kscans

Chapter 79 - An Exposed Diary (Part 2)

"...Yuri, was that what you were doing yesterday afternoon? It looked like you were doing something with one hand while standing."

"While standing!? With one hand!?"

"Well... not exactly one hand..."

And so, Yuri ended up revealing not only his "diary," but also a palm-sized "memo pad"... and the excitement of the merchant and adventurers upon seeing an immediate and simple means of recording was immense. Information was vital to both, and for the latter, it could even be a matter of life and death. It wasn't unheard of for adventurers to carry wax tablets, but their bulkiness was a drawback. Many tried to memorize things and write them down later when they had free time, but memories inevitably faded. For this reason, some carried small wax tablets, and they had assumed Yuri’s was one of those... but this could permanently record information on the spot?

"Yuri, do you have any more of those pen-like things!?"

"Is it a magic tool? Is it?"

"Yuri-kun, what about that paper? It seems to be of very high quality, but is mass production possible!?"

"Wa, wait, everyone, please calm down."

How did it come to this, Yuri wondered, as he desperately wracked his memories from his past life and put his mind to work. He had carelessly forgotten, but even in Europe, written records of pencils didn’t appear until the modern era. It must have been an advanced item for this time. However, this world had magic and alchemy, so it probably wasn’t impossible to make if the method was known. As for the paper... could teaching them how to make it lead to deforestation? This world had monsters, so he thought it wouldn’t be that simple... no, if that was the case, it might put more pressure on him...

"This pen is called a pencil... a charcoal pencil, to be precise. I have some spares, so I’ll give one each to Kudol-san and Adon-san."

Yuri quieted the rising cheers and continued speaking.

"As for the paper, due to issues with materials and the manufacturing process, it’s impossible to increase production at the moment."

"Mmm... I suppose it can’t be helped. But the pen... pencil? Can it be mass-produced?"

"This one can’t be done right away either... I can’t say for sure without looking into the material situation a bit..."

It wasn't entirely a lie. The powdered charcoal aside, he couldn't guarantee he could obtain suitable clay to mix with it. Depending on the type of clay, it could greatly affect the quality of the lead, and by extension, the ease of writing. If he could gather a large amount from Salt-Sour Mountain, that would be one thing, but at present, he couldn’t mine much clay. It wasn't impossible to make it from ordinary soil, but the time and effort involved would be immense, to the point he never wanted to do it again.

"I see... Yuri-kun, I’m sorry, but could you confirm it as soon as possible?"

"Even if you say so... unless you can arrange for the raw materials, Adon-san."

"...What are the raw materials!?"

"The bottleneck seems to be the clay, for now."

Adon thought for a moment, then promised to make arrangements as soon as they arrived in Laurenzen. So, Yuri gave Adon about five pencils as samples. He hadn’t expected the pencils to be taken so quickly, so Yuri himself didn’t have many to spare.

Was he going to be okay, being in this state before even reaching Laurenzen? As a slight feeling of anxiety began to sprout, Dona timidly posed a question.

"Um... Yuri-kun, were you keeping a diary?"

"Ah, I started writing it after I came to that village... after my grandfather was gone. Because... there were so many things I had to learn."

"Come to think of it... you seemed to be writing in some strange characters?"

To Adon’s pursuit, disguised as a casual remark,

"I’m still not very good at writing the letters here..."

Yuri said, casting his eyes down. As expected, everyone looked away or hung their heads. ...He had become quite a twisted person, he thought to himself.

"That aside, Yuri-kun, your grandfather seemed to know a great many things... Just who was he?"

"I wonder... To me, my grandfather was just my grandfather."

...He hadn't thought through the backstory of a non-existent grandfather that deeply. Considering the future, Yuri secretly thought it might be better to flesh out the details a bit more.