I Build a Modern Shelter in Fantasy World

Realizing Gideon's strength was far greater than they had imagined, and with the baron's guards surrounding them, the bandits couldn't fight back.

All of them instinctively raised their hands when Gideon still pointed his pistol forward. Gideon nodded seriously.

"Drop your weapons and kneel."

The bandits obeyed. One by one, they dropped their weapons until none of them held anything. Gideon locked the pistol's safety and holstered it again.

"Escort them back to Dergon. I'll ask Jaques for an explanation about this," Gideon ordered.

Lucas nodded in obedience. He commanded some of his soldiers to get ready. Several were assigned to guard the bandits, as Gideon had instructed.

The bandits had no choice. It was better to surrender than to be shot dead like their comrades.

Once they were lined up neatly, Gideon continued his journey to Dergon. According to Lucas, it would only take twenty minutes to get there.

What Lucas said was true. They arrived in the village of Dergon and met some of the villagers. The village was in chaos, with little activity. The people had no meaningful work.

Shops stood closed, unable to sell anything because of the food crisis. Farmers did not go to the fields because the soil had long since become infertile. Even if they forced themselves to plant something, the harvest would be poor and rot quickly.

Gideon rode his horse slowly, with Lucas still beside him. Both remained mounted.

Other soldiers arrived, bringing the surrendered bandits. Villagers gathered, shocked to see their fathers or sons captured by the baron's guards.

"W-What happened?" asked a middle-aged woman with a pale face and thin body as she walked closer to the captured bandits.

"Those bandits tried to kill Gideon. By law, they must stand trial," Lucas replied.

Gideon stayed silent. They had committed crimes, and it was only right that they be punished according to the law.

He stopped his horse when Lucas said they had arrived at the house of Jacques, the chief of Dergon. Some men went in to call Jacques, but only Nath came out.

Gideon dismounted and walked toward Nath, standing tall before him. Nath bowed his head, welcoming Gideon.

"Sorry, my father can't see you. His condition keeps getting worse," Nath said.

"I understand," Gideon replied.

He shifted his gaze, carefully observing the place and the villagers. The atmosphere was gloomy, silence filled the area, broken only by faint sounds of insects, trees, or hushed conversations.

"I didn't expect the situation to be this bad," Gideon said.

"There's nothing we can do. Without water, life won't last long," Nath replied, watching his village as well.

As Gideon stood on the main road, a carriage appeared from the southern gate. Gideon squinted. It wasn't the baron's carriage.

He and the soldiers moved aside, letting it pass. Everyone's attention turned toward it, including Nath. They knew where it was headed.

"That's Hector's trading wagon," Nath said.

"If it came from the south, then Hector must be sending goods to the city," Nath added.

"There's only one road in and out of the village?" Gideon asked. Nath nodded.

The southern gate was the only way in or out of Dergon. There had been a plan to open a new route eastward, connecting to Rockvalley, but Nozel had rejected the idea without giving a clear reason.

Gideon would deal with distribution later. There was a far more pressing issue. He asked Nath to take him around the village, and Nath agreed.

He ordered Lucas and the others to rest while still keeping watch over the bandits. Lucas nodded, dismounted, and walked toward the nearby settlement.

Nath began leading Gideon. Since Gideon was already in Dergon, Nath would show him how badly pollution had ruined their farmland.

They climbed a hill and entered the forest. There, Gideon stopped, looking at the farmland soil—dry, crumbly, and gray, with a stinging odor in the air.

The farmland was large, and much of it was contaminated. Farmers could still plant some crops in plots further away from the polluted soil, but the harvests weren't satisfying, though still edible.

"We no longer use river water to irrigate. We've switched to wells, but the water there is slowly becoming polluted too," Nath explained.

"By our estimates, the farmland will only last a few more weeks, two weeks at most, with a single harvest," Nath added.

"If you don't solve this soon, we might have to leave Dergon and evacuate."

Gideon understood. He had already made a deal with Hector, one point being that Hector had to build a separate waste reservoir. Hector was also forbidden from dumping factory waste into the river to minimize further pollution.

He asked Nath to take him to the river to check its condition firsthand. Nath agreed, of course.

They descended from the hill and walked along the main road. There was a large river that had flowed through Dergon for years. People had always relied on it for their daily activities.

But ever since it became polluted, they could no longer use it, fearing the contamination would endanger their lives. In the end, they had no access to clean water.

At the riverbank, Gideon narrowed his eyes. The water had turned black, reeking with foam forming along the edges. Only a sane person would refuse to use this water.

"This river used to be clean, clear, and beautiful. We could even see the riverbed easily," Nath said.

"Since Hector's factory was built, the river slowly turned dirty and polluted. We can't use it at all now."

Gideon crouched, scooped some river water with his hand, sniffed it closely, and checked its temperature.

"This can't be used," Gideon said.

"Of course. We know that better than you," Nath replied.

At last, Gideon had reached a firm conclusion: the pollution and environmental damage came from the river being contaminated by the factory's waste. That day's observation was enough. He would form a team to begin filtering the river water.

He could only hope the villagers could hold out until his team arrived.

"I'll keep sending food supplies until my team gets here. You can rely on that for now," Gideon said.

"When exactly will your team arrive?" Nath asked.

"As soon as possible."