“Yes. That would be you, Master.”
Aiman nodded as he declared that Keiras would be the one to create an opening for him to make money.
Keiras stared at him in disbelief.
“What sort of opening am I supposed to create? Would you like me to use magic to blast a hole through something?”
Keiras raised his mana as he spoke, and Aiman gave a faint chuckle.
“That was an amusing joke.”
It was not actually amusing.
He had merely laughed because he thought a disciple ought to humor his master.
Keiras was perfectly aware of what that smile meant.
Wondering whether he should have kept his mouth shut, he merely groaned.
“Ugh. Stop saying things you do not mean and get to the point.”
He wanted Aiman to stop wasting time and explain what he had been talking about.
Before doing so, Aiman asked him a question.
“What is paper?”
“A tool used to record writing or pictures.”
“That is correct. But who uses it?”
“Naturally, anyone who wishes to write would need to know how to write, while anyone who wishes to draw would need to know how to draw.”
“And what sort of people possess those skills?”
“At the very least, they would be nobles or people of comparable status.”
That was correct.
In this world, paper was used by people with a certain degree of financial means.
Considering its substantial price, that was only natural.
Aiman combined the answers Keiras had given to his series of questions and presented his final one.
“Exactly. And there happens to be a Count standing before me, does there not? Furthermore, do Mages use a great deal of paper or not?”
“……They use a great deal.”
“And standing before me is a Count who is also an Imperial Mage. Would that not be sufficient?”
“You little brat. You intend to fleece your own master bare.”
Keiras said this after realizing that Aiman intended to use him to sell his paper.
Aiman did not offer any further explanation.
“Instead, I will provide you with all the paper I produce free of charge.”
The moment those words left Aiman’s mouth, Keiras asked a question.
“What did you say you needed?”
Keiras had acknowledged it as well.
The paper Aiman produced was better than the paper sold by Paper Farm.
@
“You truly worry about the strangest things.”
Aiman chuckled from inside the carriage carrying him back to his manor.
He was referring to something Keiras had told him.
“It is true that you must earn money to make a living. However, never forget that you are a Mage and my disciple. You must never neglect your magic.”
Keiras had warned him never to forget that he was a Mage.
They had spent so much time discussing how Aiman would conduct his paper business and earn money that Keiras had grown concerned.
He feared that Aiman would become too engrossed in the business and neglect his magic.
There was good reason for Keiras to be concerned.
Aiman had already absorbed almost everything Keiras could teach him. Unless the number of Aiman’s mana circles increased, there was little more Keiras could offer.
It was not that there was absolutely nothing left to teach. However, most of what Aiman needed to learn as a Mage required him to possess additional mana circles before he could receive further instruction.
For Aiman to increase the number of mana circles available to him, he needed to obtain a slave.
Specifically, a slave with a talent for magic.
In other words, Aiman would have to concentrate on earning money as a means of obtaining such slaves.
Keiras was worried that his first disciple might eventually forget his duties as a Mage and live as a merchant instead.
Aiman considered Keiras’s concerns to be needless.
That was only natural.
“I only need to teach Father and Mother how to produce the paper. Once I establish a suitable foundation for its distribution with Master’s assistance, I can leave it to Hansen or appoint a figurehead proprietor.”
In truth, Aiman would have felt most at ease if he personally handled the sales.
However, doing so might cause him to place magic second, just as Keiras feared.
That did not mean he could avoid becoming involved altogether.
If he appointed a figurehead from the very beginning and taught that person everything, it would be the perfect way to be betrayed later.
Of course, he could simply find someone who would not betray him.
However, finding such a person and entrusting a business to him was hardly easy.
In any case, Aiman sank into thought inside the carriage as he considered how to proceed.
‘How much of the process should I keep secret, and how much should I assign to the workers?’
Producing Hanji required an enormous amount of labor.
If they were only making a small quantity, his parents could manage it by themselves. However, that would not be enough once they began operating it as a proper business.
Producing large quantities for commercial purposes would naturally require a corresponding increase in labor.
That meant they would have to employ workers.
However, Aiman could not allow the workers to learn every part of the Hanji production process.
Therefore, he needed to decide which tasks could be entrusted to the workers and which tasks only Isaac and Teresa should perform so that the workers could not learn how to produce Hanji themselves.
“We could perform only the Single-Screen Sheet Formation ourselves, but…….”
Single-Screen Sheet Formation.
It was the most important step in Hanji production.
Of course, every individual stage of the process was important. Nevertheless, this was the final step required to transform all their work into a completed sheet of Hanji.
It involved applying Hibiscus Mucilage so that the Paper-Mulberry Fibers would intertwine over the Papermaking Screen, then dipping the screen into water and shaking it.
Once the Paper-Mulberry Fibers intertwined, the shape of the Hanji was formed. After drying and pressing it thoroughly, it became a perfect sheet of Hanji.
Without knowing this process, no one could produce Hanji.
However, there was a problem.
“If the business becomes successful, I cannot leave the Single-Screen Sheet Formation entirely to Father and Mother forever…….”
If the business became truly successful, they might have to produce enormous quantities of Hanji.
However, Aiman quickly dismissed the thought.
“That is right. There is no guarantee that it will succeed yet. Besides, this world does not require that much paper.”
On Earth, paper had countless uses, and numerous factories existed to produce it.
In this world, however, only a small minority of privileged people among the entire population could use paper.
