System vs Rebirth

On the plaza, a crowd of people were gathering as they seemed to have an announcement to make. 

"The lord is planning to employ one hundred men to build a main water storage for an unlimited supply of water for the city. You will be paid seventy cooper coins per day."

Instead of seventy cooper coins, the people were actually more interested in what they were building. The people had suffered from this water problem for a long time to the point where they had grown accustomed to it.

So, the moment they heard that they would be able to get an unlimited amount of water, they couldn't help but look at each other, extremely interested in it.

"I am 21 years old, Roy. How do I sign up for the job?"

"Wait. I am…"

"I…"

They immediately flocked the people from the mayor office, trying to become a part of it. As Noel predicted, it didn't take too long to get all the workers. That was why he wanted the best people so that the construction could be finished faster.

After distributing enough water, Noel left everything to the rest. Anna seemed to be accompanying him as they were going to meet with Grandell. 

"Sir!" Grandell placed his hand on his chest.

"How is the city?"

"It's awful, Sir. There are a lot of buildings that can collapse at any time. The area near the wall is destroyed. The west wall suffers the most damage and needs to be prioritized. While the morale has not completely plummeted, they don't have any high hope either.

"After receiving the water, they gain a bit of hope, but it's not enough. I'm not sure about the spies, but I can guard one important place." Grandell reported. 

"I see." Noel thought for a moment and asked Anna, "What do you think?"

"Since you're going to send some funds from the main city, it should be enough to repair the west wall while completing the current project. It's just… if the enemies dare to sabotage it, we would be in trouble. Our funds are already limited, so we have to be careful." Anna explained.

Noel nodded in agreement before saying, "Grandell. Your job now is to protect the main storage construction. Also, spread the soldiers to check the people's improvement like their morale, hope, and other things. The better they are, the quicker we can finish this project. I'm not sure about how long we will stay here, but we might remain here for about one or two weeks before moving around to check the nearby villages."

"Understood, Sir." Grandell hurried back to inform his subordinates.

Meanwhile, Noel turned to Anna and raised one finger. "There is something you're missing."

"Something?"

"Yes. Do you remember all my preparations before coming here? Think about it again. There are two things that will allow us to safely improve this territory."

"Hmm?" Anna contemplated, recalling every single thing. This was the time Noel tried to teach her about governing the territory. After a while, Anna thought of something. "Is it Duke Lorelei?"

"He is indeed one of them. Why do you think I brought the duke here?"

"If he arrives here, no one will dare to attack this territory or they will just invoke the duke's wrath. That should include everything that happens inside the city."

"I will give you forty points for that."

"Huh?" Anna never expected that her answer would receive only forty points, meaning that she had missed the most important part.

"Think about it. The duke is impartial most of the time, right? He loves to see young talents bloom, right?"

"Indeed."

"What if that sprout is not a talented young man but a revolutionary idea where the entire kingdom could benefit?" 

"An idea? Wait a minute!" Anna gasped, finally understanding Noel's goal in inviting the duke. "The duke would be so impressed with the change of the city where runes are incorporated into society. After seeing such a wonderful concept, he will definitely think highly of you.

"And with that, there is a chance that the duke will ask you to incorporate such a thing into his own territory. There you go, a cooperation with Duke Lorelei."

"Exactly." Noel nodded with a smile. Anna was originally smart, but she just had a hard time connecting the dots in politics. It must be because she was never introduced to politics in her previous life. So, Noel only had to give one clue after another to provoke her mind.

"But Noel, don't you think this is a bit too reckless? While we get the cooperation, the duke will be in a tight spot, no?"

"Certainly. The people will think that the duke is angry and try to take us down. Even if we can't do anything, we would be too injured to progress for a few months. That's why there is one thing that will create an opportunity for the duke and us. That is the second letter." 

"The second letter? Do you mean Khalid?" Anna abruptly stopped as though she had come to another realization. "That's right. Khalid might not be a healer, but he is an alchemist. He should know a bit of medicine and we should be able to recover from our injuries in no time." 

"What do you think will happen if the duke beat us up?"

"The spies in the city will definitely think that the duke has done his job. And with the duke's cooperation, we should be able to find the spies and eliminate them, stopping any further leaks of information."

"Then, without the spies, what will happen?" Noel continued asking one question after another. 

"In that case, the duke will be grateful and won't oppose the idea of having a lot of sparring with us during his stay here. In exchange, he will be able to see the rune project. And we should be able to gain an additional fund since the duke will be paying us to install it in his territory. This way, the duke won't be held accountable and people will think we can't do anything for a while, which is a perfect opportunity to get stronger."

"Whose spies are hiding inside the city?"

"The Supreme Devil Organization, the Royal Family, and the Third Prince?"

"What will happen to them?"

"The Supreme Devil Organization believed that they had achieved their original objective. And as long as we acted that way, we could get stronger and surprise them when they attacked. 

"The Royal Family will ignore us for a while and let the Supreme Devil Organization take care of the situation. Lastly, the Third Prince… I'm not sure. Maybe he will visit us to confirm it? You are supposed to have a 'good' relationship with him after all."

Noel was satisfied with her answer. While she still missed a few more possibilities, she was definitely on the right path.

"Don't you remember there is one more person that can check us?"

"My teacher?!" Anna fell silent, remembering that in the past her teacher joined hands with the Third Prince to kill them together. When she thought about it, she noticed something. "Wait a minute. The set up on the current storage…"

"It seems that you've realized it." Noel smirked. "Since the spies can't see anything inside the storage, they will have to speculate. None of us have a Space Element, allowing us to get all those water. Even my ice won't be enough to cover all that water. But even if they still think it's possible, that idea will be destroyed once I'm beaten up by the duke while the water supply still continues."

"You actually want to make people believe that someone is helping you to get all that water. And with that amount of water, there is only one person who might actually help you." Anna gasped. Noel actually tried to make people suspect her teacher. 

Even if they trusted her, they still had to consider the possibility. After all, people like the Water Lord might be able to do it, but he was still in his territory. Only the Void Arbiter could teleport from one place to another, including opening the portal to fetch the water.

Meanwhile, the truth was that Noel used Ardagan to supply the water.

Noel warped his hand on her shoulder while saying with a smile. "See? You can already speculate my plan with enough clues. It's just that you are not used to connecting things up properly and thinking about all kinds of possibilities. So, I'll keep asking you all this stuff until your mind gets used to thinking of all possibilities." 

"Hehe…" Anna couldn't contain her smile. In the past, Noel often said she was naive or a fool. But it wasn't true. With enough training, she would be able to reach Noel's level. 

This praise truly meant a lot for her. 

"How about I cook your favorite meal for dinner?" 

"Really?" Noel was taken aback as he immediately turned around. "Wait a minute. I have to bring back the meat."

"Haha. Look at you so excited even though you can cook as good as I am."

"Having to cook for myself and having someone make it for me are two different things!" Noel harrumphed and took off. 

Anna couldn't even react and only smiled at his enthusiasm. This was a life she could never imagine in her previous life. 

'I wonder if Noel gave me the rebirth opportunity to let me experience this kind of life? No, did he think that I would fall in love with him in this life?' Anna thought, still wondering about the reason for this second chance. 'I hope that this can last forever.'