The Initial Plans Were in Place

Though Okso was young, she was highly capable. As head cook in the Weissenburg kitchen, she kept everything running smoothly.

But when her lord's "mischievous streak" took hold and he kept drying all sorts of food before soaking it again, she had no idea what to do.

By the time Frederick had finished experimenting, he discovered that his own lunch had been dehydrated too.

Katie scratched his head and smiled. "It's fine. The pie's still edible even if it's a little dry. Just have some extra soup."

Lunch passed with Psyche complaining about the food while Frederick pretended not to hear.

Kler was eating lunch with the headmaster at the castle for the first time. Unsure whether the headmaster liked dry food, he chose to keep quiet.

Richard Nahl kept making small talk with him, and Kler answered cautiously, fielding questions about how many acres his family owned, how many people were in it, whether they had bought a house, and so on.

Frederick thought Kler, who was in his early thirties, looked distinguished and refined. He spoke with clarity and seemed like a decent fellow.

Katie simply observed the table manners and focused on eating her dry, chewy meat pie.

When the dull lunch was over, Psyche led Katie and Kler to Frederick's study, which she had commandeered for the day.

She had drawn quite a few diagrams that morning, and now she explained them to the two of them one by one. Frederick listened in as she described her papermaking process.

Before long, Frederick was utterly baffled. You could make paper like that?!

Psyche's papermaking method didn't sound very complicated.

The raw material was common white pine and other pine trees. After debarking the trunks, they were sawn into sections and placed in a machine modified from a hydraulic lathe, which shaved them into thin sheets two to three millimeters thick. These sheets were then cut into parallelograms measuring sixteen to twenty millimeters along the wood fibers and several centimeters wide. The angled cuts exposed more of the fiber cavities, preparing them for the next step.

Meanwhile, green acid slimes were mashed and boiled with water in a clay pot. Once the water turned green, it was filtered and dehydrated, yielding pure, dark green slime acid for storage.

Water was added to a large clay pot, followed by slime acid at one-fiftieth the volume of the water, and the mixture was stirred. After the thin wood sheets had steamed for an hour, they were added to the pot while still hot, ensuring they were all submerged in the acid.

The pot was then covered and heated until the acid simmered gently. The lid was opened from time to time to stir the contents. The wood sheets were boiled in the acid for about three hours, until they had softened considerably.

Three grinding mills were prepared at the mill. Their bodies were made of stone, and their grinding surfaces were steel. Each had a different pattern, ranging from coarse to fine.

The wood sheets were removed from the acid and rinsed clean in fresh water. They were then passed through the coarse, medium, and fine mills in succession, producing wood pulp.

After water, agar as a dispersant, and calcium carbonate as a filler were added to the pulp and thoroughly stirred in, it could move on to papermaking, followed by pressing and dewatering.

The process didn't look complicated, but there were still many details to resolve during actual production. Even such things as the pulp concentration, the proportions of dispersant and filler, and the thickness of the paper would require extensive experimentation—not to mention building a factory, commissioning specialized equipment, and training workers.

Frederick estimated that they'd be lucky to produce usable paper within a year.

After that came printing, the materials for metal type, and ink formulas—all of which would require ongoing research.

Once Psyche had finished explaining the process, she began going over the details. Just then, a visitor arrived to see Frederick.

Basf seemed very happy that day. When Frederick walked into the sitting room, Basf's radiant smile went from shining like the ten o'clock summer sun to shining like the noon sun.

Frederick noticed the dark circles around his eyes and the bloodshot look in them. "What, did you stay up all night?"

Basf answered at once. "As long as I can help ease the headmaster's burdens, I don't mind how tired I get!"

Frederick shook his head and gestured to the sofa. "Have a seat." He waited until Tarot brought the tea before continuing. "No matter how busy you are, you need to get proper rest. Don't trade your health for money when you're young, only to spend that money trying to buy back your health when you're older."

Basf immediately stood and shouted, "I'll remember your advice, Headmaster!"

Frederick's face darkened. He waved for Basf to sit down, then asked with a smile, "What, is the money for a wife putting that much pressure on you?"

Basf's face turned red, and he stammered without managing to say anything.

Frederick stopped teasing him and pointed at the leather bag by his feet. "Show me what you brought."

Basf immediately took out the slime gel samples he had brought and laid them out one by one on the tea table.

Frederick examined them all with a calm expression, then sighed.

Basf's heart skipped a beat. He tensed up at once, clenching his fists, his face ashen as he wondered if it was all over.

"I don't get it," Frederick said, a question mark practically hanging over his head. "You've got a hen that lays golden eggs. Why are you still fretting over the money for a wife?"

Basf was taken aback, then replied with a broad smile, "Without your wisdom, Headmaster, that hen wouldn't lay any eggs."

Frederick rolled his eyes. What was he, the hen's best friend?

