EP.4

Creating a fairy tale book of *Cinderella* for young noble ladies.

The first step was to gather the materials needed for the book.

“Since I’m at it, I should also make one for Aida.”

Initially, due to a lack of money and skill, the quality of the book I produced was far from commendable.

However, since the clients were not family but rather demanding nobles, I had to carefully select each material that went into the book and entrust the work to professionals.

“Young Master, I have brought in artisans for leather, paper, and binding from within the territory as you requested.”

I managed to find the three essential artisans needed to create the book. The butler had gathered them without me needing to step out, yet he didn’t look very pleased.

The artisans sat stiffly in the parlor, not even touching the expensive tea served for the guests.

‘That tea is quite pricey; what a waste.’

Even if our meals were humble, the tea and snacks for visiting guests were a matter of noble honor, and since most of our living expenses went towards those, it was a shame they hadn’t even touched it.

“Young Master, we also understand the favor shown to us. Since we are already prepared, you may raise the taxes.”

As soon as I sat down in the upper seat of the parlor to welcome them, they blurted out something utterly incomprehensible.

“What do you mean by that?”

“There’s no need to hide the fact that the Count’s family is in dire straits. We all know that is why you are here. You don’t need to sugarcoat it.”

What does that have to do with anything right now?

“Indeed, we are all prepared. To overcome the crisis in the territory, we can make sacrifices.”

This is giving me a headache.

What on earth are these gentlemen imagining by gathering here?

“The reason I called you here is not to raise taxes.”

“Then it’s simply a voluntary contribution?”

“No, it’s not that. It is to commission your work.”

Only then did the artisans nod with a dumbfounded expression at my words.

“Oh, if that’s the case, we should certainly do it for free.”

“No, I will pay you!!!”

I can’t believe this. How poor must our family be mentioned for the locals to see us as beggars?

*

“Certainly, the best leather for the cover of the book is sheepskin.”

Indeed, even on Earth, leather made from sheep was commonly used as a recording medium before the invention of paper.

This is what is commonly referred to as ‘parchment,’ which is durable and has an exceedingly long lifespan, making it excellent for preservation.

Particularly for book covers, where  writing or illustrations are often present, it is frequently used because the dye adheres well and lasts long.

“To cut ten sheets of the highest quality sheepskin in this size, the cost would be at least 30 silver.”

The leather artisan hesitantly stated the amount, his expression growing dark. It seemed he was concerned that I might find the expense burdensome.

‘I thought leather would be the most expensive, but it’s cheaper than expected.’

Instead, I felt pleased.

“The finest paper for the book is marble paper sprinkled with magic stone. It diffuses light softly, allowing one to read the book at night without needing a candle, and it remains unchanged no matter how much time has passed.”
Marble paper, made by grinding and sprinkling the material obtained from a monster called ‘magic stone.’

I was aware of the existence of this paper. It was the only book in our family’s lineage that was made from marble paper, so I had seen it once.

“The price varies depending on the number of pages in this fairy tale book…”

“The number of pages will likely be around 30.”

“In that case, for ten copies, you will need 50 silver.”

Wow, what a crazy price. If I hadn’t received an upfront payment from the nobles this time, I wouldn’t have dared to make such a purchase.

However, since I was already making it, I couldn’t skimp on the materials.

“The thread used for binding the book is obviously best to use silk. It is soft, lightweight, and hardly noticeable, so the binding marks won’t show.”

Silk is indeed a high-priced item, but the quantity needed is much smaller than for clothing, so it was manageable.

“Then that’s 30 silver for the leather, 50 silver for the paper, and 20 silver including labor for the binding, right?”

The artisans all nodded in agreement at my words.

“I will pay in advance! Please hurry up with the work as quickly as possible.”

As I promptly had the butler distribute the prepared money, the artisans’ eyes widened in surprise.

I had received 14 gold as a reward from the nobles, so spending less than a tenth of that on production costs was not a problem at all.

Thanks to using the highest-quality materials, I could lower the price even further if I wanted.

“Alright then, I should get to work.”

