[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-isekai-nonbiri-nouka":3,"chapter-isekai-nonbiri-nouka-isekai-nonbiri-nouka-chapter-987":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Isekai Nonbiri Nouka",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1395488,1848,"Chapter 986: Papermaking and Printing","isekai-nonbiri-nouka-chapter-987",987,"\u003Cp>In this world, there are many kinds of media used to record written characters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First is animal paper, made from the hides of animals or demon beasts. Yes, that parchment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rolled-up sheets that appear in medieval stories are this type.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the material is hide, it is difficult to fold, and it can crack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long-term storage also requires care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you are careless, it can grow mold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the raw material is animal hide, stable mass production is difficult, and manufacturing itself is only possible in suitable environments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, the written surface can be scraped and reused… technically, it can.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of that, it is easy to tamper with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, it comes with many problems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its one major advantage is………………………………………………its appearance?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Parchment maps, for example, look cool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-0-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next are wooden boards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are wooden slips called mokkan, made by bundling thin boards, but in this world, flat wooden boards are the mainstream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They take up more space than animal paper, but they are surprisingly easy to store… depending on the environment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The problem is the size of the boards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It varies greatly by location.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thickness is also different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And they are heavy to carry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Very heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Storage is also troublesome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they are stacked, taking out the boards at the bottom becomes annoying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-0-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And we must not forget plant paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is made by dissolving plants and forming them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most famous example is papyrus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The washi(Japanese paper) made in Village One also falls into this category of plant paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Easy to write on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It has the weakness of being easy to burn, but that is true for animal paper and wooden boards as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, the drawbacks are… insects that eat paper, perhaps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And storage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Paper alone is hard to store, and bundling it takes some effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Items that bundle plant paper together, sometimes with animal paper and others, are books.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is why books in this world are valuable items.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-0-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond those… there are also methods like carving into stone, or filling a flat tray with sand or clay and carving letters into it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because it is hard to carry, you do not see this very often.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Demon King’s Kingdom, seakins and similar groups use such methods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, animal paper, wooden boards, and plant paper are all weak against water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That likely matches the lifestyle of seakins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, aside from the seakins, animal paper and wooden boards are the mainstream in the Demon King’s Kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plant paper is also used, but it is mainly centered around Big Tree Village, Village Five, and the Royal Capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-0-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when thinking about paper, there is something you must not forget, ink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having paper alone is meaningless if there is no pen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The basic ink in use is inkstick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I do not know the details, but it is made by adding glue or oil to soot left after burning wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The type of wood burned, the kind of glue added, and the type of oil affect the darkness and how easy it is to write.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Current ink is made by further adding dyes, resins, and similar materials to that inkstick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I do not know the details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if I wanted to investigate, there are several dye shops in Village Five and Shashaato City that handle ink, but their production methods are said to be strictly secret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「I will go and look into it」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait, Reginleif.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You do not need to pry information out of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They have their livelihoods, and keeping techniques secret is understandable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anyone could make it, it would no longer be a business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That said, the reverse is also true. Even if we make ink freely, they should not complain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Research on ink is already finished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We can even mass-produce it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They will not complain, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Are such techniques protected by the Merchant Guild?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「It will be fine. However, to avoid trouble, it would be better to purchase a certain amount from existing shops」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the civil servant girls offers that advice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That makes sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is no need to produce everything ourselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, we will place normal orders, and for quantities they cannot handle, we will make the rest ourselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The problem is…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「The quality may become less consistent, but we will adjust that」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, I am counting on you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Yes」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the civil servant girls replies firmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-0-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now then, the reason I am thinking about paper and ink is because I was asked by Versa, the wife of ancestor-san.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, Versa and her friends gathered and planned to start a new business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The new business was papermaking and printing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply put, making plant-based paper and printing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The goal was to mass-produce books.