“It might be different if our paper eventually becomes famous for being superior to Paper Farm’s and everyone begins to want it.”
Unless that happened, Isaac and Teresa alone should be capable of performing the Single-Screen Sheet Formation without creating any supply problems.
A new business did not succeed merely because it had begun.
It had to spread through word of mouth and establish itself as a proper brand before it could flourish.
There was no need to think too grandly about a Hanji business that had not even started yet.
Just as Aiman finished organizing his thoughts, he felt the carriage come to a stop.
“Have we arrived?”
As though answering Aiman’s question, the coachman called out.
“We have arrived!”
After hearing that they had reached the manor, Aiman stepped out of the carriage and thanked the coachman.
“Thank you for bringing me here safely.”
“Oh, there is no need to thank me. My master ordered me to do it, so I merely carried out my duty.”
Whether it was the butler Kariv or this coachman, Aiman could sense something resembling genuine respect toward their master, Keiras.
Both as an office worker and as a Serf, Aiman had only ever lived beneath someone else.
He had never received such gazes himself, but he had seen many people who did.
They were the gazes of employees who trusted and followed their superior, and of residents who respected the Lord governing their territory.
The coachman’s eyes held that same look.
Aiman felt an inexplicable sense of envy.
Only someone who inspired trust in his own people could receive such a gaze.
That thought reminded Aiman of the people he was now responsible for.
He wondered whether Hansen and the people working at his manor would ever look at him in the same way.
As the thought occurred to him, Aiman smiled faintly.
Seeing Aiman suddenly smile, the coachman tilted his head.
“Is something the matter?”
“I was merely thinking that everyone serving Master appears to respect him.”
“Oh, naturally. You would have difficulty finding anyone who takes better care of the people beneath him than our master.”
“Is that so?”
“There are countless people who merely throw a few wages at their servants, work them far beyond what those wages justify, and do not even feed them properly. Compared to such people, there is no master better than ours.”
“A master who properly takes care of his people……. Very well. You may return now.”
“Yes, then I shall take my leave.”
The coachman departed.
The moment Aiman entered the manor, Hansen came forward to greet him.
“Welcome back, Master.”
“Yes, I am back.”
Aiman stared at Hansen for a moment.
When Aiman continued looking at him without speaking, Hansen asked a question.
“Is something wrong, Master?”
“Hansen, is there any food you particularly enjoy?”
“Food I enjoy?”
“Yes.”
Hansen wondered why Aiman had suddenly asked about his favorite food.
However, it was not the place of a subordinate to question his master’s intentions.
Hansen immediately answered Aiman’s question.
“Would that not be meat?”
“Meat?”
“Meat is the best.”
“Meat is the best,” Aiman murmured before smiling.
“That is true. Meat certainly is the best. Also, Hansen.”
“Yes?”
“Could you ask all the members of our household what foods they enjoy?”
“By members of the household, do you mean……?”
“Surely you do not think I am referring to Father and Mother. I mean the people who work at our manor.”
“Understood.”
Once again, Hansen was curious about Aiman’s intentions. However, as the butler, he only needed to carry out his master’s instructions.
Hansen went to ask the manor’s household staff about their favorite foods, just as Aiman had ordered.
Watching Hansen’s retreating back, Aiman smiled faintly.
“We have become one family, so we should at least hold a staff dinner together.”
It sounded exactly like something a department head would say.
Still, Aiman was not imagining the sort of company dinner that made subordinate employees uncomfortable.
In any case, Aiman had instructed Hansen to investigate what food they should prepare for the dinner.
He then headed toward Isaac.
Aiman knocked on the door to the room where Isaac and Teresa were staying.
KNOCK, KNOCK!
“Wh…… Who is it?”
Isaac hurriedly called out from inside the room.
Aiman tilted his head at the urgency in his father’s voice before answering.
“Father, it is me.”
“Ah…… Son, wait there for a moment.”
“Hmm? All right.”
Aiman wondered what they were doing that required him to wait.
Then the knowledge he possessed as an adult suddenly came to mind.
“Ah, damn it!”
Judging by how flustered Isaac sounded inside the bedroom, Aiman understood what was happening.
Realizing that he might have interrupted his parents’ private time, Aiman spoke again.
“Never mind. Please send someone to summon me once you have finished what you were doing. I will return to my room for now.”
“Ah…… All right!”
Isaac’s answer was still hurried, but Aiman could hear a measure of relief in it.
Aiman chuckled and shook his head.
“I suppose they would want to enjoy some time together as husband and wife now that they have a proper bed. At this rate, I might even have a younger sibling soon.”
After saying that, Aiman returned to his room.
How much time had passed?
Around an hour later, a maid came to his room.
KNOCK, KNOCK.
“Master, may I enter?”
“Yes, come in.”
Once Aiman gave his permission, the maid entered the room.
Looking at her, Aiman asked a question.
“Was your name Rina?”
“That is correct. It is an honor that you remembered the name of someone as lowly as me.”
The maid named Rina appeared somewhat surprised that Aiman knew her name.
Her reaction was understandable.
Aside from Hansen, none of the manor’s household staff had ever met Aiman alone.
They had only ever seen him return from Keiras’s manor and immediately shut himself inside his room.
It was therefore surprising that Aiman knew her name.
Seeing her reaction, Aiman shrugged.
“We will be living together as a family from now on. The least I can do is remember everyone’s name.”