AWDC Chapter 13

Chapter 13: John and George

On the third day after arriving in the capital, Roy’s sons, John and George, visited the inn.

“You two, welcome,” Roy said, happily greeting his sons, whom he hadn’t seen in a while.

For Jim Keene, they were his older brothers. Both resembled Roy, with well-built physiques and rugged features.

John had diligently trained as a knight, and perhaps due to his talent, he had risen to become a member of the Royal Guard.

At 22, he was approaching the age to settle down.

George seemed to possess more talent as a civil servant than as a knight, and he had apparently gained recognition from Lord Midland.

He appeared quite composed for a 19-year-old.

However, both were quite busy and had only managed to take a break with great difficulty.

Both had left for the capital before I came to live in Toriholi Village, so this was our first meeting.

I wondered what kind of people they were, but they responded with a friendly attitude. We skipped the formalities and began our meal at a restaurant near the inn.

The topics at the dining hall were commonplace, but once the meal was over and everyone moved to Roy’s room, the conversation took a different turn.

“John, George, take a look at this.”

Roy showed them a stack of blank paper that he had brought from the village.

“What is this?”

Both seemed intrigued by the paper, which they were seeing for the first time.

“This paper allows you to write neatly, and it’s easy to carry because it’s thin.

More importantly, it can be made cheaply. I brought it here intending to sell it in the capital as a specialty product of the village.”

“This is amazing. If officials and clerks see this, they’ll jump at it,” George said, his eyes widening at the paper’s performance, as befitting his role as a civil servant.

He turned the paper over, held it up to the light, and then actually began to test write on it.

“Wow, the writing is neat and doesn’t catch at all. Father, this is great.”

“If this becomes a specialty product of Toriholi Village, the village will be much richer,” John added.

Both John and George recognized the value of the paper.

“Father, are you planning to sell this in the capital?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then, we need to consider the method of selling it,” George said, recognizing that selling the paper wouldn’t be easy, as a civil servant would.

“Can’t you simply take it to a large store?”

Conversely, John was a military man and not familiar with business.

“I spent yesterday visiting the main stores in the capital, but they mostly dealt with books, and there were hardly any stores that handled stationery.

It seems that they have their own craftsmen make parchment, and I didn’t see any displayed in the stores.

I thought that even if I showed them this paper, the reaction would be weak.”

“That’s probably true. A clever merchant would understand the value of the paper.

However, the difficult part is how to sell it.

The only people who would consider using this paper are nobles and church officials. Only the wealthiest merchants can afford to use paper casually.”

“No, wouldn’t everyone want to use something so convenient?” John retorted.

“Yes, that’s right. We know it’s convenient because we’ve used it.

That’s because we can write.

Most people can’t write. For those who can’t write, bread is more important than paper.”

“That’s right. Only a small number of people would use this paper.

It probably won’t sell in ordinary stores.”

“In that case, only nobles, church officials, or a small number of wealthy merchants would buy the paper.

How much are you thinking of selling the paper for?”

“I’m hoping to sell a ream of 50 sheets for 100,000 Zeni.”

“2,000 Zeni per sheet? How many buyers would there be at that price?”

That was indeed a valid question.

“If I don’t set the price around that much, there’s no point in making the paper,” Roy said with a grimace.

If we could mass-produce and sell the paper in large quantities like in my previous life, we could make a large profit even at a low price.

However, with the current method of relying on manpower, the production volume is limited, and if we want to make a large profit, we have to set a high price.

The truth is, I don’t want to sell it at a low price while it’s still scarce.

However, if the price is high, the number of people who will buy the paper is limited, and the problem is how to market it to those people.

Using a merchant to market it to the wealthy would be the quickest way, but there’s a risk that the method of manufacturing the paper would be stolen if we’re careless.

“You can’t trust those who are too quick to seize an opportunity.

They’ll think that if it can be made in a place like Toriholi Village, it can be made elsewhere too.

It wouldn’t be surprising if they tried to steal the method of making the paper, using various means.”

Hearing that, George seemed to agree that the paper couldn’t be simply sold.

Even if they didn’t steal it, they could get hints about the manufacturing method if they frequented Toriholi Village.

We’ve started planting a large amount of “Kozo” this year, which is the raw material for paper.

If they see this, they’ll realize what the paper is made from.

Since we’re discarding the woody part of the Kozo, they’ll also understand that we’re only using the bark.

We’re also purchasing reagents from outside the village, so that should provide some hints as well.

“I want to keep the fact that paper is being made in Toriholi Village as secret as possible.

We’re keeping the location of the paper manufacturing secret, but there’s a limit.

Ideally, I want to sell the paper while keeping its existence as unknown as possible to the world.”

I was able to make paper through trial and error, even though I had never manufactured paper before.

If someone is even slightly clever, it shouldn’t be impossible to imitate.

“We can’t market the paper recklessly.

If a merchant sells the paper on their own and the secret of the paper is revealed as a result, it will all be for nothing.”

“That’s difficult. You want to sell the paper, but you can’t advertise its benefits,” George said, understanding the difficulty.

That’s why it was necessary to find a trustworthy merchant who wouldn’t do anything untoward.

The lord had succeeded in getting the Earl of the neighboring town to buy the paper, but he hadn’t been able to find a trustworthy merchant in the neighboring town.

The discussion that had taken place in the village continued here.