Ascendance of a Bookworm

"Ahhh, I'm worn out..."

"This way too."

The prototype made in Trombe was well made, but the objects made of different materials were not well made.

Is it because the fibers themselves are not sticky, or are they shorter than I thought, the fibers didn't tangle well, they didn't stick together, and I wore them out on the way to drying them out.

"If I add more trolls, will you be okay? What do you think?

"I'll have to try more and more of what I can think of."

I added more trollo so that the fibers could harden easily, so that it would be hard to tear, then I applied a little thicker paper.

"How about this?

"I don't know if I'm gonna try to dry it, but I hope it works"

With more trolls, the thickened paper was solidified in the scallops and broke with the pakins on the way to peel them off the plate. Seeing the shards falling apart in a splash, I get stunned.

"It's a failure, isn't it?

"Yeah, it's more cracked than torn, isn't it? At least it wasn't paper."

I'm not sure if the ratio of fiber, trollo and water isn't working or if the material itself isn't meshing well.

I read in the book that plants can do papery things at once, but my common sense doesn't work here much. How did this happen? There comes a failure that makes me want to scream.

"I just wish we could make a mass production of trombes."

"I can't!

"Can we do something about it if we have trombe seeds?

With the kind of red fruit I picked up then, I didn't think it would be that hard to prune a trombe, but Lutz shook his head as he shrugged.

"Don't look for that! Are you going to crush the woods!?

"If we had seeds, wouldn't we all be able to prune them starting to grow like this?

If you don't know when it's going to grow, but after finding the seed and waiting for many, if you grow a trombe, I think you can handle it.

But Rutz held the temple and insisted it was absolutely no good.

"Trombes don't know when they're gonna grow! It's too dangerous!"

"It is."

Apparently I just picked up the trombe seeds that happen to be growing at that time, and not every seed is picked up and grown immediately.

Lutz gets so angry that strangely the little tree decides to give up.

"... remember this common sense."

"I'm still working on this."

Because of the longer and denser memory of Honsu Reino, which seems to me to be from a previous life, I really rely on Reino's memory for all of my criteria for judgment, rather than Mine's memory, which I have barely left home since birth.

But by talking to Lutz about having another memory in Mine, these days, when I think a little off, Lutz has come to correct me.

"Anyway, trombes are dangerous. Take the power of the surrounding soil to root when it grows, and where the trombe grows, it will be a land where nothing grows for a while. I can't do mass production."

"Yeah!? Was it that dangerous!? That didn't happen during this time, did it?

"So you said it was weird, right? You weren't listening?

"I had no idea what a normal trombe was or how weird it was."

Mass production is not possible because the trombes were the best quality but they are too dangerous on top only in the fall.

It's more meaningful to think about whether you can do something with something than to want something without it, so you just have to keep trying and making mistakes.

And I thought about different proportions, tried crushing more fiber, tried to use the Sullamo worm trollo instead of the edil fruit so that I could mass produce it with the trees I could normally pick around it, and improved it a little bit.

"Follin's the most suitable of these."

"Yeah. If you mix a little bit of Sullamo worm trollo with Follin, you'll be able to commercialize it."

After trying with three softer types of trees taught at the lumberyard, a tree named Follin was able to make the thinnest paper.

Follin is a little stiffer in fiber than the other two, so it's hard to beat it, but the more you beat it, the more sticky it seems to come out of the fiber. After I figured that out, if I beat it thoroughly, I could do a relatively good piece of paper.

Then, after slightly changing the proportion when making the water (fumizu), we discovered the most likely proportion. Write the percentages you discover on the tablet and pay for the bread and the dust on your fingertips.

"Isn't this good?

"Oops, if we make this right, we're gonna be able to make mass production."

Lutz's expression is also bright on the ratio he finally found. He strokes the paper he can with his fingers many times with joy.

"But mass production comes in the spring. It's hard to pick trees now, because my skin is getting harder and harder for the winter."

"Right."

After the spring breath season, it's better to go pick soft trees and soft branches, I think I'll have a good piece of paper.

Besides, it's already a hard season to skin the river. I want to keep it warm for Lutz as well.

"Then let's take the paper we made up early to Mr. Benno's. I will go to the gate in winter to help Mr. Otto."

"Ah. Winter support will begin in earnest in a few moments, and let's just get this over with."

