The Greatest Architect

Cement.

A mixture used to build buildings.

Material used as an essential material for construction.

“Cementum in Latin means shattered stone. ”

“Latin……. ”

“Well, there is such a language. ”

“Is this an ancient language? ”

“That's right."

Lloyd nods.

You stare at Xaviel, stirring his paddle.

“Anyway, I'm going to make that cement. This time around, you wouldn't be able to eat or die without it. ”

“So you're not borrowing the power of magic. ”

“Of course. Do you have to go bankrupt for a construction? ”

Lloyd throws a punch.

His cries were true.

A wizard is a precious body.

Of course, it is extremely expensive.

Especially a wizard capable of wizarding out such powerful physical effects that it can influence a large scale construction?

‘More expensive. If you rob the entire territory, you won't be able to bring them here. At that level, you'd already be at the head of the royal wizard in one country. ’

So it is absurd to mobilize wizards for construction.

No, I didn't even think about it.

Lloyd continued.

“I don't need magic. I've been surveying, and fortunately, the technique I had in mind seems to fit. ”

“Friction pegs or something...? ”

“Huh."

You nod.

Like he said, there seems to be a lot of friction here.

Below sea level.

It was especially so because of the deep layers of shale.

‘Canal Grande, Venice. like the base of all those buildings that were built around the Grand Canal. ’

Lloyd suddenly remembered the basics of the Venetian buildings he encountered while working as a club.

Venice on the water.

The conditions of the surface there were similar to here.

Thick pearls and mud cover the sea floor.

The gritty layer was much deeper than that.

The chaotic building foundation was hard to reach.

In such a situation, the Venetians exercised wisdom.

‘I put tens, hundreds, thousands of long pegs in the bottom. Once the stake was firmly secured in the mud, I built a foundation on top of it. ’

What about the stake?

Hundreds of years later, the structure has remained intact.

That was the traditional friction peg.

‘Of course, that technique has been applied and is still being used in the modern world. ’

The fundamental principle has hardly changed.

The wooden pegs were replaced with larger, sturdier concrete columns or H beams.

Lloyd's plan was to incorporate another modern technique into friction pegging.

“I'm going to mix friction pegs and the box-casen way. It's deeper than Venice. The pearls and mud layer are thick and light, so it's perfect for Casey to settle down to his own weight. ”

“ ……. ”

“You don't know what I mean? ”

“Yes.”

“Well, anyway, it means you have to make cement to use the Casey technique properly. Come on, let's go. ”

The boat suddenly touched the pier.

The two of them came up to the pier.

But you're welcome here.) there were people.

“Hello?”

Soft voice.

A warm smile that makes me happy.

Even the slightly red face of shame.

Anyone could see that there was a mysterious woman on the pier with a beautiful voice.

You look this way and greet him with a welcoming and shy face.

“Hmm?"

Lloyd tilts his head.

She was an unforgettable, unattractive woman.

But it was not suspicious to be dressed.

She was wearing a magnificent dress.

I was not dressed for such a gruesome pier.

Moreover, the faces of the people next to her were added.

There were five knights in silver decorative armor escorting her.

“Excuse me, who are you? ”

No matter how much you look at it, you are never ordinary.

Lloyd asked carefully.

But the answer didn't come back this way.

The woman's soft eyes were not on this side, but on Xaviel.

“I'm ashamed to say, but I've been waiting quite a while, Lord Asran. ”

“Me? ”

“Yes. And this... please accept it. ”

The woman lowers her head, her cheeks red.

I suddenly reached out with something in my hands.

“It's in my heart. ”

“ ……. ”

Lloyd was able to see clearly.

It was a letter in a pink envelope.

Even the envelope had the name "Christine Cremo" written on it in pretty handwriting.

‘Wait. Christine Cremo…… Earl Cremo's only daughter? ’

The infant just came by and gave a letter to Xaviel?

Lloyd felt ridiculous.

Meanwhile, Xaviel…….

“Thank you, Lady. ”

I received a letter casually.

I skillfully packed the letter in my arms.

Somehow I'm not used to it once or twice.

His face became more red.

I swerved away to make sure I didn't overcome the shame.

I often ran away to the other side of the pier.

The knights escorting her panicked and ran after her.

Thanks to you, Lloyd and Xaviel are the only two left on the pier.

Whew, the sea breeze is rising.

“Hey.”

The one who broke the long silence was Lloyd.

“What the hell is going on here? ”

“I think I got the letter. ”

“I know that. Why did you get the letter? ”

“It's probably because of what happened at the Earl's mansion yesterday. ”

“Yesterday? Out of the mansion? ”

“Yes.”

“What happened back then? ”

Lloyd tilts his head.

Nothing happened yesterday.

I just met the Earl, proposed a new technique, and won a construction order.

He then handed over the second-hand treasure to the butler.

You feel the condition of the treasure and get plenty of Doubloons.

That was it.

That's the version of yesterday's memory that Lloyd had.).

However, the version Javier answered was slightly different.

“I came out of the mansion with gold coins from the butler. Then……. ”

“Back then?”

“That woman who was strolling in the garden happened to be looking at us. At that moment, my eyes met for a moment. ”

“So?”

“That's it. ”

“…… wait a minute. My eyes met for a moment, and that was it, but the next day, the Earl, the one who handed you a letter with red face, do you really feel normal? ”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

Xaviel turns around and tilts his head.

It's like, "Why are you making such a fuss over something so natural?"

That's what he said, too.

“My eyes met mine. ”

“ ……. ”

“Has Lloyd never done that? ”

“Hehe.”

“The confession letter I've received so far... Let's see. ”

“Don't count. ”

“Forty… sixty… hundred… one fifty… hmm…. ”

“Don't count. ”

“That's roughly 537, if you add up what you just got. ”

“ ……. ”

This is why I hate handsome people.

