Chapter 10: Results

“So this is the legendary cement?”

Viru leaned in, pinched a small pinch of the gray powder between his fingers, and rubbed it—feeling its residual warmth.

“Marquis, is this stuff really as amazing as you claim?”

“Of course.”

Owen replied with a confident smile. He had great faith in the scientific capabilities of Winston’s world.

To win Viru over, he first had the laborers haul in three large chunks of rough stone from the quarry. Then he instructed the workers to mix the cement with river sand in the correct proportions to make cement mortar.

The mortar was grey and flowed like melted wax.

The stones soon arrived, and Owen led Viru and Mapel outside the cement workshop. Pointing to the stones, he asked Viru to try using the mortar to bind them together.

Since this was an order from the marquis, Viru had no choice but to comply. He picked up the cement mortar and went to work.

He poured a layer of mortar onto the largest stone, placed a second stone on top, added more mortar, and capped it with the third stone.

Once finished, he looked skeptically at Owen.

“My lord, this stuff feels just like wet mud. Even when it dries, I bet it’ll just break apart with a knock.”

“Once it’s dry, I promise you’ll change your mind.”

According to Winston, cement needed about eight hours to set.

So Owen instructed Viru to return to the north wall to continue overseeing the repairs. By sunset, they could come back and check the cement’s performance.

In the meantime, Owen planned to continue firing more cement—he still had plenty of magic power left.

However, he needed to do something about the environment. The firing room was simply too hot!

After thinking for a bit, Owen decided to return to the castle and change clothes. His mage’s robe was soaked and clingy—unbearably uncomfortable.

Back at the castle, he changed into a more breathable outfit and threw on a sky-blue Frost Cloak.

This high-end cloak was lined with Frost Magic Stones. While the stones weren’t top-tier, they effectively blocked external heat, making it a favourite summer item among nobles and merchants.

Naturally, Winston immediately reserved the frost stones for the next dimensional transfer—and asked Owen to keep sending different types of magic stones for research.

Owen agreed. If Winston could discover new uses for magic stones, it would benefit this world as well.

The first batch of cement had already been ground by the stonemasons and stored in sacks. Soon after, the second batch of slurry was sent into the kiln.

With experience from the first round, Owen’s subsequent firings became smoother and more efficient. He gradually mastered the optimal magical output, reducing his mana consumption each time.

After firing four more batches, and sensing that his mana reserves weren’t enough for another full round, Owen decided to stop.

If his early firings had used as little magic as the last one, he could have done six batches in total.

Given how primitive the technology was, the ability to produce this much cement was astonishing. Winston was genuinely impressed and exclaimed:

“In this world, magic is truly the ultimate productive force!”

Before he knew it, the sun had begun to set. Owen stepped out of the kiln room and dusted himself off.

Thanks to the Frost Cloak, he wasn’t drenched in sweat. In fact, he felt cool and refreshed—it had clearly been the right choice.

He removed the cloth from his mouth and nose and turned to a nearby worker.

“We’ll stop here for today. Once the kiln cools down, go inside and store the last batch of clinker.”

“Yes, Marquis!”

Mapel stepped forward from behind, placed a hand on her chest in salute, and said respectfully,

“Lord Owen, you’ve worked hard today.”

“As long as it’s for Bianshu Town, nothing feels like hard work.” 

Owen replied.

On the other side, Viru had just finished his work at the northern wall and hurried over to the cement workshop.

It was time to verify the results of the cement test. Owen walked outside and saw that the cement had already set. Its surface was uneven, with some frosty white patches, and the three large stones appeared to be tightly bonded together.

“Marquis, allow me to test it for you.”

With a scornful look, Viru crouched down and tried to pull apart the two upper stones—but no matter how hard he tried, they wouldn’t budge. Frustrated, he stood up and kicked them repeatedly, but the stones stayed firmly in place, completely unmoved.

This result was nothing like he had expected. Viru’s smug expression vanished.

He crouched again, pressed on the cement with his fingers, scraped at it with his nails, and finally borrowed a metal shovel from a worker and struck it with force.

Looking at the tiny chips he’d managed to knock off the surface, Viru gave up.

He rushed over to Owen, face full of shock, and exclaimed with excitement,

“Marquis! You are truly incredible!!”

Huh? Owen froze for a moment, surprised by Viru’s over-the-top reaction.

But he quickly understood. He himself had been amazed when he first learned about cement. Since he had already gone through the surprise, he was naturally calmer now.

And as a stonemason, Viru probably understood even better just how revolutionary cement really was.

“Cement is the ultimate material we stonemasons have dreamed of. With it, structures that used to take years to build could now be completed in a few months—or even less!”

Viru was practically dancing with excitement as he explained to Owen.

“Viru, mind your manners.” 

Mapel reminded him.

Realizing his rudeness, Viru quickly apologized,

“I’m terribly sorry, Marquis. I got carried away with excitement.”

“No need to worry.” 

Owen said—he didn’t mind.

“Marquis, this cement you’ve invented is truly incredible. In the future, you will be praised by all of us stonemasons.”

This wasn’t entirely Owen’s accomplishment, and he felt a little awkward accepting all the credit.

“That’s a bit much. And it’s not entirely my doing—the cement formula came from an old book I happened to read.”

Owen couldn’t reveal Winston’s existence, so he used the excuse of a mysterious ancient book.

“An old book?” 

Viru rubbed his chin, puzzled. 

“If it was written in a book, that means people in the past invented cement. So why does no one know how to make it today?”

Owen cursed inwardly. He had chosen an unreliable explanation, and it didn’t line up with the facts.

Thinking fast, he said,

“Well, the formula in the book had major flaws. It was only after I made improvements that it became the cement you just saw.”

“Ah, I see.” 

Viru nodded in realization. 

“Then your achievement still deserves our praise, Marquis.”

【Shameless! In the end, you still took credit for the cement.】

Winston teased.

【Why not? I am the first person in this world to actually make it.】

Owen replied.

Finally, Owen asked Viru,

“So? Now that we have cement, can the two breaches in the northern wall be repaired before winter arrives?”

This time, Viru patted his chest confidently, his face full of determination.

“As you wish, my lord.”

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