Chapter 102: Chatter
“The basic unit of length used in the Forest Country (Lebresta) is TAN, which is approximately 1.53 meters. The volume standard is the cube of one-tenth of a TAN, known as MIKUS, which is about 3.8 liters. The standard unit of weight is RUK, approximately 0.43 kilograms. As expected from an embassy, they had all the measurement standards in place.”
“Isn’t there a discrepancy between the definitions and the actual volume…?”
“…Perhaps… the replicas of the standards… their… accuracy… might be… poor…?”
“Maybe they’re just skimming off the weight~?”
“Sounds like a corrupt official, doesn’t it? They might be pulling something shady!”
In the trade negotiations with the Forest Country (Lebresta), aligning the value of goods was proving to be quite time-consuming. Moreover, the other party believed they held the upper hand, which meant they were often looking to take advantage of the situation.
However, from the perspective of the Paraiso, resources could be supplied without limit from The Tree, so being slightly overcharged didn’t hurt too much. Still, simply accepting everything without question would only lead to being underestimated.
Thus, the local strategic AI, with the support of Ringo, was diligently working to finalize the terms.
Meanwhile, the five sisters were bustling about, reviewing the negotiation logs.
“Now that the oil plant has settled down, these kids have gained some good experience, right? Things are quiet around here, so maybe we can return to our daily routine for a week?”
Commander Eve’s suggestion was met with agreement from Ringo, and thus, the five sisters were granted a continuous vacation. Although, even during their time off, they would still engage in command drills and future predictions, making it feel more like work.
With their older sister (Eve) participating, it was bound to be a fun time for the five sisters. Regardless of how Commander Eve perceived it, the sisters were enjoying their long-awaited time together.
“As a valuable item for both parties, we’ve established the Magic Stone as the basis for all value calculations. Is it true that Magic Stones hold value even in the Afrasia United Kingdom?”
“Yes… According to the official at the East Gate city, they can be exchanged for coins based on certain standards… I think…?”
“Hmm. Apparently, there’s a commercial guild that handles the exchanges. Magic Stones are said to be the power source for Magic Tools, right? What are Magic Tools?”
“They can heat things up, create winds, and even start fires, it seems!”
The sisters were currently reviewing the results of their trade with the Forest Country (Lebresta) and the details of their negotiations. While they could have easily downloaded the information from the network, they were taking the time to read through the materials as a form of relaxation.
After this meeting, they would need to report back to their commander (older sister), so they were engaged in serious discussion.
“So, in the current state of the Afrasia United Kingdom, Magic Stones are far more valued than coins?”
“To begin with, the quality of the coins is poor. There are many impurities. That’s why Lebresta doesn’t use coins as a standard for exchanges.”
“It seems that the various ingots prepared by Paraiso can be exchanged for an equivalent weight in Lebrestan coins.”
“But if we’re talking about impurities, Lebrestan coins aren’t that great either. Our ingots are 99.9% pure, after all. The exchange rate is just too unfavorable.”
“…I think they probably lack the technology to distinguish that well…”
By the way, while it was possible to manufacture ingots with a purity of 99.9999%, there was no real reason to do so, so they kept it within a reasonable range. Unfortunately, this seemed to diverge from the common sense of this world. Given the unknowns regarding refining technology, it was unavoidable.
“From Paraiso’s perspective, the items with the highest exchange rates are cellulose threads and cellulose fabric. It seems there’s a demand for them as high-quality clothing materials.”
“They’re bleached to a bright white, after all. You can’t make that by hand without a good bleaching agent, can you?”
“Dyed threads and fabrics seem to be highly valued too. It appears that having no color variations is preferred.”
“According to a popular entertainment book I obtained from Lebresta, the closer the fabric is to white, the more likely it is to be favored by those of higher status. Even with the advancement of bleaching technology, that tradition seems to persist.”
“Akane, I wasn’t aware of that information. Could you share it with us?”
“Oh, we’d like to know too~!”
“Alright. This information comes from a book I got in exchange for bleached paper, so it doesn’t directly relate to our dealings with Lebresta. I think it just didn’t come up in the search tags.”
By chance, they had managed to acquire several magazines that were housed in the Lebrestan embassy’s collection. It seemed that mass-produced plant paper was circulating reasonably well within Lebresta. According to the ambassador, it wasn’t that cheap, but popular magazines were being published, and among the upper class, reading them had become a sort of status symbol.
As part of this, it seemed that the embassy regularly received deliveries of popular magazines.
While the exchange rate for magazines and bleached paper felt a bit low, the knowledge they gained from them was valuable, making them eager to include them as exchange items.
“These magazines often feature private information (scandals) about celebrities and unverified rumors. There were also some complaints about the Council of Elders. However, such articles were quite rare, so we can speculate that either they are governing well or that there is some form of censorship in place.”
“I see. If there is censorship, it suggests they allow for a certain degree of pressure release. They seem to understand how to manipulate public opinion.”
“Maybe they’re really good politicians~?”
“Like a kind old man?”
“The most likely scenario is censorship. If they are governing well without censorship, historical records indicate that some level of government criticism would arise. Moreover, if they were well-liked, there should be a certain number of articles praising them. Unfortunately, such articles are not in evidence.”
“It seems peaceful on the surface, but there are deep shadows lurking beneath.”
“…Scary. Let’s keep our distance…”
This line of reasoning had already been executed by Ringo, and since the conclusions were nearly identical, Akane’s insight could be deemed quite high. However, due to the lack of magical (fantasy) considerations, Ringo had calculated the current likelihood at 60%. There were simply too many unknowns to make an accurate assessment.
“This month’s new release~. A coat made from the fur of a grassland rabbit~.”
“A lucky item~. A necklace made from grassland stones~? Maybe something good will happen??”
“Advertisements for clothing stores and accessory shops. The use of paper media for advertising has begun, though it’s still quite unrefined. It seems that astute merchants have just started to take advantage of it.”
“…The media seems immature…”
“It looks like mass printing using woodblock printing. Perhaps it’s movable type printing?”
“There are pages printed in three colors. It’s a feature at the front. At the very least, the illustrations seem to be woodblock prints. The text might be produced using a different technique. It seems too uniform for movable type printing. However, there are some ink smudges, so it’s likely printed using plates.”
“Even from a single book, we can infer a lot about the technological level. So, it seems we’re not quite at the level of automatic printing machines?”
“The Lebrestan ambassador mentioned that the circulation of this magazine is in the hundreds. While there are plates, it’s undoubtedly hand-printed.”
“Hundreds, huh? At The Tree, we could easily produce thousands in just an hour.”
“…Leave it to me. I can have a printing machine ready within two hours… you know…”
“Impressive, Olive. I wonder if Erika could manage it.”
“I don’t think Utsugi could handle it either~.”
As they reaffirmed The Tree’s technological prowess compared to the low level of technology in this world, they continued to delve deeper into the materials.
“I want to analyze a simple Magic Tool. Can we find one in Flatara City?”
“Hmm… It seems like we might be able to? I heard that Magic Tools are quite common in Flatara City.”
“It seems the local strategic AI is working on analyzing a few of them~. Olive, could you check it out later~?”
“Mm…”