The teachers' office at the Upperhills Foundation. Clap, clap, clap, clap! From early in the morning, the sound of applause echoed through the room.
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations."
"Your work clothes look great."
The teachers in the office offered their congratulations to Johannes, who had arrived with a cart full of textbooks.
"Ahem."
Johannes, sixteen years old and now a full-time employee at Upperhills Paper, let out an awkward chuckle. In his heart, he wanted to shout, 'I told you I'd come back a success!' but he held it in. That seemed a little childish.
Johannes said, putting on his most 'mature expression'.
"Alright. At last, our 'Upperhills Paper' has completed the textbooks. Please, everyone take one."
Of course, his cheeks were slightly flushed.
"So this is it!"
"My goodness, it's really out."
One by one, the teachers picked up the books made of paper.
"It's light, as expected."
"And it's not warped."
The staff had already been using paper for their administrative work, so they weren't shocked to the point of screaming. Still, thanks to that, they knew the advantages of paper better than anyone. Paper didn't tear at the slightest touch like papyrus, nor was it as heavy as parchment.
Their work efficiency had improved noticeably. Sonia, one of the staff members, also picked up a book with a fluttering heart.
[Science - 01] Science.
She had heard it was similar to natural philosophy, but she still didn't know exactly what kind of study it was.
She murmured.
"The leather straps... are gone."
Parchment books would warp on their own depending on the humidity. To prevent this, parchment books had their first and last pages reinforced with wooden boards and were then tied tightly with thick leather straps. But this paper book had no need for that.
Its neat and tidy rectangular shape pleased Sonia.
"Hehehe."
A strange laugh reached Sonia's ears as she flipped through the book. When she looked up, she saw Johannes grinning.
"What is it? Did something good happen?"
"It's because you're smiling, teacher."
"... Was I?"
Seeing Johannes's proud expression, Sonia's smile deepened.
"To think the kid who used to cry because he couldn't read a single contract has grown up so much."
"Hey now. That's an exaggeration. I read it properly to the very end that day."
"Oh, an exaggeration. You know big words now."
Sonia still remembered that day vividly. The boy had stood before her, clutching the contract and crying. 'How many months has it been since then...'
Now, Johannes had become a respectable adult.
"A-ahem!"
Johannes cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. Children grow up so fast. 'I'm so glad I applied to the foundation.'
For all her ability to read, Sonia was just the second daughter of a noble family. Since she wouldn't inherit the territory anyway, working here at the foundation was much better. Sonia asked Johannes.
"When will the other textbooks besides Science be ready?"
"Ah, for things like language and arithmetic, we decided to tran... no, copy the existing boarding school textbooks. They should be arriving soon as well."
"So it's really happening..."
To think that soon, every child would have their own book. When that day came, Sonia would be able to act more like a proper teacher.
"Oh, right, there's something else I need to pass on."
Johannes took a stack of papers from the cart and handed it to Sonia.
"This is... an exam paper?"
"Yes. Chairman Isaac said he will entrust the science classes to the teachers with the highest scores on this test."
"Wow..."
"Of course, since this will be the first time for everyone to teach this, the selected teachers will apparently be learning through personal communication with the Chairman."
At those words, a faint tension filled the teachers' office. A chance to learn directly from the genius mage who could sway even the Empire's standards. Only a fool would miss such an opportunity.
One by one, the teachers began to open Isaac's textbook. The corners of Johannes's mouth twitched as he watched them.
"Well then, good luck everyone! I'll be on my way!"
If nobles gathered in salons, where did merchants meet? The answer was a pub. Of course, it wasn't a noisy place frequented by mercenaries or commoners.
The merchants of the capital patronized a merchants-only pub owned by a massive merchant guild. Its name was Winegold. A name that combined the two things merchants loved most.
Amidst the clamor of dozens of merchants, a man climbed onto a table and shouted.
"Today's on me! Everyone, grab a mug of beer!"
Clap, clap, clap!
Woooooah!
