Ed can finally make paper. It took half a year to get started. But you can't blame him. There were just too many things to do in the territory. Otherwise, he would have made paper first. After all, nobody wants to suffer.
Paper would not only make his toilet trips more comfortable, but it would also provide him with writing materials for his future school in the territory.
On the long table in the castle's main hall lay parchment containing Ed's organized papermaking methods. The scribbles and corrections revealed his dedication to perfecting every detail.
Ed was not at the long table, because he was not in the castle at the moment.
Since most people in the territory had their own things to do, Ed couldn't find any extra people to bring the bark and old fishing nets to the castle.
So somewhere outside Red Iron Village, Ed and Adelaide were busy loading bark onto an oxcart.
They were exhausted, but the ox pulling the cart was leisurely grazing. Although it was eating leisurely, you could tell from the occasional "grunts" it made that it was already dissatisfied with the two little humans behind it. Its mouth, which was lowering its head to nibble on the grass and then raising its head to chew, seemed to be saying, "You two hurry up, your grandpa ox is hot."
But you can't blame Ed for this; he's just too small and useless!
"Master, this cow seems to have a bad opinion of us." Adelaide seemed to have sensed something.
"Yes, it's probably because we packed it too slowly, and the sun is making it uncomfortable."
"Okay, let's hurry up and pack." Adelaide sped up the process.
Ed watched Adelaide working; the little maid's face was covered in sweat, and some parts were even grimy, she must have wiped it with her hands.
Ed wanted to wipe her hands, but after looking at his own hands, he decided against it.
Adelaide continued to pick up tree bark from the ground and throw it onto the oxcart, without asking any further questions. She quickly loaded the oxcart with tree bark, as it was incredibly hot.
Then, on the road from Chitie Village to the castle, there were many figures of two people carrying tree bark back and forth.
"Ah! Finally finished transporting them. It was so hot and tiring." Adelaide drank a glass of water and leaned against the long table in the castle hall, sighing deeply.
Ed wasn't much better off; after drinking several cups of water, he also lay down on the long table like a corpse.
Actually, when Adelaide says it's finished shipping, it only means that a small part of the shipment has been completed; there's still a lot left in other areas.
"Master, why are we bringing this bark back?" Adelaide asked curiously.
Seeing that its owner was so hot and still wanted to be pulled back, Adelaide thought that the bark must be used to make something good. However, he was also a little confused as to what good things could be made from bark.
Ed sat up from the long table, looked at Adelaide and said, "Adelaide, this is a good thing. This is used to make paper, like parchment, but it's softer and easier to use than parchment."
Adelaide picked up a piece of fallen bark from the ground, looked it over, and then asked uncertainly, "Can this be made into paper like parchment?"
Ed nodded, giving her a definite answer.
Adelaide was incredulous; she found it hard to reconcile the tree bark in front of her with the paper.
"Really?" Adelaide asked Ed again to confirm.
"Really," Ed gave her a very affirmative answer.
Adelaide put down the bark as if acknowledging the answer. However, she asked again, "Besides writing, is this paper used for anything else?"
Even if parchment is very precious, there's no need to go through so much trouble to make it! After all, there aren't many places that use parchment now.
The sheep in the territory are now managed centrally by the fir trees, and there are many more sheepskins than before. Adelaide was still a little puzzled, so she went out to ask again.
"Adelaide, this paper isn't just for writing; it has other uses too. You'll find out when the time comes."
Adelaide muttered to herself:
"Is there any other use for it?"