Chapter 895: Loyal Housekeeper, Embracing Progress

In the past, Xia Duo had attempted paper-making, but at the time, his considerations had some oversights, and he was actually sought out by the Princess's teacher, Master Bailun.

Bailun reminded him that some people were closely monitoring new technologies with far-reaching impacts like paper-making; some supported it, while others opposed it. Fortunately, Bailun was not one of the opponents.

But even so, Xia Duo had not made paper again afterward, not even within the Tower of Time, where he didn't have to worry about being discovered through spells.

However, the situation now had changed from before. The biggest changes among them were naturally Xia Duo's own strength, influence, and even his status within the Seven Towers Group.

Since the Seven Towers had made a name for him, and at the same time, whether it was Greta or the Princess, they had both directly or indirectly expressed their regard for him. Although Xia Duo himself had his doubts, outsiders would not care about that much.

Right now, he carried the identity of the Seven Towers; even if he did something slightly unconventional and not too excessive, would the Seven Towers really distance themselves from him?

Of course, his own strength was Xia Duo's greatest reliance.

The trip to the 【Projection Plane: Underdark】 made Xia Duo truly feel the power of Elven High Mages, shattering his past blind confidence in himself.

But at the same time, that power was also very real and limited; it was no longer the unfathomable kind he occasionally imagined with fear.

As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." Xia Duo realized that the gap between himself and Elven High Mages—or rather, human Great Arcanists—though present and large, was visible, tangible, and could be effectively avoided.

This could also be considered a kind of confidence re-established in an alternative way!

With this realization, Xia Duo was naturally not as fearful of the conservative forces on the human side or the extremists on the Elf side as he had been before.

Even the refining of Mithril had been put on the agenda; what was mere paper-making in comparison!

Furthermore, whether it was refining Mithril or paper-making, Xia Duo did not intend to make them public in the short term; using the finished products only within the Tower of Time would suffice.

If he were still timid like this, how could he talk about ushering in the trend of the era!

……

Looking at Saixili, who had a slightly resentful expression before him, Xia Duo didn't say anything on the surface, but in his heart, he knew that he had indeed been somewhat negligent regarding finances and materials.

"I will solve the paper issue. If you discover any problems next time, tell me in advance. I am not a blind, arrogant person who cannot accept others' opinions."

Hearing Xia Duo say this, Saixili was first a bit surprised, but she no longer had that resentful expression. She hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice:

"Actually, I mentioned all of this to Niya before. She told me not to cause you trouble. I thought she would tell you, but—"

"This—"

Xia Duo was suddenly very surprised. He hadn't expected there to be this interlude. However, Niya had thought wrong this time; covering up a problem did not mean it was solved.

Only by facing a problem squarely could one solve it, and that was the correct principle.

"Next time there are any problems, remember to tell me in advance. I don't think you want Niya to suffer losses because of this, right!"

Saixili nodded without answering directly. Xia Duo found it quite interesting; perhaps she was still thinking about reporting to Niya first?

What a loyal little housekeeper she was!

Skipping this topic, Xia Duo took some of the wood pulp paper he had made earlier from his Personal Space, placed it on the desk, and pushed it toward Saixili, signaling for her to pick it up and look.

"Isn't this paper?" Saixili knew what it was after just one glance. She picked it up, flipped through it a few times, and then asked doubtfully, "Could it be that you want to use this to replace parchment, Master?"

In the Netherese language, 【paper】 and 【parchment】 were not the same word, but two completely different words; the former often carried a prefix—【Elven】.

The so-called "Elven Paper" referred to something similar to wood pulp paper. Netheril could also produce it, but it was expensive and could not be used to make Magic Scrolls, so it was not popular.

Saixili's doubt lay exactly here. However, Xia Duo nodded and continued, "I know you want to talk about its price, but what if I told you I have mastered a method for cheap paper-making?"

"Cheap paper-making?"

Saixili was stunned for a moment, but then a joyful radiance bloomed in her eyes. "Master, are you telling the truth? Is there really a method for cheap paper-making?"

"Of course it's true!"

"Then, then—"

Having received a definite answer from Xia Duo, Saixili did not stay happy for long. She quickly realized where the problem lay: if there really were a method for cheap paper-making and it were manufactured in large quantities, the spread of knowledge would be almost inevitable.

What kind of impact would this have?

Somehow, Saixili suddenly linked this to the various changes Xia Duo had made to the Tower of Time, and a terrifying guess gradually emerged in her mind.

"Master, I cannot decide on this matter. I must report it to Niya."

"You may."

Xia Duo did not stop her, nor could he.

However, in his daily interactions with Niya, he had revealed his plans more than once and had also described to her the kind of future he envisioned.

Niya had not shown any resistance. If she really wanted to refuse, she wouldn't have waited for Saixili to go and tip her off; she would have shown it long ago.

In a sense, Niya could also be considered his comrade, and Xia Duo believed that the more gifted a Spellcaster was, the less they would resist such a future.

And likewise, the more gifted a Spellcaster was, the more they could obtain greater power, which was also the greatest aid to reform.

Only those who felt there was no hope for progress, or those satisfied with the status quo, would resist progress. But once progress appeared, the trend would be overwhelming; who could truly resist it!

Unless the gods destroyed the world, the tide of progress might have twists and turns, but the general direction would definitely be forward. The threshold for longevity in this world was not high; aligning with the true mainstream of progress was what a wise person and a capable person would do.

……

After Saixili left, the Material Department became quiet. Xia Duo did not stay long and continued on to the Horst Research Lab.

However, he already knew the status of the material applications for the Horst Research Lab and had an expectation for the progress of their mass-production design research.

Upon arriving and taking a look, it was indeed as he expected: most of the new projects were still on paper and had not yet reached the stage of physical prototyping.

Xia Duo offered a few words of encouragement and then left, not putting too much pressure on them.

Currently, the Tower of Time could be considered to be on the right track. The growing pains of reform were certainly there, but as long as the interior remained stable and not chaotic, it would always be in a stage of rapid development, and everyone would benefit from it.

And once the results became apparent, it would also promote stability.

What needed to be done now was to check for gaps and fill them as much as possible, solving problems that had not been noticed before or that had been exposed during the development process.