He said it was on him, but it wasn't completely free. Every merchant who drank the beer he bought would become a witness to guarantee his contract. He had just made a futures trade for next year's wheat.
Sometimes, merchants would even buy and sell such futures contracts among themselves. There were no goods, only money furiously changing hands. In short, this was a place where anything that made money was done.
Therefore, every rumor at Winegold was bound to be about 'something that makes money'. In that respect, the real topic of the day was something else.
"Did you hear the rumor? They say something has been made to replace parchment."
"Hm?"
Just as he was about to relax after finishing next year's trade, an intriguing rumor reached his ears.
"Where was it made?"
"I heard it's the Upperhills Workshop."
"Ah... the place that bankrupted 'Horseless Carriage'?"
The name Upperhills Workshop was already famous among the merchants. After all, they had toppled 'Horseless Carriage', a leader in the capital's carriage market, with a single small invention.
"I thought they only dealt with metal, but I guess they handle leather too. So, if not sheepskin, what's it made of? Pig? Goblin?"
"That's the thing... it's not leather. See for yourself."
A crumpled piece of paper emerged from the merchant's pocket.
"The texture feels like papyrus. Is this also made from reeds?"
"No. It's made from old cloth... from rags, they say."
"What? Rags? This is?"
The merchant squinted, examining the paper. It was thin, light, and durable. There seemed to be almost no ink bleed.
The merchant instinctively started calculating. 'They make something like this from discarded pieces of cloth?' If that was true, it would be far cheaper than not just parchment, but even papyrus, which had to be brought in from the southeastern part of the Empire.
"Hah, my word..."
This was guaranteed to make money. It was like gathering trash to create gold.
"The recipe? How is it made?"
"I don't know that."
"Don't lie, spit it out. If we set up a workshop, you and I can both invest."
"I'm telling you, I really don't know."
To deny it so firmly meant he truly didn't know. If he didn't know, then they had to find out.
"Have you tried pretending to invest to get information?"
"The head over there said they're absolutely not accepting any investments."
"What about stealing it at night?"
"Getting in is impossible. Security has gotten brutal since that 'Guides of the Lantern' incident."
"How about sending one of our people in as an undercover employee?"
This was the last resort. If this didn't work, only the direct approach was left.
"... That's difficult too. The people working at that workshop right now are all orphans from the Upperhills Foundation."
"So they don't use any outside labor. Those are some tough bastards."
The merchant clicked his tongue. To have the smell of money so thick in the air, yet be unable to touch it. For a merchant, it was nothing short of torture.
He pondered for a moment, then downed a glass of whiskey and said.
"We have no choice. We'll have to ask those guys from the School of Classical Alchemy."
If they put some money into the School of Classical Alchemy and asked, they would figure out the principle.
"Reverse-engineering... That'll cost a pretty penny, won't it?"
"Are you serious? You're saying that after seeing this paper?"
The merchant shoved the piece of paper at his colleague. It reeked of money. A scent of gold that wasn't even present on the futures contract he had just signed.
His colleague replied to the merchant's question.
"Just kidding. I gave you the info, so you pay the commission fee."
"You little... so this was your plan from the start."
Smirk.
The merchants looked at each other and shared a sly grin.
The paper matter was out of my hands now. With the workshop and the foundation running like a two-horse chariot, paper would eventually spread throughout the world. And in the process, money would multiply.
Next time I give out performance bonuses, I should also teach them how not to fall for investment scams. We can't have a second Anna incident. Putting that aside, the important thing right now was the floating stone.
"Hmm..."
I looked over the initial design for an airship with a floating stone as its core. I had secured the core technology, but there was still a long way to go. Having never built a ship before, the design was little more than a shell, aside from the power unit connected to the mana circuits.
The problem was manpower. Even if the design was completed, I lacked the technicians to actually build it. The paper workshop could be run by teaching the foundation kids for a few months.
But steelmaking or shipbuilding were on a different level. It would require an enormous number of skilled blacksmiths and technicians. 'It's absolutely impossible with just Tobin and Callen...'