"Yeah. I'll go to the gate tomorrow and have Mr. Otto teach me how to write thank you sentences. I made paper because of it. Thank you note, I want to give it to you."

Lutz nods at my suggestion and piles up today's failures together.

"Don't leave the thank-you text to me. So, Mine's taking home this failure, right?

"Yeah, I'll take the successful paper to Mr. Benno, but it's a piece of paper with a hole or a bit of a failure to peel it off, and I'm gonna make a book"

I have also confirmed to Marc that if there is a large number of failures, I can bring them back. Now I think I can make my first book.

The next day I went to the gate for a long time. For the winter financial period, it seems that more and more paperwork is needed to process the calculations, and Otto welcomed me with a glow on his face.

"Hey, Mine, I've been waiting for you."

He was invited with a nice smile as he slapped a pompous and a pile of wood plaque beside him. Looks like we were in the middle of a process of tallying the name and number of items on the wooden plaque and writing them on the paperwork.

With that in mind, I decided to ask Otto about how to write a thank-you note.

"Mr. Otto, I want you to tell me how to write a thank you note."

"A thank you note? Like the nobles are interacting?

No, it doesn't have to belong to the nobles, but I almost said, I stopped. Perhaps it is a custom that is carried out only among the nobles.

"Um, if you have a reference, I thought you might have a thank you note for referring me... maybe not?

"If it's an exchange between nobles, I know it exists, but merchants don't bother to write about it. It's not even a contract, but it's a waste of paper."

Sure, paper is expensive, so it's not that easy to use.

"So what can I do to thank you?

"If you're a merchant, it's normal for you to give them what they want out of what you're dealing with. Aside from whether you let your squire have it or not, you give it away, not a thank-you note."

I had a thank-you note format like a reference letter and I was going to make a thank-you note out of paper that I could do exactly that, but the thank-you note was not used and I didn't know it was normal to give things away.

"... Wow, that was unexpected. Hey, Mr. Otto. What do you think I should give Mr. Benno? I have no idea what I or Lutz could give Mr. Benno."

What I have, I have no idea what Benno might want. Benno seems to have everything.

Otto glanced lightly at his shoulder and gave me some advice.

"Wouldn't it be nice to have a piece of paper made by the two of us? That's the only product you two deal with, right? Best for Benno because if there's a commodity value to it, the initial investment pays off. And then... some new product information."

"Okay. Thank you, Mr. Otto."

Increasing the commodity value of paper and information on new products…. Then maybe we can work it out.

I suggested to Lutz the next day to make a piece of paper as soon as possible to thank him.

"It's not a thank you note, it's a merchant's thank you to give something from the product that you might like. So I'm going to make a little special paper out of a trombe. You still had the white skin of a trombe, didn't you?

"Oh. If it's a gift for my husband, you want the best paper?... Mine, that, what have you got? Leglas?"

I looked down upon the red leaves that I had.

"Is that the name? It grew around the well, so I picked it yesterday and tried to make it look like a pressed flower."

"No, what do you use it for?

"Of course, you use it when you make paper."

Legrace is a red clover-like plant. Instead of the red leaves between the japanese papers, I came up with an idea to pinch them.

Message cards arranged with regulars on the edges with designs that would have a pattern of tweezers and toilets, and the leaves of regulars were cut into small pieces, scattered across the whole area like a heart pattern and made a paper like a thousand generations.

The message card reads: "Thanks to Mr. Benno, this paper is complete. Thank you," writes me and Lutz in a series of names.

"This paper is so beautiful."

"I'm pinching the leglass, so it's gonna be as gorgeous as a painting, right?

"What are we gonna do over here?

"Origami."

"Origami?"

Paper made in chiyopaper-style breaks a celebratory crane after cutting it into squares with a knife.

In my old memory, a handsword would have been the most delightful thing to do when I went abroad, but you wouldn't know what a handsword is here, and there's not enough paper to make a big guy like a dull ball.

It was the celebratory crane that was made easy with a piece of paper and looked good. It spreads back like a peacock, so it looks more luxurious than a regular folding crane.

"What do you say? This will look good, won't it?

"... su, wow. Why is paper like this? I had no idea what Mine did."

Lutz pokes the crane at his fingertips like he said he was afraid.

The way I handled it, I was hacked.

What's the cost of this crane?

"... if you think about it, isn't paper decoration so extravagant?

"Ah, I'll, well, give it to my husband, all right"

Wouldn't origami be rare enough to make it easy and easy? Though I thought so, I might have done too much of a waste considering the price of paper here.

