Watch Tower⟩s surrounding the Fortress.
"...Why?" he asked. "Why are they not attacking them?"
Old man Oswald looked at his young master and answered softly,
"Because they are not Nightmares." His voice became even quieter.
"They are still humans."