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, I thought she wanted to mass-produce books written by Versa herself, but that was not the case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apparently, the goal was to spread all kinds of stories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I found myself impressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, that’s new business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had been moving forward with preparations, but the scale grew beyond what Versa and her group of friends could handle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, if they really tried, they could probably manage somehow, but Versa’s friends disliked the idea of her losing time for writing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, with no other choice, Versa entrusted… no, transferred the new business to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it can be considered as a mere taking over, it is still troublesome for me, but Versa had already cleared it with Youko, and her friends had approved the transfer as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On top of that, she had secured the cooperation of the civil servant girls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the point that one of those civil servant girls had even resolved herself to become the person responsible for the new business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After going that far, I could not just turn it down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let’s cooperate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eh?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cooperating is not enough?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I am the representative?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What about the talk of someone else becoming responsible?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……Acting representative, huh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, it’s not like we will only be producing books written by Versa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spread of culture in Village Five is a good thing, so I will cooperate… no, that’s not it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the representative, I will work on it within what I can do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-0-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「As for the printing press, improvements are progressing with the cooperation of the Mountain Elves-sama」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, to make books to donate to an orphanage in the human kingdom, we created a printing press that lined up letter stamps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, by creating stamps for commonly used words and combining them, the creation of the master plates has become much faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In addition, a function was added that allows the same page to be printed continuously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We tested it by printing about one hundred sheets, but there was no difference between the first and the hundredth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Mountain Elves say it would be fine even for a thousand consecutive prints, but since we have no plans to make a thousand books, we have not tested that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Paper is valuable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ink is not cheap either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it is fine, continuous printing is limited to one hundred sheets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After printing one hundred sheets, we have them perform a thorough inspection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「The remaining issue is the printing of illustrations. However, through trial and error in Village Five, we have found several effective methods. Please rest assured」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That sounds reassuring, but if effective methods have been found, is it still an issue?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「The cost is unavoidable…」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, I see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we did not have to worry about cost, it would be easier to use magic to transfer only the illustrated parts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Such mages are valuable, and relying on mages makes the business unstable」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that mage were injured or fell ill, a business that stops functioning would be a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, that applies to technicians as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A business that stops just because something happens to one person is a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Yes. That is why, in papermaking and printing, we want to simplify the work as much as possible and manage it by increasing manpower」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When we recruited people in Village Five to cooperate with this new business, it seems a considerable number gathered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Once people learn to read, the next thing they want is books」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The improvement in literacy rates in Village Five seems to have created a positive ripple effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「The number of writers is increasing as well」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That means we will need even more paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Yes. However, regarding the papermaking workshop… no, the papermaking factory, Youko-sama had already been taking action before this」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The land to build the papermaking factory has already been secured, and construction of the factory and warehouses is currently underway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One factory building has already been completed, and trial operations have begun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In addition, the collection of raw materials for paper is progressing, so it is unlikely that we will be unable to print due to a lack of paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Youko is pleased that new employment has been created.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Papermaking is quite demanding work, though.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「It seems the Mountain Elves-sama have also created some kind of large machine for that as well…」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah… if I remember correctly, it was a crusher for turning wood into paper material.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「They are very pleased」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is good to hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「I have heard from Youko-sama that it would be nice to have about two more」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hahaha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ll make sure to ask at the right time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Mountain Elves like creating new mechanisms, but they do not really like mass-producing things they have already made.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, winter is a season of research for the Mountain Elves, so they stay in their workshops working on various things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the multi-purpose humanoid mobile heavy machine(Arti Horse) and the airship projects as well, asking for additional machines will probably have to wait until around spring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the representative of the business, I intend to make sure I do not forget to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-0-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mountain Elf:「If it’s fine as an improved version, we can start right away」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Village Chief:「Improved, huh……………………That’s a hard call」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Youko:「Order the same thing」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-0-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Versa’s Friend A:「We let go of papermaking and printing, but……」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Versa’s Friend B:「We are handling book distribution and sales」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Versa’s Friend C:「Fufufu. And we also hold the authority to decide which books get printed……」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the Civil Servant Girls:「Excuse me, but since Village Chief is involved, we will be participating to a certain extent」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Youko:「Hmm. We will keep an eye on you. We won’t let you create new regulations on your own.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Versa’s Friend A:「W-we will sell them without bias」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Versa’s Friend B:「We will also handle zoning properly」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Versa’s Friend C:「Spreading culture, the best!」\u003C\u002Fp>",1769,"2026-06-05T23:08:42.455Z",1,"novelbin.me","962ea062dc8152179e659c3f9ecfc5b51df1de9bea69a5a8a54cedf3ce9fb93f","isekai-nonbiri-nouka-chapter-911","isekai-nonbiri-nouka-chapter-910",1036,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fisekai-nonbiri-nouka-cover.jpg"]