... If I open it and stretch it, should I tell Benno that it's full of folds but it's usable?

"I was told other information about something that might be a new product..."

"You can think of Mine better like that, can't you?

Lutz threw a round at me in a mild tone.

Not that I didn't think of it at all, but I don't know if I can really sell it, so I'd like to hear Lutz's opinion.

"... the first time I saw him, Mr. Benno was interested in a pigeon, so I thought maybe a pigeon would do, but isn't this a wooden stick?

Lutz nodded loudly, too, as I pointed to my head.

"Right. Just a stick."

"Do you think it will be a product?

"... you can make it yourself, so you don't bother buying it, do you?

Even if it was unusual, I didn't think it would be a product, but Lutz's expectations were the same.

"Wouldn't that be a good idea if it were a product?... you see, the violin that Thuri wore during the baptism ceremony."

"Lutz, genius! That was certainly a good reaction around! Maybe just right for work this winter."

Now I'm ready to give Benno something as well. Later I have to ask for convenience and have them make time to see me.

"Hey, Lutz. Today, when I return the keys, I'd like you to ask Mr. Marc what he plans to do, okay?

"Oh, good."

The day Marc gave me the designation, Lutz and I will take the paper we made.

There are two finished products, Trombe and Follin, with three different thicknesses, so a total of six types of paper were ready.

Then a message card and a celebratory crane, colored with reglass, to give to Benno. Finally, I put Thuri's jar in my tote bag for consultation.

"Good morning, Mr. Benno. I got a paper prototype, so I brought it. Thanks to Benno's initial investment, it feels very good."

"Otto told me, did you already have it?

"Yes, this is it"

I took the paper out of the tote bag and arranged it on Benno's desk.

After Benno looked lightly at the paper, he reached for the first sheet.

"Let's see which one."

After watermarking or checking the touch, Benno took out the ink. Cut a part of the upper one and run the pen.

"... don't be able to write. It's less hooked than parchment, easier to write, but there's a little bit of smudging. Not that I care... Hmm."

"Are you passing? Lutz, can you be an apprentice?

Benno grins niggly as he strokes around his jaw and reaches for the next piece of paper.

"Oh, that's what I promised. How much can you make of this?

"Uh, it was for prototyping, so if you're going to make it in earnest, I want to turn the tools up. Well, then, I think it's a little too small. What is the size of the paper you use most often?

The size of the references you see at the gate is fragmented and you don't know the paper standard to make.

The magnitude of the truly Japanese paper is too large, and it has tremendous power when used. I want to mass-produce paper the most commonly used size because it makes no sense if you can't make beautiful paper with Lutz or my power.

"... right. That's more or less what I use for references and contracts. I'm not sure."

The parchment that Benno took out of the shelf and showed me was about the size of A4-B4. It's a good size for swinging a girder.

"Then I want to make a new girder about that size. But it will be spring to actually make paper. From now on, we won't be able to pick the material."

"You just have to get your tools ready by spring. Ask Marc. This will be a good enough product"

"Yes!"

Benno recognized the paper. Glad the effort came to fruition, Lutz and I look at each other and laugh.

"Quality is better this way."

Benno touched it with his hand and said so on a piece of paper made of trombe. At a glance you can see the difference in quality. The whiteness and smoothness of the colors are out of step.

"Trombe is the ingredient."

"He said it was a trombe!?

Benno looked up like a little bit and looked at me and Lutz alternately.

Again, a trombe seems to be famous as a fairly dangerous plant. I left the explanation to Lutz so he wouldn't talk weird, and I took a step back.

It seems that my intentions have been fulfilled, and Lutz steps forward and opens his mouth.

"When I was collecting in the woods, Mine found where it started to grow and I happened to get it. It's hard to get, and it's unstable, so I rarely think I can make it."

"Well, I guess... But a trombe."

Benno is desperate in his brain to see if he can manage mass production, as he can take it. It's a merchant-like calculation face, but it's rare, so it won't be what you get.

"After some trials, the trombe is the best quality, but if you don't get the ingredients, it won't be a product. And this is the paper with Follin. If you want to make it as a product, this is a better material for mass production."

"I see. If it's Follin, it's certainly good for mass production"

Benno nodded so many times that he seemed convinced about the paper that this time he took out a thank you item.

