I Reincarnated into the World of Otome Game with a Cheat Ability - Chapter 10

 The Sewage System

After school, Caro came over to Kent's classroom.

"Kent-san, let's walk home together."

"Sure, let's head out."

"Yay!"

With a bright smile, Caro wrapped her arms tightly around Kent's arm. Seeing this, his classmates looked on in absolute shock. Josette happened to catch sight of the scene as well and froze flat in her tracks.

Kent and Caro made their way down the hallway. Caro seemed to be in an exceptionally wonderful mood. Glancing out the window as they walked, Kent caught sight of Rachel and Gordon together in the school's backyard. Spurred by a vague curiosity, he found himself leading Caro out behind the school building. By the time Kent arrived on the scene, Gordon had Rachel pinned against the wall in a classic kabe-don stance, pressing in close.

(This is that exact scene from the game—where the Prince, Gordon, tries to kiss Rachel, only to be interrupted by the villainess and her lackeys...)

...It was at that exact moment that Kent noticed something deeply out of place. The specific lackey who was supposed to appear in this scene—the shorter one—was currently clinging tightly to his own arm. One of the key actors was already missing from the script.

"Are you interested in Rachel, Kent-san?" Caro whispered softly.

"No, it's not like that. I just happened to spot them from the hallway and got a little curious," Kent replied in an equally low whisper.

It was right around the time the interruption was supposed to happen, but...

"Kent-san, what in the world do you think you are doing here?"

Josette had materialized right next to them without a sound. The moment Josette appeared, the cheerful expression completely vanished from Caro's face, replaced by a slightly disgruntled pout.

"Uh... observing?"

With those words, Kent signaled with his eyes toward the spot they had been watching.

"Oh my, Rachel and Lord Gordon. I wonder... are they truly going to lock lips just like that?"

"Aren't you going to go stop them?" Kent asked, seeing that Josette had completely entered spectator mode and showed zero intention of moving.

"And why exactly should I be the one to interfere?"

Gordon pressed his weight against Rachel, leaning in to steal her lips. Their lips met and remained locked together for a noticeable stretch of time.

"My, my."

Hearing Josette's voice, Rachel panicked and violently shoved Gordon away. She whipped around to face Josette and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Wh-Why didn't you come stop us?!"

Leaving those words behind, Rachel bolted from the yard. Left entirely behind, Gordon stood frozen in a dumbfounded daze. Finally noticing Kent and the others, Gordon looked deeply embarrassed as he hastily beat a retreat from the area.

"Those two... they were r-really kissing, weren't they? Are you interested in that sort of thing too, Kent-san?" Caro asked, looking up at him.

"No, not particularly. Like I said, I really just happened to catch a glimpse from the hallway."

"Well then, I have matters to attend to after this, so I shall take my leave. Caro, see to it that you listen to Kent and remain a good girl."

"Yes. I will be a good girl."

Josette departed the scene, leaving Kent and Caro alone once more.

"Well then, Kent-san, shall we head home?"

"Yeah, let's go."

With that, the two walked back to their house in perfect harmony.

The two arrived back home. Since it was the bakery's regular day off, Kent didn't have a shift today. He had spent the morning working on the water supply facilities, so he decided to tackle the drainage and sewage system for the evening.

Up until now, the house's wastewater had simply drained straight into a nearby roadside ditch. However, now that they were actively using modern detergents and soaps, he needed to be mindful of the environmental impact. On top of that, the existing toilet was the drop-pit type—essentially just two wooden planks placed across a hole that you had to straddle to do your business. While Caro had managed to endure using it yesterday and today, Kent figured it must be a miserable experience for a former noblewoman. To be fair, he had no idea how nobles in this world actually handled their business... or if the game's setting had even bothered to think that far ahead.

Figuring it couldn't hurt to ask, he turned to Caro.

"Caro-san, how did your family handle the toilet situation back at your estate?"

"Eh? The... the toilet?"

