23 Erwin's Decision

-" Another person?" Mathew was puzzled about how a young and inexperienced stonemason had created cement in this world and was sure that the boy had received help from someone.

-" Yes... I had a friend back in my hometown village." Erwin gazed at the ground as he thought back to his younger days. "Her father was the village physician, but he seemed to be quite interested in alchemy, and he taught her much that he knew."

-" A physician?" Matthew felt like he'd struck gold; not only was he close to getting cement, but he could also get a physician and an architect in one fell swoop. " Then, the profits of the products will be divided into three parts, 30% for each of us, and of course, you will be its public face."

-" Public face?" Erwin was confused about what that meant.

"Well, this material is bound to garner a lot of attention, and you will be the one to represent us." Mathew knew that this was a good opportunity not only for the village, but, for him to amass wealth too, but, he wasn't interested in fame. " Your friend can share the spotlight too if she wants it of course."

Ronald looked at Mathew with interest, he didn't seem interested in fame or glory, not from the product at least. -" You spoke of funds, but, do you already have a plan on how to commercialize the material?"

-" That shouldn't matter right now, our focus should be on perfecting the formula first." Mathew knew that it would take some time for the formula to be ready, and even longer for the production to start, so there was no use to pay attention to this now. " Now... how did you make this cement?"

-" Every few months or so my hometown is completely covered in ashes from a nearby volcano, and most of the time we only used those ashes in the earth to help the soil quality, but, I and my friend noticed that the ashes that fell on a nearby river generally hardened and formed some rocks on the river's bed."

-" Volcanic's ashes?" Mathew's eyes widened in surprise as his mind finally cleared up." It's Roman Cement!

-" Roman... Cement?" Ronald repeated Mathew's words in astonishment." Is this the name of the ancient civilization that you spoke of?"

"Yes, they built many things with this material, including grand palaces, arenas, and massive walls, as well as entire cities." Mathew's hand trembled in excitement, since coming to this world, he always thought that his life would be easier if he was an engineer or some other profession, but, only now he realized that his degree in history wouldn't be so useless. " Can you show me this cement powder? How did you make it?"

-" We just mixed some of the volcanic ashes with the mud from the river shores." Erwin quickly opened his pouch and retrieved a handful of the powder. " But, unfortunately, it isn't as resistant as the rocks on the bottom of the river."

-" Mud and Volcanic ashes..." Mathew thought back to his world trying his best to remember the components that made up cement. " If I'm not wrong there is metallic powder in there too, but, what type of metal? Iron?" Mathew murmured to himself.

-" Metallic Powder? Like crushed Iron or Silver?" Ronald felt curious as to why someone would put such a thing inside a binder. " Why would someone put that on a binder?"

"I'm not certain..." Matthew was almost in a panic because he couldn't recall any other components and was only thinking about his past lives. " Oh, That's Right! Chalk is Limestone, and Limestone is used in cement!"

-" Limestone? Are you sure?" Ronald was astonished as the materials that Mathew had mentioned were all uncommon in binders.

-" Yes... I'm sure of it." Matthew's mind worked hard, trying to remember everything he knew about cement. "Volcanic Ashe, Limestone, and Silica."

-" Silica?" Erwin commented as he never heard about this material before. " And isn't Limestone pretty rare? How we are going to get it?"

-" It's true... Limestone is almost worth its weight in gold as it is also used in many types of inks." Ronald felt as if this was all for naught, as they came to a sudden stalemate.

-" Is limestone so precious?" Matthew let out a loud laugh; he had only taught history for a year before moving on to work for the prefecture, but during that year he had used a brand of chalk that advertised their products as being made from crushed crustacean shells. ' I have some other way to get Limestone, don't worry." Mathew grabbed a pitch of the gray powder and looked at it. " Why don't we go test it?"

The three of them quickly rushed outside and began experimenting with the powder, they used the sand that surrounded the courtyard pond and tried to fix one stone into the walls.