I am seriously annoyed.

"You dirty, dirty johnzalers. ’

Lloyd snorts and exhales.

“Never mind. Let's finish what we were talking about. ”

“What did he say? ”

“Cement.”

Lloyd says as he turns to walk towards the inn.

“I'm going back to the inn like this. So you go to the Earl's butler. ”

“What can I do?" ”

“Send limestone, sand and volcanic ash 10 kilograms each to the inn. Oh, don't forget to ask me to introduce you to a forge that you can borrow from the workshop. ”

“Very well. Is that all you want me to do? ”

“No, there's more. ”

“What you are.”

“On your way, close your eyes, cover your face and walk. ”

“Yes?”

“Sweetheart, don't go around with women, man. ”

“Are you jealous of me? ”

“What?"

“As far as I can tell, I think Lloyd is secretly jealous of me. ”

“Haha, that's ridiculous. No way."

Lloyd shrugs casually.

“The ones I think are the most pathetic are the ones who come at women in the street? ”

“What do you mean,"

“There is such a thing. Someone at the university talked to a woman about asking for directions. And she was like," That guy's got a boyfriend. ’This is how he ran away at the speed of light. I wonder how embarrassed he was. From the point of view, it was really funny, but to be honest, the parties were so shameless and useless, they couldn't sleep well, they couldn't really sleep every night, even if they walked on their sheets... Damn... ”

“…… You were talking about yourself, Lloyd. ”

“Whew, if you know, just go. ”

“Cheer up.”

“Shut up. Get lost. ”

“... I'll be back. ”

That's how I sent Xaviel to the Earl's mansion.

In the evening, the goods requested from the butler arrived at the inn.

Unfortunately, the volcanic ash did not come.

It was with a message that it was difficult to get.

“Phew.”

Lloyd had a taste for sorrow.

Volcanic ash.

The most important ingredient did not come.

‘That should be enough to make Greek or Roman cement. ’

It was a shame.

Simply because he likes Roman civil engineering?

It wasn't.

There were clear advantages to Roman cement.

‘Cause he's probably the strongest cement I can make right now. ’

In fact, cement history is very deep.

Almost 5,000 years of history.

By the time his grandfather built the high altitude, primitive cement had already been used for pyramid construction in Egypt.

Specifically, the strongest and most reliable cement belonged to Greece and Rome.

"Pozolan lime and sand, mixed with volcanic ash and mixed with seawater. ’

The cement that made it so was really strong.

To some extent, it was strong enough that the cement shield that was made at that time remained strong to this day, 2,000 years later.

The secret was in the volcanic ash.

"thanks to the recessive rock in the volcanic ash. It secures minerals between the golden ash and the mortar and prevents cracks from spreading in the structure. ’

So I wanted to use Roman cement for the construction if possible.

To do that, I asked for volcanic ash.

But the volcanic ash did not come.

‘Course, it's not like there's a volcano nearby, and no one would ever think about blowing it up and stockpiling it. Then we'll have to make Portland cement. That might be harder. ’

Portland Cement, the beginning of modern cement.

Lloyd knew exactly how to make it.

‘Crush and dry limestone and clay, quartz and iron oxide. You mix it with water, you filter it, you mix it with coal powder, you cool it, you mix it with gypsum and you crush it. ’

The process is known.

I felt like I had to experiment and repeat it many times.

Since then.

Lloyd hung on making cement over the course of several days.

You grind and mix the materials supported by the Earl.

It was baked in a forge and dried in the winter sea breeze.

Grinding, mixing, and pouring water.

However, the desired cement was rarely created.

‘No. It keeps crumbling.’

Incorrect mixing ratio of ingredients.

Or was there a defect in the baking and cooling drying process.

The plausible cement did not do its job.

When you mix water and sand, it looks good.

However, in the process of drying, my body cracked.

‘I can't proceed with this construction. ’

Ten days passed, the full moon passed.

Over time, I became more and more restless.

‘I wish I could get some volcanic ash. You don't have to worry about that. ’

If only there was enough volcanic ash.

The ratio of lime and sand would have been all that needed to be tested.

It would have been much more comfortable making cement, experimenting and obtaining satisfactory results early on.

That was too bad.

Later, I even thought about going out for a volcanic ash myself.

‘But... well, no. There's no place to get volcanic ash, and the cost of carrying it would be too inefficient. It's gonna take a lot of time. ’

I just thought it was practically impossible.

‘In the end, we have no choice but to continue this experiment. ’

You will succeed if you try and challenge again.

Until then, we must not stop.

That's how Lloyd decided.

I even went to sleep at night and hung on to the experiment.

However, the results were rarely seen.

Even if my eyes turned red.

Later, I burst into nosebleeds.

Bloop.

“… huh? ”

In the dark corner of the forge, Lloyd gritted his hands as he felt dull under the interstellar nose.

I grabbed him under my nose unconsciously.

A nose full of fingers.

“Oh, come on. ”

I pressed my nose against it with my sleeve.

So I smiled bitterly.

Suddenly, it was because the past came to mind.

‘It's like when I was in Korea. ’

I used to spill my nose seven times a week.

Nevertheless, it was a day that fueled the will of every day.

It's gonna be a little better tomorrow if we hang in there.

If we make it through tomorrow, it'll be better next month.

Someday I'll be able to live like everyone else.

to have a prosperous job, to earn a steady income, to get married, to have a warm family.

It was a time when I believed and struggled to survive.

It was thanks to the memories of that day.

‘Let's do more. ’

Let's not give up.

Let's not back off so easily.

Lloyd insisted on doing so and took back a seat.

It was then.

A clue to an unexpected solution came to him.