Volume 1 Chapter 41 Let's Create a Path II
"Right, then. We just make it outta stone slabs, don't we?"
He thumped his hand down and muttered to himself.
"Wonder how we can do this with the least amount of effort..."
Cain mulled over, scribbled, and erased for about 30 minutes, piecing together a plan on parchment.
- Use Stone magic to mass-produce paving stones.
- Turn the path into "mud" with Mud magic. Make it about 10 cm deep.
- Dry the "mud" with Dry magic.
※Leave the Stone surface a bit rough, not too smooth. Don't let the stones stick together; space them out by about 1 cm.
"Yeah, something like that. But it's a big job to jump into, so I wanna test it out... Hey, let's try by the well. Gotta check with Randolph, and I'll need Gardy's help too, so I'll ask Randolph about that."
Cain, with the plan in hand, went off to find Randolph.
Randolph read through the plan he received from Cain and pondered it a moment.
"Understood. Please give it a go around the well tomorrow. Afterward, I'll discuss it with the master. If this works out, I estimate it'll take about 5 days to pave all the paths in the mansion, what do you think, Young Master Cain?"
"Figures, Randolph is amazing. Matches my estimate too. If we can get a few more hands, we might be able to cut the time. But we don't have any extra, do we?"
"Indeed, it's a bit hard to say, but we don't keep a surplus by policy."
"No worries, I'll keep working hard and getting better little by little."
"I look forward to it, Young Master Cain."
Randolph replied with a gentle smile and a bow.
* * *
The next day, Cain and Gardy stood in front of the well at the back of the mansion.
They were there to pave the area around the well as per the plan.
The well had a roof to keep the rain out.
The "pump" that the hero had spread was not here at this back well──it was the old-fashioned pulley type.
This time, they were paving from around the well to the path leading to the mansion's back entrance.
"First, let's mark out the area we're paving with lines."
Cain took a rod leaning against the back gate and drew a line with a scritch-scratch.
He then marked out another square a little further away.
"Alright, first I'll summon some stones here... *lots* of stones. *Huff* Huff* Is this enough for now?"
Cain began conjuring a massive pile of stones using magic.
The total was about 300 stones.
"Next, let's turn the area around the well into *mud*, then lay the stones in a pattern."
Cain gradually made the ground around the well muddy, then carefully arranged the stones alongside Gardy.
"Mud" was spread, stones placed.
Step by step, mud and stones──Cain methodically set the pattern.
When he finished with a quick spray of "dry," about a quarter of the work was done before lunch.
"Some spots aren't perfectly lined up, but overall, it's okay, right? Gardy, what do you think?"
"So this is how cobblestone paths are made. That definitely keeps water from pooling even if the ground gets soaked, and the water seeps into the soil through the gaps──good thinking."
Though, they'll need more hands if they want to finish in a day. They should consider a smarter method or come up with a more efficient plan, especially for the pathway in front of the mansion.
'Yeah, Gardy's skills are seriously top-notch. I'm glad we got to work together on this.'
"Yeah. Let's ask Randolph for his input, too. Gardy, you'll join us when the time comes."
Cain said with a warm smile, directly to Gardy.
"Huh? Y-Yes, of course."
Cain and Gardy managed to complete the cobblestone work around the well by dinnertime.
Watching this, Luke and Randolph exchanged quiet words, then discreetly told the two to come to the office tomorrow morning.
"Did the presentation go okay?"
Cain muttered to himself as he watched Luke and Randolph leave.
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