[Re:write] Episode 5: The Second Waterwheel and Budding Bonds

―Rewrite despair.

[For first-time readers] If you want to grasp the world view first,
the link to the beginning of the story, Episode 1, is here
👉　Episode 1: The Observer Wakes in the Forest
For work information and summaries, click here
👉　For first-time readers | Please start from Episode 1 of "Re:write"

Seven days had passed since Leon said, "I'll take responsibility."

The work, involving the entire village, proceeded amidst total chaos due to Kai's unconventional instructions and Leon's desperate interpreting (which was really just shouting).
And finally, a massive water-lifting wheel appeared on the riverbank.

"...Are you really sure about this?"

Leon muttered anxiously, staring at the dry canal leading to the village's water tank.
Kai finished checking the final wedge that controlled the waterwheel's rotation and turned to face Leon.

"No problem."
"No problem, you say...! Is that your catchphrase?!"
Leon shouted, sounding half-desperate.

Kai ignored him and calmly stated the next steps.

"First, remove the sandbags to let the river water flow into the canal. Then, once the waterwheel starts turning, open the sluice gate on the water tank side. The pressure will naturally pump the water up."
"...Got it."

Leon swallowed hard and signaled to the villagers.
The men dragged the sandbags away.
The dammed river water rushed into the canal with a roar.

Whoosh...! The sound of water crashing violently.

And then—.

Clunk...
Clunk...

The massive wooden wheel began to turn slowly with a creaking sound.
The many buckets attached to the waterwheel scooped up the river water and carried it to the canal at a higher elevation.
The moment the water flowing through the canal poured vigorously into the water tank, it happened.

"Wooooooooh!!"

Someone shouted.
That was the signal for the villagers' cheers to explode.

"The water! The water is going up on its own!"
"Amazing! It's a god! No, it's Lord Kai!"
"Leon! You really did take responsibility!"
"Shut up! Even I can't believe it right now!"

Leon's shout was swallowed up by the villagers' cheers.
From that day on, life in Clearwater Village changed completely.
Freed from the heavy labor of fetching water, the villagers gained time to plow fields, repair houses, and play with their children.
The village square was filled with vitality.
Kai watched the scene with emotionless eyes, observing the next "inefficiency."

(...The water lifting has been automated. But the next bottleneck is food processing.)

Beyond his gaze, several women were drenched in sweat, manually grinding wheat with heavy stone mills.

"That's right."

Kai continued his explanation calmly. "We'll use the rotational force of a waterwheel to turn the millstone. This will increase flour production efficiency by at least tenfold."
"Tenfold... you say?"

Leon's eyes widened at that staggering number.

"But, you. A waterwheel rotates horizontally, right? A millstone has to rotate vertically. How are you going to do that?"
"I'll use gears."

Kai said, drawing circles and lines on the ground with a stick.

"I'll convert horizontal rotation into vertical rotation."
"Gears...? What are those? There's no way we can make something that complicated in this village!"
Leon roared.

The villagers also looked uneasy once again.
Kai, looking as if he had no choice, picked up two stones from his feet.

"This stone is the millstone."

Kai placed one stone on the ground and spun it around with his finger to show them.

"Horizontal rotation."
"O-oh."
"And this is the current waterwheel."

Kai placed the other stone on top of it.

"The top stone rotates vertically."

Kai spun the top stone while pressing down on it with his palm.

"The gear is what connects these two rotations."
"..."

Leon was left speechless by the explanation, which was so simple and so clear.

(...Damn it! Why!)

After an exchange that felt like a comedy routine, Leon eventually ended up fully cooperating with Kai's unconventional "flour-milling waterwheel" construction plan, despite holding his head in his hands.
The benefits brought by the water-lifting wheel were more than enough to silence the villagers' conservative objections.
The site was once again filled with excitement, right next to the water-lifting wheel.
However, the atmosphere was clearly different from before.

"--Wrong! Shave another 5 millimeters off that axle! It's outside the tolerance range!"
"Kai! Is this 'millimeter' of yours the thickness of a finger or the thickness of a fingernail? Which is it!"
"Neither! It's one-thousandth of a meter!"

"""How should we know!!"""

The villagers were completely frozen by Kai's instructions, which were far too inhuman.
Leon began to take charge of the chaotic scene with a shout.

--Shut up, Kai! Just keep staring at the blueprints and be quiet!

Leon shoved Kai's shoulder and turned to face the villagers.
Hey, you guys! Don't pay attention to what Kai says! Just shave the axle down one more layer to the thickness of this rope mark!
O-okay!

Leon was translating Kai's "space talk" into "real work" that the villagers could understand.
Kai silently "observed" Leon's rough but precise "command."

(...Rational. He is translating my commands into a local rule set they can understand. It is an optimal interface for a leader.)

Aria arrived at the scene where the serious work was continuing, carrying a leather bag filled with cold water and a basket of fruit.

Brother, Kai. Everyone, thank you for your hard work. Please, take a little break.
At her voice, the tense atmosphere of the worksite softened.

Oh, Aria! You're a lifesaver!

Leon wiped his sweaty face and took the leather bag.
After receiving some fruit from Aria, Kai reached for the wood for the gears, which was the next step, without even taking a break.
However, the perfect blueprints drawn by his brain and his body (muscles) were not synchronized at all.
Kai picked up a chisel with clumsy hands and tried to carve the grooves for the complex gears, but the blade slipped in the wrong direction.

...Tch.

It was such a dangerous and inefficient sight.
Leon couldn't bear to watch.

--Give it here, you blockhead!
Leon snatched the chisel from Kai's hand unceremoniously.

It's irritating just watching you! Your hands are only meant for drawing blueprints, aren't they!
But that task is...
Shut up! It's our job to bring your ridiculous blueprints into this world!

While grumbling, Leon carved out the complex gear grooves that Kai had been attempting to make with his own hands.
It wasn't a god-like feat performed by a master craftsman.
But it was a steady handiwork backed by solid experience from repairing village fences and helping with house repairs.
Kai silently "observed" Leon's handiwork.

(...Rational. At this moment, the "solution" derived from his empirical rules is faster and more accurate than my simulation. ...I need to incorporate this variable into my calculation formula.)

--Well, hehe.

Aria watched the two of them (who were now acting like a comedy duo) from a little distance away with amusement.
She giggled while folding laundry in the shade of a tree.

What's wrong, Brother? Kai? You two seem to be getting along very well.

Since when?!

The perfectly harmonized shout of denial from Kai and Leon echoed emptily through the peaceful afternoon in Clearwater Village.

The "first waterwheel" continues to spin vigorously, carrying life-giving water to the village.

Beside it, Leon holds his head in his hands before a complex blueprint drawn on the ground, while Kai continues to design without a care for him, and Aria watches the two of them with a gentle smile.

This strange trio, who were nonetheless deepening their bond, and the small village they were trying to change, were all enveloped by the endless blue sky.

Revised on 2025/12/28

To read the continuation/background

Click here for the link to the beginning of the story, Episode 1
👉　Episode 1: The Observer Wakes Up in the Forest
Click here for work information and summaries
👉　For first-time readers | Please start 'Re:write' from Episode 1

👉 Click here for a summary of the story of the novel 'Re:write' so far.

Click here for my self-introduction article.
It also includes summaries of each work and links to magazines.👇