Basf promptly changed the subject. "Back when we were in Constantinople, we scholars received generous salaries every year. We never had to worry about money."

"Now things are different. After everyone fled here, we lost those high incomes. We're not starving, but we can't afford the lifestyles we used to have, so we have to find ways to make money."

"Professor Aumert has recently earned a good deal in commissions for making bearings for you, Headmaster. His wife has already lifted the ban on his drinking."

"Professor Osram and his students borrowed money from all over to install streetlamps in Weissenburg. The headmaster approved some land for him to build a workshop, and though it hasn't been long, he's already paid back a tenth of what he borrowed."

"Some merchants are even willing to lend Professor Osram money to build his workshop without charging interest. They only ask that he fill their orders first."

"If Vice Headmaster Manuel hadn't reminded us, we'd all have been so focused on making money that we'd have forgotten we needed to recruit students."

Frederick chuckled when he heard that. "Tell everyone to spend more time walking around the city and the villages. They might find some inspiration."

Then he picked up a piece of transparent slime hard rubber and flicked it. It rang out with a crisp sound.

"Have you ever thought of using this material as a substitute for glass?" Frederick asked.

Basf replied, "This transparent hard rubber is brittle, and coloring it makes it even more so. It'd break too easily if used to make containers."

These days, glass was used for windows and mirrors, as well as all sorts of colored cups, bowls, bottles, and ornaments.

Frederick pointed at the window. "Try using it as a substitute for window glass."

Basf answered with a wry smile, "That won't work. I tried it. It's too brittle. A strong enough vibration will snap it."

Frederick nodded and picked up a piece of transparent slime gel, considering it.

The gel felt firm yet somewhat elastic, a little like an eraser.

"Why don't you try this?" he said, holding the hard rubber in one hand and the transparent soft gel in the other. "Put a layer of this elastic gel between two rigid sheets and see if that works better."

Basf immediately made a face. "I'll try it as soon as I get back."

Frederick picked up another piece of elastic gel. It was yellow, softer, and more elastic. He tugged at it a couple of times, then let his playful side take over.

He had Tarot fetch a small knife, cut a piece of the yellow gel, hollowed it out, and used it as a rubber band to snap Basf on the forehead.

"That's great!" Frederick exclaimed. "This stuff could be incredibly useful!"

Basf replied a little proudly, "I once used this slime gel to improve the seats in carriages. It made the ride less bumpy."

Frederick nodded. "If you can make a tougher, more wear-resistant, and more elastic gel, it could be used for shoe soles or wrapped around wheels."

"This one!" Basf immediately picked up a piece of black slime gel and handed it over. "I made this black gel by accident. I was trying to make helmet padding."

Frederick took the black slime gel and examined it. It was a bit like rubber tires.

He nodded and picked up the next type of slime gel.

This slime gel was milky white, with decent strength and toughness. It reminded him of the little forks that came with cup noodles in his previous life.

"Could this gel be used to make tableware?" Frederick asked. "Just press it between two molds, and you'd have a bowl."

"Tens of thousands of refugees will be arriving soon. Providing each of them with just one bowl to eat from will be a headache."

"Absolutely!" Basf replied at once. "I was planning to use this gel to make folding fans. It's strong enough."

Frederick smiled and asked, "Were you planning to imitate ivory?"

Basf only smiled and said nothing.

Frederick picked up the last type of slime gel, the kind of thin film he had seen at the blacksmith's shop.

Basf had put his ingenuity to work and brought two finished products.

The gel bag, large enough to hold a watermelon, was made by coating the outside of an iron pot with slime gel. Once it had cooled and hardened, it could be peeled off and used.

Fine hemp thread was woven into a mesh and placed between two colored sheets of film. Then the layers were fused together by passing a heated tool, like an iron, over them. The finished material could be made directly into rain capes or tents.

After examining all the slime gel, Frederick wrote out orders approving land and funds as he said, "Very good. Here's your next task: produce as much tableware, gel bags, and waterproof cloth as you can in a short time. Any problems?"

"I don't have enough workers," Basf answered at once.

Frederick had no solution to the staffing problem either. All he could say was, "Ask the blacksmiths and carpenters. If their wives are willing, they can come work."

Basf thought it over, came up with an idea to use his position for personal gain, and promptly agreed.

After discussing some of the details, Basf left without even eating dinner.

Frederick leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, and recalled the projects he had recently set in motion.

The canal, agriculture, steel, malt sugar, bearings, pharmaceuticals, papermaking, slime gel, and more had all been arranged. That was enough for Wessen Territory for now.

There was no opening for the glass industry, and he didn't have the energy to deal with it at the moment. He would have to wait until later.

The textile industry was something they needed to develop, but he would only consider it after the canal opened and trade routes became convenient. Otherwise, raw materials would be a problem.

Frederick rubbed his face. Next, he needed to focus on preparing for the refugees.