Mathew felt his heart race as he put pressure on the stone, without counting the day that he came to this world, this was the most anxiety he felt. He waited around four minutes for the concrete to settle and shouted in amazement as the brick remained in place.

-" It worked! It worked!" Mathew's eyes shone brightly as he observed the stone completely bonded on the wall, and he couldn't help but reminisce about the skyline filled with buildings from his previous world.

-" While it can bind very well, it doesn't have much use in this form." Ronald sighed, and grabbed the stone, which easily broke off from the wall. " We tried using it, with a catastrophic ending."

-" Catastrophic endings?" Mathew jolted back to reality as he saw how easily the cement cracked and calmed down.

-" We tried to build a small manor with this...." Erwin's eyes were clouded with sadness as he remembered the first time Ronald tried to use the powder. " But, the whole building came down as the binder didn't show much strength."

-" This caused quite the blow to our guild's reputation, as the owner of the manor accused us of trying to use a low-quality mortar to save money." Ronald had a pensive look as he gazed at the stone. " Are you sure that this can be used?"

-' Yes... After perfecting its formula we will be able to build things beyond your imagination." Mathew was sure that this was a turning point in the architecture of this world, and they would be at the forefront of it. " Buildings that extend to the sky, or bridges so large that it can crosses canyons. It will all be possible thanks to this."

Ronald took a deep breath and threw the stone to Erwin, this was a big bet, but, one he was willing to partake in, as it was quite important for his disciple. -" Let's keep our agreement in secret, Jack would be delighted to get rid of Erwin, but even so, it's better for this to remain between us for now."

-" Of course, the news can only come out after we finish all the preparations." Mathew was still shocked, he had thought of getting cement for quite some time, yet, he never expected it to fall on his lap just like that. " It will be a pleasure to work with you, if you are interested, I can even arrange a position in the prefecture for you."

-" A position? Erwin was taken aback by Mathew's offer, never expecting to have such a thing offered to him. " But, what i would do?"

-" Aren't you a stonemason? And seeing that you are the disciple of the vice leader of the guild, you sure must have some skills." Mathew smiled, as he offered a handshake to the boy. " We have plenty of work for someone like you here."

Ronald couldn't help but laugh, it looked like Mathew was going to get everything he wanted. -" His skill is a bit rough, yet, he is competent." Ronald tried his best to contain his emotion, as it looked that sooner than later he would part ways with his dear disciple. " Erwin, take this chance, this is an opportunity of a lifetime."

-" But... can I really handle this much work, I didn't even direct my first construction, how can I be responsible for all the buildings of the village?" Erwin felt apprehensive, as the failure caused by the usage of his powder still was fresh in his mind.

-" Only those who take risks are worth enough to be called true experts. while it's early for you to go on your own, you need to start somewhere." Ronald patted the boy's head and tried to soothe him. " If you ever find work difficult, you can call me and I will rush to help you."

Erwin bit his lips, and after some thought, accepted Mathew's handshake. -" I will be in your care for now." He felt a strange mixture of fear and joy, he always had dreamed of climbing the ladder of success and expected that this would be the first step. " Master... I'm sorry for leaving you so early."

- "Hahahaha, you talk like you are abandoning me or something." Ronald knocked Erwin's head and continued to speak, this time with his eyes tearing up. " You will become a great man, Erwin... And I will proudly say that you are my disciple."

Mathew watched the Master and Disciple talk with a grin, in his head, a devious plan to get another helpful worker was already on its way. -" Why don't we have a few drinks? This is something that we should celebrate!" Mathew dragged the two of them inside the prefecture building and quickly filled a few cups of wine. " For our future!"

Ronald found it curious that Mathew included him on his toast, and he could already tell that he wanted to drag him to his plan too, and frankly speaking, Ronald felt quite tempted, but, this wasn't such an easy decision, as he had spent his whole life in Maplehill City. " For our future!"

Erwin lifted the cup, and looked toward Mathew and Ronald in amazement, the two of them were the first people to see and bet on his talent. " For our future!" Erwin drank the cup in one go and promised himself that he wouldn't waste the goodwill and trust of the two men.