kscans

Chapter 141 - An Introduction to Otherworld Information Organization 2. Cardboard and Cards (Part 2)

Yuri recalled a scene at the bookstore in Laurenzen.

"...Helman-san, is this..."

What Yuri held in his hand was what could be called a multi-hole punch, something like a big brother to the two-hole punch used to make holes for binding paper.

"Ah, that is a tool for punching holes when binding parchment, you see." "Parchment?"

It certainly seemed possible to punch holes in parchment, but...

"Were you not aware, Yuri-sama? In this country as well, contracts and the like are increasingly being replaced with paper-based ones that are difficult to tamper with, but many government offices and such still use parchment for their documents. Storing it rolled up takes up space, and it is inconvenient for viewing, so it is bound for storage. That is the tool for punching the binding holes for that purpose, you see."

It was originally a leatherworking tool, but since it was a tool for binding documents, the bookstore also handled it, he said.

"...Will you be purchasing it?" "Can it be used for binding paper too? In the place where I live, I think it's difficult to get a tool like this."

Helman thought that for paper, it would be quicker to just punch holes with an awl, but he did not say such things out loud. He must have some idea. He had learned over the past few days that he should not judge the boy before him by his appearance. No, he really had.

"...I see. It does seem useful when binding a large number of sheets." "Also, for a weak child like me, it's quite a struggle just to pierce through with an awl."

Helman thought that it was not as easy as piercing a monster called a Tyrantbot with a stone stake, but being the adult that he was, he passed it off by smiling and nodding.


And so, through that series of events, he had purchased a multi-hole punch in Laurenzen. With this, it seemed he could manage to punch holes around the perimeter of the cards.

"The remaining problem is that the thicker it is, the more pulp it consumes... but I guess I just have to give up on that... no, wait a minute?"

What crossed Yuri's mind was the matter of veneer, which he had also remembered when he made particle board. He didn't think he would go so far as to make cards out of plywood, but he remembered buying a postcard on a family trip in his past life that was made by gluing a thinly peeled piece of wood, he thought it was called kyogi, onto washi paper. He also remembered hearing that in the old days, sushi boxes and the like were also wrapped in this kyogi. Putting aside the matter of kyogi, what Yuri was thinking about was wood shavings. What about sandwiching this between layers of paper?

He didn't readily consider increasing the production of paper from wood pulp because the cellulose content of wood was lower than Kenfa, making it inefficient, and because of the possibility that the paper would discolor if the lignin contained in the wood was not removed. Considering the effort involved, papermaking from wood pulp did not appeal to him.

"If it's just a matter of sandwiching wood shavings between the layers during the papermaking stage, it won't be that much trouble, and if I can press it together with magic, I might not even need an adhesive."

Considering that point, sandwiching wood shavings between layers of paper didn't seem like such a bad idea. However, there was one thing that worried him.

"What I'm worried about is whether the lignin will seep out from the wood shavings sandwiched in the core."

Yuri was thinking that it might be a good idea to experiment with it since he had the chance, but when he suddenly recalled the thick paper he remembered...

"...No... the stuff they called cardboard didn't feel like it was such high-quality paper..."

He had a feeling that it was gray or yellow, and the paper quality wasn't that good either. He had been thinking of something like making handmade washi thicker, but was this perhaps different? He hurriedly read the explanation from Appraisal-sensei and...

"...Ah, so they're layering low-quality pulp made from waste paper or rice straw..."

Waste paper aside, if it was wheat straw instead of rice straw, he had enough of that to feed to the cows. He had bought low-grade paper from Laurenzen for memos, but should he have considered making straw paper instead? He had simply followed the instructions for making washi that were listed in the description of Appraisal-sensei, but...

"Now I feel like I could make paper from straw too... wait... it's been upgraded, and the method for making paper from straw is listed too..."

If he added straw to Kenfa as a papermaking raw material, he could increase the production of paper a little. He could use that for the thick paper. And if he could make thick paper, how about considering file cases and paper bags as well?

"It might be a hassle if Adon-san finds out, but there shouldn't be a problem if I just use it secretly myself, right."

Well, I wonder about that.