If I took this design to him as is, Tobin would probably try to kill me. 'Should I find people from the outside?' If I did that and the core technology leaked, it would be a disaster.
Security is vital when creating a strategic-level weapon. 'Unless some tight-lipped dwarves just happen to walk in on their own.' It might be better to just slowly train aspiring blacksmiths from the foundation.
I should think long-term. Building an airship isn't an immediate priority. Just then, Giuseppe raised his hand and said.
"Junior, come over here for a moment."
My senior's expression was unusual. Seeing him huffing, I felt a little tense. It had been a while since I'd seen Giuseppe angry.
"... What is it?"
"Take a look at this."
Giuseppe handed me an official document that was on his desk.
[From: School of Classical Alchemy This morning, our school received a request from an anonymous merchant guild to analyze the components and reverse-engineer the manufacturing process of a new material (hereafter 'paper'), believed to be developed by your school, along with a sample of said material.]
"Whoa. What is this."
Does the Magic Tower have a culture of advertising and doing reverse-engineering? I said to Giuseppe.
"I see why you're angry. Those bastards from the School of Classical Alchemy... looks like words won't be enough."
"..."
"Should we deploy Head of the Doloren school?"
"... There's a back page. Read that too."
[Our school has determined that this request has the potential to undermine the mutual trust between schools.]
"Ah."
[Therefore, we are informing you that our school has rejected the said request. Furthermore, we are forwarding the received paper sample and the original request letter to your school for your reference in any future response. We wish for the continued prosperity of your school.]
"Those guys at the School of Classical Alchemy. They have a surprising sense of honor."
"I know, right?"
As expected of the school that consistently ranked number one in paying theory usage fees for the [Absolute Zero] paper. For the record, the School of Ideal Gas Magic isn't on the usage list. That's because I don't charge them any fees.
Giuseppe said to me.
"The problem is those 'anonymous merchant guild bastards.' How dare they try to steal your achievement, Junior."
Giuseppe asked, huffing with anger.
"As you said, Junior, should we inform the Head of the Doloren school?"
"Is there really a need for that?"
It was fortunate that we stopped the first attempt, but things like this will be commonplace from now on. This is a fight the one trying to block it will always lose. Even if we stop one merchant guild now, another one is sure to try.
So it's more beneficial to spend that time on more research. Of course, I have no intention of doing the paper research myself. My younger siblings are now the experts in the field of papermaking; they'll develop it well on their own.
I trust my siblings. I calmed Giuseppe down and was about to return to my seat. Just then, a letter caught my eye.
The seal stamped on the letter was unusual. 'A symbol of a crossed hammer and anvil...' If the anvil had been a sickle, it would have been a big problem.
I pointed to the letter and asked.
"What's that, by any chance?"
"Hm? Oh."
Giuseppe picked up the envelope and said.
"It's from the Dwarf Kingdom."
"Dwarves?"
"The seal doesn't look like a forgery... it must really be from the Dwarf Kingdom."
Why would the Dwarf Kingdom contact our school? I asked Giuseppe.
"Does this happen often?"
"No. It's unprecedented."
"... But you don't seem surprised at all."
Heh. Giuseppe smiled.
"Thanks to you, Junior, I don't get surprised by much anymore."
"Is that a good thing?"
"You could say that."
If so, that's a relief. I opened the letter from the Dwarf Kingdom.
[To Isaac Upperhills We have recently acquired and analyzed the 'suspension' you designed. The design of the device was so efficient it could be considered beautiful.]
Looks like dwarves do reverse-engineering too. To think something my hand had touched was acknowledged even by dwarves. I felt a little proud.
I read the next page with a grin.
[Metal of this quality could never have been born from human hands. Therefore, we are certain that you are one of our kin, who drifted into human society in the aftermath of the northern war.]
"... Huh?"
[Stop spreading our technology among the humans and return. Comrade.] ...
[P. S. If you do not comply, we will send a formal delegation of protest to the Magic Tower to repatriate our comrade.]
"... What is this."