kscans

Chapter 191 - The Land of Paper 2. The Paper Products Interrogation

Upon returning to Adon's mansion, what awaited Yuri was a witness summons disguised as an inquiry. The witness to be questioned was Yuri. The interrogators were Adon, Old Man Audel, the butler Helman, and the head chef, Mand.

"Um... what is this...?"

"Oh, nothing. It just seems you know a great deal about how to use paper, Yuri-kun. I was hoping you might enlighten us on some of it."

Adon replied with a smile, but behind his gaze, something akin to a determination that said 'I will not let you escape' was flickering. It would be best to spew out some harmless knowledge to an acceptable degree and make a quick getaway. Steeling himself, Yuri feigned an innocent expression and answered.

"Even if you say that... I only heard about it from my grandfather..."

With that preface, Yuri listed several examples of paper use from his past life in Japan, though he wisely kept quiet about things like paper currency and certificates.

"...Hmm... paper crafts, you say..."

The first examples he gave were paper crafts. He started with papier-mâché, kirigami, and papercraft, then explained folding and flat fans, but without physical examples, they did not seem to fully understand. Of course, this was unavoidable. As usual, Yuri was completely unaware, but in this country, paintings were mainly done on wooden boards or cloth canvases stretched over wooden frames. The attempt to draw pictures on paper had not yet been made. Adon was intrigued, but as a merchant, he was hesitant to get involved, as he was unsure if it would be accepted or if it would sell.

Next, Yuri brought up wrapping paper and paper bags with logos. Adon showed interest in this, but it was rejected due to the high cost of mass production. Unlike in his past life in Japan, paper was still a luxury item in this world.

Consumables like toilet paper and tissues would probably not suit the current state of affairs in this world. So, what else was there? Yuri thought of kitchen items like coffee filters, tea bags, and from there, paper cups, paper plates, and paper pots.

"A paper pot?"

"...A pot made of paper, you mean?"

"No, no, Yuri-boy, no matter how you look at it, you can't make a pot out of a flimsy piece of paper, can you?"

"No, as long as it's properly waterproofed, it's fine. Water stops getting hotter once it starts boiling... or so I've heard, and the temperature at which paper ignites is higher than that. So as long as there's water in the container, the paper won't burn even if you put it over a fire."

To the skeptical-looking adults, he demonstrated an experiment by folding a sturdy piece of paper into a cup-like shape, filling it with water, and placing it over a flame. Although there was some leakage, the adults' mouths fell open when they saw the water inside the paper cup boil without the cup itself burning. The one who snapped back to reality and latched onto Yuri was, once again, Adon.

"Yuri-kun! This... this paper pot, is it easy to make!?"

"Huh? ...Well, I'm not sure about that... but basically, it's just a paper container made to not leak water..."

It did not seem like it would be that much trouble, but Yuri could not quite understand why Adon had latched onto the idea with such vigor. The others seemed to feel the same, as Old Man Audel questioned Adon.

"...Hey, what are you so excited about? It's an interesting tool, sure, but it's just paper, isn't it? At best, you can only use it once, right?"

Old Man Audel glanced at Yuri, asking with his eyes, and Yuri nodded in confirmation. However, Adon's aim was something else entirely.