Since
"…Are you sure about this, Ingo?"
"I've only ever worked with wood, so I don't know what kind of metal to use or how to use it. Asking someone who specializes in metal is the best approach."
Calling Johann and Zack seemed like a perfectly natural thing to me, but Benno said it was unthinkable.
Apparently, a woodworking workshop that had been commissioned for a job was never supposed to have a blacksmithing workshop involved from the design stage. The commission was accepted by the woodworking workshop, so the design was done there, and then only the necessary parts were ordered from the blacksmithing workshop.
But Ingo, saying that as long I—the one who placed the commission—was satisfied, he was willing to break precedent and hold cross-trade discussions to design the press together.
"…Isn't exchanging ideas across different trades a normal thing to do?"
"I've ordered hinges and nails from a blacksmithing workshop when making furniture or doors, but at the design stage, I wouldn't so much as speak with another trade, let alone a different workshop."
He said this was to make clear who had accepted the commission and who was profiting from it. I figured the system for designating exclusive craftsmen probably came from a similar reasoning.
"I suppose, as a noble, the High Priest doesn't understand how craftsmen work…"
Ingo sighed in resignation, while across from him, Benno glared at me as if to say, "How could you not understand?"
…I wouldn't understand even if I weren't a born noble. Sorry about that.
My father is a Soldier, and my mother and Turi are only hired hands at a workshop, so I'm not well-versed in the affairs of craftsmen who shoulder the burden of running a workshop. Perhaps it was because I'd been so absorbed in creating books that I had absolutely no interest in how the world worked.
"Well then, I'll do my best to think of as many improvement ideas as I can."
"Yeah, I'm counting on you."
After Ingo left, I tried to recall as much as I could about printing presses and wrote down potential improvements. I couldn't draw up actual designs—just words and diagrams—but I hoped they might serve as inspiration for something.
Several days later, Johann and Zack arrived, summoned as requested, looking around the room with wide eyes. Johann's face was pure anxiety—"What are they going to make me do this time?"—while Zack's face overflowed with curiosity, scanning the room as if searching for anything interesting lying around in the High Bishop's office.
"…So, we'd like to use metal for the printing press improvements as well, which is why I've called you two here. Please help us."
When I explained the situation and asked for their cooperation, Johann immediately replied with "Understood," but Zack wrinkled the tip of his nose in a dissatisfied frown.
"You say help, but the printing press is a commission for the woodworking workshop. It's not a commission for our workshop, so there's no benefit to us whatsoever."
"I do intend to pay for it, though?"
When I tilted my head, Zack shook his head, saying that wasn't the point.
"It's not just about money. Helping out with someone else's work won't improve our standing in the Blacksmith Guild."
Helping with a job someone else had taken on didn't count toward one's own reputation. That was why Johann, despite having the skills, had low standing—he had few clients of his own and spent most of his time helping others. When Johann assisted with his fine craftsmanship, it raised the reputation of the craftsman who'd accepted the commission and improved the workshop's standing. But it didn't raise Johann's own reputation.
"But if the metal parts are ordered from the blacksmithing workshop, wouldn't that contribute to Johann and Zack's reputations? That's what I was told…"
The printing press order would go to Ingo's workshop, and the metal parts would be ordered from Zack and Johann's respective workshops.
I'd thought this would be no different from a normal commission, but was I wrong?
"…Johann is overwhelmingly better at fine detail work."
Muttering through clenched teeth, Zack picked up the roller used for making wax paper blanks, stored in a corner of the workshop, as an example. The machine that Zack had designed but Johann had built was easier to use than the one Zack had built himself.
I knew Zack had bitten down hard on his back teeth in frustration over the fact that something he'd designed had ended up being something he couldn't build himself. It was irritation born from understanding the height of Johann's technical skill.
"The detailed work will naturally go to Johann. It doesn't improve my standing at all."
No matter how he thought about it, the results would go to Johann, Zack muttered.
I'd learned that while he'd previously shown Johann his designs saying it was impossible, he now watched Johann's ability to realize them with extreme caution.
It was a problem if they were both wary of each other to the point that free idea exchange and innovation couldn't flourish. I was counting on Zack's ability to give form to vague explanations and wishes.
"I'm placing my expectations specifically on Zack's creative ability. Would purchasing the design drawings allow the blacksmithing workshop to earn its reputation?"
