In this world, people used a variety of media to record characters.
First, there was animal paper, primarily parchment made from the skins of animals or magic beasts. It was the kind of thing seen rolled up into scrolls in medieval tales. Since the raw material was skin, it was difficult to fold and prone to cracking. Storing it long-term required great care as well; if you let your guard down, it would mold. Because it relied on animal hides, stable mass production was difficult, and the manufacturing process itself couldn't be carried out without a suitable environment. Technically, you could scrape off written sections to reuse it... well, after a fashion. This made it easy to forge, though the traces of such tampering were usually easy to spot. In any case, it came with a host of issues. The main advantage was... the aesthetic? Parchment maps and the like did look quite impressive.
Next were wooden boards. While there were also thin, bundled strips known as wooden slips, flat boards were the mainstream in this world. They took up more space than parchment, but they were surprisingly easy to preserve, depending on the environment. The problem lay in the size of the boards. They varied wildly depending on where you were, and the thickness differed, too. Plus, they were heavy to transport. Extremely heavy. Storing them was a nightmare; if you stacked them, retrieving a board from the bottom was a massive chore.
Then there was plant-based paper. This was made by dissolving plant matter and forming it into sheets. Papyrus was the most famous example. The washi produced in Village One also fell into this category. It was light and easy to write on. While it had the flaw of being flammable, that was true for parchment and wooden boards as well. If there was a downside, it was perhaps the existence of paper-eating insects. And then there was the storage. Paper alone was difficult to organize, and it took quite a bit of effort to bundle it together properly. A "book" was a collection of these sheets, whether they were made of plants or animal skin. Because of that, books in this world were precious luxury items.
Beyond those, people might carve into stone or fill flat trays with sand or clay to scratch out messages. Since those were difficult to carry, I didn't see them often. In the Demon Kingdom, members of the Sea Race used them. After all, parchment, wood, and plant paper were all vulnerable to water. They likely used clay tablets to suit their aquatic lifestyle. But outside of the Sea Race, the Demon Kingdom primarily relied on parchment and wood. Plant-based paper was also used, but it was mostly concentrated in the Village of the Great Tree, Village Five, and the Royal Capital.
When thinking about paper, one couldn't forget the ink. Paper was useless without a pen and something to write with. The basic ink used here was India ink. I didn't know the specifics, but it was made by adding hide glue and oil to the soot left over from burning wood. The shade and ease of writing apparently varied depending on the type of wood burned, the type of glue, and the oil used. The ink currently in use was made by adding dyes and resins to that base soot. Again, I didn't know the finer details. Even if I wanted to investigate, the dye shops in Village Five and Shashato City that handled ink kept their manufacturing methods a closely guarded secret.
"I shall be heading out."
"Wait, Reginleiv."
I stopped her before she could leave. I didn't need her trying to "extract" those secrets. The shopkeepers had their own livelihoods to protect, so keeping their techniques hidden was only natural. If anyone could make it, it wouldn't be a viable business anymore. Conversely, that meant no one could complain if we developed our own ink freely. Our research into ink was already complete, and we could even mass-produce it. Surely no one would have a grievance with that. I wondered if those kinds of techniques were protected by the Commerce Guild.
"It will be fine," one of the Civil Official Girls advised. "However, I believe it would cause less friction if you continued to purchase a certain amount from existing shops."
That made sense. There was no need to handle every single drop through our own production. We would start by ordering normally and then use our own supply for the overflow they couldn't handle. The only issue was...
"The quality might become inconsistent, but we will adjust for that."
"Right. I’ll leave it to you."
"Understood!" the girl replied with a sharp nod.
Now, the reason I was thinking about paper and ink was because Versa—Progenitor-san's wife—had asked me for a favor. Originally, Versa and her friends had gathered to launch a new venture. The project involved both papermaking and printing. Simply put, they wanted to produce plant-based paper and use it for printing. Their goal was the mass production of books. I had assumed she wanted to mass-produce her own writings, but I was wrong. Apparently, her goal was to spread all kinds of stories. I was impressed by the sentiment.