Caught completely off guard by the sudden question, Caro's face flushed a deep crimson. Yeah, maybe this was a terrible question to ask a girl, Kent realized too late.

"Um... we used chamber pots. We would do our business in them, and once they were full, the maids would throw the contents out the window."

"Wait, what?"

"They would shout a warning like, 'I'm throwing it now!' and then the maid would hurl it out the window. On rare occasions, it would rain down right on top of someone working below, which caused an absolute uproar."

Kent was utterly speechless at the shocking historical reality. Shaking off the mental image, he began planning the drainage system layout.

First, he decided to install a combined home water treatment tank (jōkatsō) to fully purify the wastewater before letting it flow out into the public drainage channels. He hooked up all the internal drain pipes to it and replaced the primitive toilet with a proper Western-style porcelain unit, complete with a heated bento-style washlet seat. The total cost for the overhaul—installation fees fully included—came out to an even 1,000,000G. The remaining balance of the entrusted money sat at 2,300,000G.

"Alright, Caro-san, let me explain how to use everything."

With the supply and drainage systems officially completed, Kent gave Caro a thorough walkthrough of the newly modernized water facilities, bathroom, and toilet.

"Wow, this has become incredibly convenient. To think a completely empty house could transform like this... your magic is truly astounding, Kent-san!"

"It's definitely convenient, but I burned through a massive chunk of cash to make it happen... The money we got from Josette-san is down to about twenty percent of what we started with. I'm definitely going to have to work hard at my job starting tomorrow."

"Actually, Kent-san, I have a request. I would like to start working as well in between my studies. Do you happen to know of a good place?"

"You don't need to push yourself, Caro-san. If it's just supporting the two of us, I can manage it on my own, you know?"

"Eh?..."

Caro's face instantly flared bright red, and she began fidgeting nervously. Did I say something weird again? Kent wondered.

"B-But still, I cannot simply depend on your kindness forever, Kent-san! I want to work too."

"I see. Alright then. The bakery actually has a help-wanted sign out front, so I'll ask my boss about it tomorrow during my shift."

"Thank you so much!"

Kent set about preparing dinner. That said, it was just a matter of popping frozen meals into the microwave, so it took virtually no effort at all.

"Alright, let's eat."

"Yes!"

The two changed into their comfortable tracksuits and enjoyed their dinner.

"Well then, I'm going to go get the bath ready."

"Yes, please. Thank you."

Having finished his meal, Kent went to set up the bath. Since the water heater was now fully integrated, the tub filled up entirely automatically. There was no longer any need to gather firewood or kindle a flame; he simply pressed a single button and walked right back to the living room.

"That was incredibly fast, Kent-san."

"Well, you just have to press a single button now, and the water fills up all by itself."

"How wonderfully convenient..." Caro said, though her face was still a little flushed. "Um, I am going to go... pick some flowers for a moment."

"Have a good sh—I mean, yes, go right ahead!" Kent blurted out, narrowly catching himself from using his usual casual slang before hastily correcting his manners.

A short while later, Caro's voice echoed clearly from the restroom.

"Kya! Warm water from underneath... Ahh, that feels wonderful... I feel like this could become quite addictive."

When Caro returned from the restroom, she wore an expression of pure bliss. It was clear she had thoroughly enjoyed her first experience with a bidet washlet.

“The bath is now ready.”

An electronic voice suddenly chimed from the hallway, causing Caro to jump completely out of her skin.

"Don't worry, it's okay! That's just the automatic alert letting us know the bathtub is full."

"Is that what it is?..."

Curious, Caro padded over to the bathroom on light, quiet footsteps.

"Wow, amazing! There really is hot water filled right to the top!"

"You can go ahead and take your bath first, you know."

Caro padded back into the room, looking slightly hesitant.

"I am still not entirely sure how to operate everything properly... Kent-san, would you mind coming into the bath with me to teach me how?"

"Eh?..."

Faced with Caro's completely casual, sudden invitation, Kent stood frozen, utterly at a loss for how to respond.

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