Johann was the surer choice for crafting the parts, but Zack was overwhelmingly superior in terms of ideas and design. When I told Zack I wanted to buy his ideas, his eyes went round as if he'd never heard anything so outlandish.
"Buy… the design drawings? They're not physical goods!"
Seeing Zack drop into his natural way of speaking from sheer surprise, I experienced yet another culture shock. Apparently, buying design drawings was completely abnormal here.
"Yes. The design drawings are something Zack came up with, aren't they? Since I want to have them made, the drawings hold more than sufficient value. I'd like to purchase Zack's design drawings. If you think of the drawings themselves as the product, wouldn't that count toward Zack's reputation?"
"Th-that means… you'd commission me to create design drawings and then buy them? …Lady
Zack said this while blinking rapidly. I tilted my head, not understanding why it was so surprising, and Johann let out a soft sigh.
"Lady Rozemyne saying things that catch people off guard isn't an occasional thing. It's every time."
I pouted at Johann's muttered comment that today was better only because I hadn't suddenly burst into prayer.
Design drawings were apparently created through discussion with the client and then became the product, so there had been no precedent for selling them. If someone wanted the same item that had been made before, a new client would come through a referral from the existing one, so there was no need to let design drawings circulate elsewhere.
"I'd never even considered selling design drawings, but if they count as a product when commissioned, then it would contribute to my reputation too."
After settling on having Benno relay the design commission to Zack, Zack agreed and consented to cooperate on the printing press design.
"So, Lady Rozemyne, what exactly do you want to improve?"
"The current printing press is made entirely of wood, but I'd like to replace parts with metal to improve both its durability and printing accuracy."
I took out the diagrams I'd drawn from memory and spread them out.
"First, I'd like the press to have a movable bed like this. You'd place the type block on it, position the paper here, fold this plate down to secure it, then slide the whole thing under this pressure plate…"
I showed the diagrams and used gestures to explain how everything would move. Zack listened while muttering to himself, and Johann wore a complicated expression.
"At minimum, I'd like to attach metal parts to make it slide more smoothly."
"Ah, that, I can…"
Johann said he could do that with a relieved look, but Zack's gray eyes gleamed with a challenging light.
"…At minimum? What about the maximum?"
"It would be ideal if this bed could be moved by turning a handle. Does that make sense?"
Zack narrowed his eyes and groaned as I pantomimed gripping a handle and rotating it.
"Moving the bed with a handle…"
"There was also a method that adapted the mechanism of a spooling device. Would that be a useful reference?"
"Hmm, a spooling device… I see."
Since he said "I see," he must have thought of something. That was Zack for you—truly worthy of the
While waiting for Zack's ideas to take shape, Ingo crossed his arms and fixed me with his blue eyes.
"High Priest, is there anything else?"
"Anything else?"
"Right. Setting aside whether it's feasible or not, tell me everything you can think of about what improvements you want and what kind of things you'd like made."
Ingo said "everything you can think of" so casually, but even if I told him, I doubted he'd be able to understand it all.
"It's all right to say everything I can think of? I probably won't be able to make most of it, though."
"It's not about whether it's possible or not. Like Zack just did, a single offhand remark might make something possible. It might be applicable to something else entirely. Just tell me everything—anything and everything."
Zack nodded vigorously at Ingo's words and looked at me with expectant eyes. Since they were expecting it, whether it was possible or not, I might as well keep making bold requests.
"All right then. I'd also like you to think about using 'springs.'"
"Springs?"
"They're made of metal, so perhaps your workshop already works with them? Something like this."
I drew a diagram and described how they could be used. Johann clapped his hands.
"Ah, you mean a spring. …How would we use it in the printing press?"
"I don't know."
"Huh!?"
Well, even if they looked at me like that, I didn't know. I'd read about the history of printing press improvements, but there were no detailed design drawings, and even if there had been, I wouldn't remember the specifics.
"All I know is that they're used to assist the up-and-down movement of the pressure plate that applies force. Whether they can be incorporated into the press we're building, and how best to do so, I'll leave to you craftsmen. If used well, they'd certainly be convenient, but they're not absolutely indispensable."
Of all the improvements over the years, I was only recounting the ones I remembered, so there were surely many smaller innovations and tricks I didn't know about.