Now that the basic foundations of the book were in the hands of experts, I needed to fill in the content of the book.

First, the original *Cinderella Aida* was solely a fairy tale book for Aida, and I had to turn this into a work for each noble lady.

In the part where the text of the fairy tale would go, I marked all places where it said *Cinderella Aida* as blanks.

Then, I would simply transfer this onto the marble paper brought by the paper artisan, leaving only the marked blank sections.

Later, after copying it with the printing machine from the Magic Tower, I could just  write the names of each family’s young ladies in those blanks, and it would be done.

This was an incredibly simple task and didn’t take much time.

The problem was the illustration of the main character, Cinderella.

While the prince, fairy, and other backgrounds could all be copied exactly, Cinderella would need to be drawn separately for each instance.

It’s a fairy tale book designed just for one person.

If I wanted to keep it simple, I could have just drawn a pretty Cinderella and used that as is.

‘But that would not satisfy my pride as an otaku.’

Since I was originally a subculture enthusiast, I knew how touching customized services for a single customer could be and could not compromise on this.

For example, in games that allow character customization and name selection, the immersion is usually much deeper.

Some might scoff at the idea of projecting oneself onto game characters, but minor details indeed impact quality.

‘If one doesn’t immerse themselves, it means that work isn’t a masterpiece.’

Personally, I believe that being deeply immersed in a work requires genuine affection for that work.

Developing affection for a piece indicates that it is a good work, and to create such works, attention must be paid to even the smallest details.
“It’s Aida, but from now on, call me Cinderella Aida!”

Just seeing Aida, who insisted on changing her name after seeing a book with a Cinderella that looked exactly like her, made this challenging yet clearly the right direction.

*

The work progressed smoothly.

The staff’s motivation is not bought with anything else but money.

The artisans, having received the advance payment, quickly made or obtained the necessary materials, and I kept pace with the work.

“Welcome, Lord Rupert. Baron Sleepy has already informed us.”

When I arrived at the Magic Tower with the completed manuscript, a wizard who was guiding me said this.

And for the first time, I saw the printing machine from this world, which looked nothing like those on Earth.

The machine had a long cylindrical shape covered with various magical runes written in intricate magical characters.

At the base of the machine, there were inks and dyes necessary for printing, which users needed to fill in with their preferred ingredients.

Ziiiing

The sound was reminiscent of the printing machines on Earth.

As I placed the original and the printing paper on either side of what looked like an altar next to the printing machine, the text and illustrations were magically engraved onto the printing paper just as they appeared in the original.

“Oh right, it’s magic.”

I wasn’t a wizard and couldn’t grasp the principles or workings behind it, but the method of use was quite simple. It occurred to me that having such a device would be nice, so I asked the wizard who was running the operation.

“Is this only for wizards to use?”

The wizard shook his head in response.

“While the construction is only possible at the Magic Tower, it can be used by commoners as well. In fact, there are occasions where individuals purchase them directly.”

“Really? Then, how much do they cost?”

“Yes, the one you’re looking at is an older model, and you could buy it for about 50 gold.”

Forget it.

*

After engraving the words and illustrations onto the leather cover, I handed it over to the leather artisan, who then started layering the leather onto a pre-cut wooden board.

Eventually, the cover was completed.

Next up was the sewing artisan. I placed the pages, on which my painstakingly created illustrations and text were inscribed, in order and stitched them tightly together with needle and silk thread.

Indeed, the skilled artisan would obviously produce better quality than my initial attempt, which I had asked a maid, notorious for her sewing skills in our house, to help me with.

Comparing it to what the artisan produced, my work was visibly crooked.

And as for the cover, it was no contest.

The cover I crafted had already become warped, uneven, and loose—making it embarrassingly inferior in comparison.

Thanks to the artisans’ exceptional skills, ten copies of both the covers and the inner pages were completed in no time, and now it was time to combine them.

I applied glue to the spine of the inner pages and affixed them to the wooden cover.

After completing all those processes, the fairy tale book *Cinderella* was finally finished.