However, as preparations progressed, the scale of the venture became more than Versa and her circle could handle. In truth, they probably could have managed it if they tried, but her friends didn't want her writing time to be sacrificed. So, out of necessity, Versa had transferred the business to me. I was a bit troubled to have it dumped in my lap, but she had already cleared it with Yoko, and her friends had all approved the transfer. Furthermore, they had even secured the cooperation of the Civil Official Girls. One of them had even steeled herself to become the manager of the entire operation. When they went to those lengths, I couldn't very well refuse. I decided to help out.
Wait, "helping out" wasn't enough? I was the Representative? What happened to the girl who was going to be in charge? ...I was the "Acting Representative," apparently. I see. Well, it wasn't as if we were only going to print Versa's books. I thought it was a good thing to spread culture in Village Five, so I intended to do my best as the Representative.
"Regarding the printing presses, improvements are moving along thanks to the Mountain Elves," the girl reported.
Previously, when we made books to gift to an orphanage in a human kingdom, we had built a press that used individual character stamps. Now, we had stamps for frequently used words, and by combining them, the preparation of the master plates had become much faster. Additionally, they had added a function for continuous printing of the same page. We had printed a hundred sheets as a test, and there was no difference between the first sheet and the hundredth. The Mountain Elves claimed it would be fine for a thousand sheets, but we didn't have plans to print that many copies of a single book yet, so we hadn't tested the limit. Paper was precious, after all. Ink wasn't cheap, either. Even if the machine could handle it, we limited continuous runs to a hundred sheets. I had them perform a thorough check every time a batch of a hundred was finished.
"The main challenge now is printing the illustrations. However, through trial and error in Village Five, we've found several promising methods. Please rest assured."
That was encouraging, but if they'd found a solution, why was it still a challenge?
"The cost aspect is the main hurdle..."
Ah, I see. If we didn't have to worry about the budget, it would be easier to just use magic to transfer the illustrations.
"Mages with that skill are rare, and relying on magic is too unstable for a long-term business model."
That was true. A business that ground to a halt just because one specific mage got sick or injured was a liability. I suppose that applied to technicians, too. Any business that relied entirely on a single person was in trouble if something happened to them.
"Exactly. Therefore, we want to simplify the papermaking and printing processes as much as possible so they can be managed by a larger workforce."
When they had recruited workers in Village Five for this new project, it seemed a significant number of people had applied.
"Once people learn how to read, the next thing they want is books."
The rising literacy rate in Village Five had apparently created a healthy demand.
"The number of writers is increasing as well."
That meant we were going to need more and more paper.
"Yes. However, Yoko-sama has already been moving to establish a papermaking factory."
The land for the factory had already been secured, and the facility and warehouses were currently under construction. One wing of the factory was already finished and had begun trial runs. Furthermore, raw materials were being stockpiled, so we weren't likely to run out of paper and stop the presses. Yoko was pleased that she'd been able to create new jobs. Though I knew from experience that papermaking was quite the arduous task.
"The Mountain Elves have also built some sort of large machinery over there..."
Ah, right. I believe it was a wood pulverizer to process the materials for the paper.
"The workers are delighted with it."
That was good to hear.
"I heard from Yoko-sama that she would be happy if she had two more."
Hahaha. I’d have to ask them when the time was right. The Mountain Elves loved inventing new gadgets, but they weren't particularly fond of mass-producing things they'd already built once. Besides, they treated winter as their "research season" and were currently holed up in their workshop working on all sorts of things. Given the projects for the Artie Horses and the airships, I’d probably have to wait until spring to ask for more. As the Representative, I made a mental note not to forget.
Mountain Elves: "If you don't mind them being improved versions, we can start on them immediately." Village Head: "Improved? That... makes it hard to decide." Yoko: "Order the exact same machines." Versa’s Friend A: "We’ve handed over the papermaking and printing, but..." Versa’s Friend B: "We’re still handling the distribution and sales of the books." Versa’s Friend C: "Hehehe. And we still have the final say on which books actually get printed..." Civil Official Girl: "Excuse me, but since the Village Head is involved, we will be participating in the management as well." Yoko: "Umu. Oversight is necessary. Do not let them create a reason for us to pass new censorship laws." Versa’s Friend A: "W-we will ensure the sales aren't biased!" Versa’s Friend B: "And we'll make sure the age-restricted content is properly zoned!" Versa’s Friend C: "Spreading culture is the best!"