If we could incorporate what I'd said and build a new printing press, it would advance the history of printing by about one hundred to two hundred years in one leap. But I hoped for it—I didn't demand it.
"Oh, but since we're improving it anyway, one more thing."
"There's another improvement?!"
Zack's eyes went wide as he shouted.
They were the ones who'd said to tell them everything I could think of, so why the surprised faces?
"This one would fundamentally change the printing press, so I don't think it can be done right away. Currently, presses are built using a screw mechanism derived from a wine press, but I'd hope that someday a press using the 'lever principle' could be built."
"Ah, the lever principle…"
Ingo, who'd had it explained to him last time, furrowed his brows remembering that he hadn't understood, while Johann and Zack looked blankly confused.
I explained the lever principle just as I had to Ingo, and that it was already being used in construction and stonework, giving concrete examples. Everyone gave an "Ah" of understanding.
"Sure, I get the principle, but I have no idea how you'd actually use it," Johann said with a shrug.
Zack shook his head in denial, his eyes shining.
"What are you talking about?! This is incredible! You can move big things with just a little force! The part of the printing press that takes the most effort is moving this pressure plate, right? If even a small force could move it, printing would be so much easier! And the applications go way beyond just printing!"
"As I thought, Zack's creativity is amazing. Just as Zack said, the lever principle and springs can both be applied to other things. Personally, I'd love to have a bed made with springs, but first, the printing press. No matter what, it always starts with the printing press."
Books were more important than a comfortable mattress. Once the printing press was built, how they used springs and the lever principle to create new things was no concern of mine.
"Well, I'll go ahead and sketch out some design drawings. …You will purchase them, right?"
"I'll place an order with Zack's workshop for the printing press design, and I'll buy anything I think is good."
Zack's expression shifted to one of deep thought. His head seemed to be brimming with ideas.
Watching him, Ingo slowly exhaled.
"Haah… You're so impressive for someone so young. I didn't have the faintest idea what the High Priest was talking about."
"The ones who select which of Zack's designs are feasible and actually build them are Johann and Ingo. I'm leaving the design to Zack, who excels at flexible, free-form thinking."
As I puffed out my chest, declaring it was simply a matter of matching the right person to the right job, Johann slowly exhaled and shook his head.
"Right now, we're only making picture books, so there's no need to rush the printing press improvements, is there?"
"While making picture books, we should build the printing press, or we'll run into trouble later! What are you talking about, Johann? You lack sufficient awareness as a Gutenberg!"
Johann looked at me with an expression that screamed "I never claimed any such awareness," but I ignored him. Johann was Gutenberg. I would not budge on this.
"While Zack is working on the designs, I have other commissions for Ingo and Johann."
I handed design drawings to both of them.
I'd decided to place orders with Ingo for type cases and a composing stick holder, as well as for stickes and interlins.
"Type cases and a composing stick holder? …What are these stickes and interlins?"
"Type cases are boxes for holding metal type, with the frame sizes and positions designed based on usage frequency and quantity. And the composing stick holder is a stand where the type cases are stored—it's the workstation where composition takes place."
I explained how the type cases fit here, how you'd place the manuscript there, and how you'd compose like this. Ingo nodded in understanding.
"What about these stickes and interlins? They're quite small compared to the cases and stand."
"A sticke is a narrow wooden box-like tool used for composing type. Didn't you make some for me before?"
"I made them when asked, but I had no idea what they were for."
A sticke had a side cross-section shaped like a C or an L with one side open, so strictly speaking it couldn't even be called a box. It needed to be long enough to compose a line of type, so about the length of the short side of an A4 page, with a width of about five to six centimeters that could be held in one hand.
At the composing stand, type was placed one character at a time into this sticke.
"If you're putting type into the sticke, what's the interlin for?"
"The interlin is a narrow strip of wood that goes into the sticke first. With just one piece, it sets the width of a line and keeps the line spacing perfectly uniform."
Its height was set slightly lower than the metal type so as not to affect printing, its horizontal length was used to determine the length of a line of body text, and its vertical length was used to determine the spacing between lines.
Once a line of type was composed, an interlin was inserted, and the next line was composed, so many identical interlins were needed.
