Cecil and Arisa’s book lay before him, and Kousuke was groaning.
It was a well-made book, and he wanted to make multiple copies if possible, but the cost was a barrier, and he was hesitant to proceed.
Shurein approached Kousuke.
“Kousuke, may I borrow this book for a while?”
Shurein held a book in his hand.
It was likely one of the books shared through the tower’s functions. Books in the management layer were treated as shared, but permission was required to take them out of the management layer.
“Of course, but it’s unusual,” Kousuke replied.
“Indeed. It contains quite a bit of useful information for vampires. I’d like to copy it and give it to each of our clans.”
“I see. That’s fine, then. But wouldn’t copying it take a lot of time?”
Kousuke imagined that copying a book would take a considerable amount of time. There were currently three vampire clans, so copying three volumes would be quite a task.
However, seeing Kousuke’s reaction, Shurein tilted his head in puzzlement.
“It would be troublesome indeed, but it wouldn’t take that much time?”
“….Huh?!”
Kousuke let out a startled cry at the unexpected reply.
“Huh? But if you’re writing by hand to copy it, wouldn’t that take a long time…?”
At Kousuke’s words, Shurein’s eyes widened.
“Copying by hand!?”
Seeing Shurein’s reaction, Kousuke finally realized that his idea of copying and Shurein’s idea of copying were different.
“Ah… I know this might seem late, but may I ask how copying is done?”
“By preparing the tools and materials and using magic, of course!”
Taken aback by the simple answer, Kousuke let out a sigh. Even after nearly four years in this world, he was still disheartened by the new common knowledge he discovered.
Seeing Kousuke’s dejection, Shurein finally realized that Kousuke had hit a wall of common sense. Shurein carefully explained the method of copying. The explanation itself was quite simple. By preparing materials like ink and paper and using a magic circle, it was replicated. Kousuke tilted his head at the seemingly simple method.
“It sounds simple when you explain it, but then why are books so expensive?”
If duplication were easy, the price of widely circulated books shouldn’t be so high. However, as far as Kousuke had confirmed, book prices were extremely high.
“Well, first, there’s the preparation time involved.”
“Preparation? But you just need to get the tools, right?”
“Ah, no, not that kind of preparation. First, the sorcerer performing the copy must read and understand the book’s content.”
To use the magic for copying, the sorcerer must have a proper understanding of the book’s content. For simple children’s stories, it wouldn’t matter, but for specialized books, the sorcerer themselves needs a certain level of knowledge. Furthermore, there’s another significant hurdle with copying.
“The copying magic itself can only be used by a very high-ranking sorcerer.”
“Ah. I see.”
High-ranking sorcerers are individuals who can be counted on one’s fingers in each country. Such powerful individuals are usually employed by the country for high salaries or belong to an organization, so there are virtually no sorcerers who work solely on copying. Of course, they can be hired for personal requests, but the fees would be astronomical. Generally, copying books using magic is primarily a state-led endeavor. Holy magic can also be used for copying, but the church controls these resources for copying scriptures, so they are rarely available for general books. Without magic, copying is done by hand, making the effort and time involved incomparable to using magic.
“That’s what I know. I doubt it has changed since then,” Shurein concluded.
“Understood. I’ll confirm with Schmidt next time,” Kousuke replied.
“That would be wise,” Shurein nodded.
***
“So, that’s the story. Is there anything wrong with it?” Kousuke asked Schmidt, relaying what he had heard from Shurein. Schmidt, while unaware that Kousuke wasn’t originally from this world, suspected Kousuke lacked common sense, considering his status as an Avatar.
“No. It doesn’t differ from what I know,” Schmidt replied.
“Then, the reason you said copying takes time before was?”
“Of course, it means it takes time to find someone who can use copying magic!” Schmidt’s answer made Kousuke sigh, thinking, “So that’s how it was.” It was completely different from what Kousuke had envisioned. However, it didn’t change the fact that copying itself was a laborious process.
“If you need it, I can copy it for you,” Shurein offered, since his knowledge didn’t contradict anything.
“That’s kind of you, but it doesn’t solve the fundamental problem. I’d like to copy various other books, not just the ones those two created.” Kousuke wanted to obtain a large number of books for a certain purpose. However, this would be difficult unless books became readily available.
“Speaking of which, how much do ink and paper cost?” Kousuke used paper and ink that Schmidt supplied for his research, so he didn’t know the exact prices. Besides, he could always use the tower’s functions if needed, so he hadn’t paid much attention to the cost.
“They’re about this much,” Schmidt said, presenting prices that were not exorbitantly high. Upon closer inspection, even ordinary households used them for important occasions, though not for frequent communication, usually for matters related to weddings and funerals. However, all of this was different from what Kousuke had previously believed. He had simply assumed that books were expensive because the paper and ink themselves were costly. Despite spending a considerable amount of time in this world, his failure to notice this sooner was entirely due to his own preconceptions.
“Hmm. I see. In that case, it’s a shame we can’t print them,” Kousuke mused. Even if mass production wasn’t possible, being able to print dozens of copies would relatively lower the price of books. However, introducing printing technology would bring about significant changes in this world. Furthermore, there was a major problem with printing itself.
“Printing, you say?” Schmidt’s eyes gleamed upon hearing Kousuke’s mumbling, sensing a potential source of profit based on his merchant’s intuition and past dealings.
“It’s a technology that allows multiple copies of the same text or image to be created simultaneously…” Kousuke explained, but Schmidt and Shurein tilted their heads, unable to fully grasp the concept.
“Unfortunately, with the knowledge I possess, there’s nothing useful,” Shurein admitted. At best, he knew about woodblock printing or cutting paper and applying ink, or arranging text to print like a seal. Each piece of knowledge was incomplete, and it would require considerable trial and error to implement. Frankly, he didn’t have the luxury of spending so much time solely on printing.
Schmidt then made a proposal to the troubled Kousuke. “If you have an idea, we can have artisans try it out, can’t we?”
“It’s just a whim, and I don’t know how long it will take before it succeeds?”
“Fortunately, the current Crown has some leeway. If you wish to try, I believe now is a good time,” Schmidt suggested. Kousuke considered it briefly but couldn’t come up with any better ideas.
“Alright. Then, let’s proceed with having the artisans try various approaches for printing.”
“Understood. I will bring Dales to discuss it with you soon.”
“Yes, do that.” Kousuke’s agreement marked the beginning of a project concerning printing technology within the Crown. However, since Kousuke’s knowledge was limited, it would take some time for printing to take shape.
This chapter was written because after mentioning Cecil and Arisa’s book, I received various comments regarding printing, and I felt the need to properly establish it. Although it may seem late, the printing technology in this world was not fully defined, and with this chapter, it is now officially set. I will try to be mindful, but if there are any contradictions with previous chapters, please point them out.