"And then, this... is a thank you note to Mr. Benno. When I asked Otto, I heard he would be most happy to add product value to the paper he made, so I made a special paper"

"A thank you note? I've served it to senior nobles, but I never got it. I don't know what to say, I feel great."

Benno opened the message card, happily opening his mouth, staring lightly at the card and solidifying.

"Um, I put reglass in it on the way to making it.... What do you say?

"Ah? Legrace is a weed that grows all over the place this time of year, right?... this way, you look beautiful. This kind of thing seems to be well received by the nobleman's wife and his lady."

Benno, who immediately thinks of the purchasing layer, is very reliable if he thinks of it as a merchant. Seeing it in the eyes of that merchant and deciding that it was going to sell to the aristocrats would mean that he had succeeded in adding value to the goods, no doubt.

"Uh, this is a thank you item for the upfront investment, or a gift... a decoration made of paper. I say 'Celebration Crane'"

"Ho! Is this the paper?

When he showed the celebratory crane, which was folded, spread out on his desk, Benno glanced and took it in his hand. I look at it from various angles, but I have no use other than decoration.

"After I made it, I realized I used it in a very luxurious way. I have no use but to decorate it. Oh, but I just folded it, so if I spread it, the fold will stay, but it can normally also be used as paper"

"No, a decoration would do, wouldn't it? It's going to be good publicity for paper we sell."

If he were to sell the paper, Benno shrugged and moved the celebratory crane to his shelf in an attempt to decorate it as well. They say the top of the shelf will be a place for celebratory cranes for a while.

Honestly, I didn't think I'd be so happy with the origami. I'm glad I made it as a gift, honestly.

"Honestly, I didn't think I could paper from a tree. The quality is also much better than I expected. From now on, it will sufficiently work as a commodity. Well done. Looking forward to a mass-produced spring."

Me and Lutz rejoiced at the high praise from Benno. In retrospect of the hardships of quality improvement, I cry unexpectedly.

"You did it, Mine"

"Because Lutz worked so hard."

With a bitter smile at us, Benno stacked all the paper on his desk.

"I'll buy this paper. I'll give you the money on the way home, so give Marc a call."

"Is it true!?

Speaking of which, until the baptism ceremony, we were told that the rest, minus the raw material costs and the fees for the sale, would be our share.

It's your first cash, GET!

I just paper all the white skins I have left and thought it might be a good idea to sell them, and I remember hah. That I brought Thuri's jar to talk to you about what you sold.

"... and I need to talk to Mr. Benno, will this be for sale?

I took out and placed on Benno's desk the bamboo I used as a hair ornament for Thuri. The shorter jar has a bouquet of small blue and yellow flowers.

For some reason, Benno caught his cheek when he saw the pimple.

"Lady, what is this?

"It's a hair decoration. I normally use it as a decoration after stringing my hair together.... like this"

And I showed Tulli's hair ornament by the side of his own pocket.

"I made this for my sister's christening ceremony, so I can't sell it, but I'm going to make decorations like this by hand during the winter months, will I sell it?

When I inquired, Benno, staring at the hair ornament with a glitzy eye, made a roaring low voice.

"… be"

"Then I'll make it. So, right? I'll have Mr. Benno sell it, so this is also an upfront investment, can you please?

Ha, and sighed, and Benno looked at this one. Is it my fault that Benno looks so tired?

"What the hell do you need?

"It's yarn. The quality doesn't have to be that high, but I want as many yarns of color as I can."

It's not funny to make everything in the same color, and everyone should want a color that suits them. There should be lots of colors and designs.

"Is that just yarn? Anything else?

"I'd love to have a few trees, but I'm also picking trees to use as firewood, so nothing in particular"

"Do you make this all by yourself, miss?

Benno was staring at me.

Speaking of which, it was supposed to be "Mine thinks, Lutz makes". Maybe you should give Rutz a hand too.

"... the tree part is Lutz, and this decorative part is what I plan to do. Of course, I'll make it with you. Right, Lutz?

"Yes, I make the tree place"

When I shook my hand and said so, Lutz nodded in a panic, too.

Benno has looked at us like he said something, but he misleads us with a nickel and a loving laugh.

"Well, fine. So, you guys, do you have enough time and strength to move now?

"It's okay."

"Right. Now let's take him to the commercial guild."

"Commercial guild!?

Wow, something new came up again.

Is this a medieval European guild or a fantasy guild? What the hell is this place?