"Ingo's workshop is preparing identical strips for winter handicrafts, so they'd be easy to make, right?"
"They're monotonous work, but getting the sizes exactly right is surprisingly difficult. They're perfect for apprentice training, though."
Ingo said this as he accepted the commission.
Johnan studied the design drawings, narrowing his hawk-brown eyes with a complicated expression. I'd commissioned him to make the various spacing materials and setting rules—were they really that difficult?
"Johann, what's wrong? Were there things you didn't understand?"
"What is a setting rule? It's quite thin."
"Ah, a setting rule is placed in the sticke after the interlin, positioned flush against it. It makes the metal type slide more smoothly."
Since it was used to facilitate sliding, it had to be a thin, straight metal plate. I was counting on Johann's expertise.
"Also, there are the spacers, which I've already had made many of…"
"Spacers have been made, but we still need quads and en quads, haven't we? Besides, if we want to make books composed entirely of text, mutton quads, formats, and furniture will all be needed eventually."
Spacers were inserted between words. Johann had already made those for me.
Quads were used at the end of sentences where two or more characters of blank space were needed, so several with different lengths were required. Right now, spacers were being used to fill sentence endings, but using quads would improve efficiency when creating longer gaps.
En quads were used when creating gaps spanning multiple lines—when making space for an illustration or adding margins at a page break, for example. To keep them light, they were designed to be hollow inside.
Mutton quads, formats, and furniture were used to create margins when printing two pages at once in a spread. They were needed to space the gap between pages and to create the top and bottom margins.
"We haven't needed them yet since we've only ever printed one page of body text for picture books, but once the picture books are done, they'll be needed. If we want to begin printing text-heavy books for adults, we'll need a lot of them, so I'd like to have them prepared in advance."
While murmuring that Lady Rozemyne was thorough, Johann carefully hugged the design drawings to his chest.
"There's plenty of time before the deadline, but the printing press build will come in partway through, so please get started early."
About ten days later, I received a meeting request from Benno. Zack's design drawings were apparently finished.
Zack entered the hidden room carrying seven design drawings, beaming with a look of total satisfaction.
As I flipped through them, I found one that was remarkably close to the printing press I had in my mind.
"This one! Can we actually build this?! It's the closest thing to what I know! This is incredible, Zack! I can't believe you could produce a design this similar from just that explanation!"
Basking in my praise, Zack grinned proudly and peered into the design drawings, explaining where he'd incorporated improvements and what his reasoning was.
Johann, who had been studying the drawings with the same intensity, picked up a different design sheet and lit up.
"Just a moment, Lady Rozemyne. This one uses the lever principle too, and it's amazing."
"…You just want to take on something complicated, don't you? You've only been looking at the pieces with the fiddly parts!"
At Zack's accusation, Johann looked momentarily sheepish, but quickly pointed at the design drawing, his hawk-brown eyes shining.
"If you leave it to me, I can absolutely make it work. So? Should we build this one?"
"Whoa, calm down. Hold on."
Ingo, who had been watching us, held out his hands to stop us. Blinking, I looked at Ingo, who said "Ah—" while scratching his temple and looking over all of us.
"First, Zack. I never expected you could produce this many design drawings, and ones brimming with ingenuity at that. You've done well."
"Ach, well, it's work… and it's my specialty, so."
Zack smiled bashfully at the straightforward praise. Ingo smiled back, then turned his gaze to me.
"Next, High Priest. I understand you chose this one because it's closest to what you know, but I'd like you to examine all of them carefully, including the advantages and disadvantages of each. I understand your excitement, but please stay calm."
"…Yes."
While I lightly glared at Benno and
"And then, Johann. Wanting to take on something difficult is important for a craftsman, but what matters most is whether the result is truly user-friendly and something the client will be satisfied with. It's not enough to simply show off your technical skill."
"…I'm sorry."
At Ingo's words, all of us took another careful look at the design drawings.
We discussed incorporating this part here, redesigning that section that way, and Zack redrew the design sheets several times until we arrived at a remarkably advanced printing press design.
I thought the history of printing had jumped forward about two hundred years.
"What a big job for winter."
The craftsmen assigned to build the printing press all had determined, eager eyes. They were encouraging each other that they'd have it completed by the following spring.
…May my Gutenbergs have the blessing of the goddess of wisdom,