Chapter 347 - 297: Black Mud Experiment

"Are you sure this will work?" Evita leaned over, a questioning look on her face as she watched Shire pour water into the Black Mud.

"Don't worry, I've got experience. I've seen this done before," Shire said as he poured, telling Evita not to just stand there. "Grab a shovel and stir the Black Mud. You should know, every man from Tokyo University has a civil engineering dream."

"A civil engineering dream? What's that?" Evita pursed her lips, but she picked up a shovel and began mixing the Black Mud with the water.

"It's just something awesome," Shire said with a wave of his hand, not bothering to explain further. He was using a 1:0.5 ratio of Black Mud to water, an experimental mix based on methods from his past life. Although the Frogman Race Leader had said they could just add gravel directly to the mud and let it harden, Shire figured it was worth trying to add water if they were only using it as a binder.

He had also asked Mary to buy plenty of sand and bricks. If the Black Mud experiment was a success, they could immediately start building a fireplace.

Shire had considered building a *kang*, a type of heated bed-platform, but he wasn't entirely familiar with its construction. Besides, a raised platform would be inconvenient for the Centaurs. A fireplace, on the other hand, would be perfect for them to lie beside for warmth.

"Is this 'fireplace' thing really as convenient as you say?" Evita asked without looking up, vigorously stirring the Black Mud.

"Absolutely. We can build the opening a little higher, and you'll even be able to boil water on top of it. It'll be incredibly convenient in the winter," Shire said, smiling as he looked at the design plans in his hand. "The whole Centaur Race will be able to gather around the fireplace, drinking hot tea and chatting. It'll be so comfortable."

The Centaurs were a race that deeply valued family. The grass huts they used to live in typically had a fire pit in the center. During cold weather, a family would gather around the fire for warmth. However, since the huts weren't very windproof, embers would sometimes get blown onto the grass walls, igniting the entire structure.

Now that Shire had taken the initiative to build wooden houses for the Centaur Race, their initial skepticism toward the new Goblin Leader had quickly transformed into unconditional trust. After all, who wouldn't want to live in a better home?

But the habit of keeping a fire pit in the middle of the room persisted. Unlike the drafty grass huts, the wooden houses were much better sealed, which also made carbon monoxide poisoning a greater risk.

Thus, as soon as Shire discovered the Frogmen could produce Black Mud, his first thought was to add fireplaces to the Centaur Race's wooden houses. This would effectively mitigate the risk of poisoning.

However, when he showed the plans for the new stove to Evita, the young Centaur was completely baffled. She couldn't make heads or tails of Shire's design, even asking, "Is this tall thing meant for building a bird's nest?"

After Shire's explanation, Evita dubiously claimed to understand. They conferred and decided to build a test fireplace for Ocorre's family first. They were already building a wooden house for him, and his wife was pregnant and due to give birth soon. A warm fireplace would be good for both mother and child.

"That's about right," Shire said, nodding at the thinned Black Mud. "Next, we add the sand and then get ready to lay bricks."

He had specifically assigned this task to One-Eyed and the goblin engineering team to get them familiar with using Black Mud and building with bricks. Once they had built fireplaces for all the Centaurs, they should be skilled enough to work on the construction of the City of Ten Thousand Races.

"So, what do you think? Do you get it?" Shire asked, turning to One-Eyed, who was scrutinizing the fireplace design beside him.

"Yeah, I can read it," One-Eyed said, glancing at the plans. He then squatted down and began to sketch in the dirt with a thin twig.

As Shire watched, his eyes grew wider and wider. One-Eyed was actually sketching a perspective diagram, even marking out the various planes of the fireplace. "When… when did you get so good at drafting?"

"Drafting?" One-Eyed looked up at his leader, scratching the side of his forehead with the twig in embarrassment. "Back when you had me carve that wooden board, I just… sort of figured out that drawing things this way makes them clearer."

"That wooden board? You mean the map in my room, right?" Shire said. He hadn't expected one of his subordinates to progress from scratching fine lines on a board to woodblock carving and then to architectural design. He could only conclude that if a goblin did enough civil engineering work, he'd eventually get the hang of it.

"This thing won't be hard to build," One-Eyed said with a confident nod, tossing the twig aside after he finished his drawing. "It's just like you said, Leader. I just need to get used to handling… what was it, the mud and sand mixture."

"Alright, get started then. Just treat this as an experiment, but be extremely careful. Prioritize your safety, and the safety of the fireplace itself," Shire said, stepping aside as he reiterated the point for emphasis.

"Got it." One-Eyed nodded solemnly. When the Leader had approached him earlier, he'd mentioned he had an important mission for him. A mission of the highest importance, one that concerned the entire race's development. If he succeeded, it would determine their future in the forest.

One-Eyed had wanted to refuse at the time. He didn't have the combat prowess of Red Eyes or Broken Tooth. Frankly, Red Eyes could easily take on a dozen goblins like him. So, when he heard "inspiring" words like "determine the future of our race," his first instinct was to shy away.