Farming in the Magical World

"You got it done?" Hearing Melissa's words, Lanny stood up in surprise. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Initially, she promised to produce paper suitable for writing in three days, but she encountered problems in the final stage. Each sample she produced had various issues: it would shed a lot of paper dust, and you could rub a hole in it by hand; or it was too hard to absorb ink and therefore unusable for writing.

To Lanny's surprise, despite being busy with magical experiments all this time, she still found time to work on this.

Just as Melissa was about to answer, footsteps sounded outside the door, and Tiffany walked in with a cup of tea and a big smile on her face.

"Huh, it's you?" Lanny looked at the door with a puzzled expression as she watched Tiffany's graceful figure.

Normally, it's the little maid Candy who does these things. Although Tiffany isn't spoiled, since she's the Earl's daughter, she still has people serving her at her maternal home. It's not that she's unwilling to do these things, but she simply doesn't have that thought at all; she has no concept of it.

But I never expected that she would suddenly come to the study today and even take over Candy's work.

Could it be...? ... ... Lenny glanced thoughtfully at Melissa standing by the door!

Tiffany smiled at Melissa first, gently setting down the teacup she was holding, before looking tenderly at Lenny. "You came to the study so early this morning. Candy was a bit busy today, but I didn't have anything to do, so..."

Although Tiffany looked gentle and smiled at Melissa, Lanny felt that something different was beginning to permeate the air.

Is this for supervision?

Seeing the nominal wife appear in the study, put down her things, and stand aside without any intention of leaving, Melissa chuckled inwardly before turning to Lanny. "Weren't you most interested in magic lately? Why did you suddenly think of this again?"

She originally came today to inform me of two things: one was about the sample of the magic flow meter, and the other was about the current progress of the paper.

She had always felt that Lenny had an unusual interest in magic, but Lenny's current behavior was clearly beyond her expectations.

“It’s different. Although magical creations are also amazing, when it comes to advancing human civilization, paper plays an in no way less important than magic!” Since Tiffany didn’t intend to leave, Lanny stopped paying attention to her, took the paper sample Melissa handed him, looked down at it, and casually said these words. In fact, because his attention was focused on the sample, he didn’t really think about what he was saying.

The paper feels slightly rough to the touch, and it's not as hard as the coated paper that's often used for printing. It's also quite thick and has a yellowish color. If I had to make a comparison, it would feel like three sheets of kraft paper stacked together.

Many people probably still remember kraft paper; it's often seen on document bags and file folders, and it's also used for packaging some items.

The advantage of this product is that it is sturdy and durable, and some of them with adhesive backing even have a certain degree of moisture resistance.

Melissa's creations naturally couldn't have any moisture-proof function. Judging from their appearance and feel, they were barely functional for writing, but it's unclear how hydrophobic they were.

"Tch, to all of humanity! Is this thing really as important as you make it out to be?" Melissa didn't believe Lanny's nonchalant and high-sounding words.

He glanced at Tiffany standing next to him and thought to himself, "You don't have to be so high-handed, do you? Even in front of the lady, you don't have to put on such a high tone."

Tiffany didn't share this feeling. She was almost entirely self-taught in the castle and hadn't given much thought to this aspect. But precisely because she was self-taught, she was able to think outside the box and actually somewhat agreed with this statement.

"Uh!" Lanny was stunned for a moment, then looked up at the two different expressions before realizing that what he had just said seemed a bit inappropriate, and felt a little embarrassed.

It's not that you can't say these things, but in an environment where everyone is around, it inevitably gives the impression of being high-profile.

He didn't want to explain Melissa's indifference, but seeing his lover's eager expression, he couldn't bear to disappoint her beautiful, watery eyes.

"What do you think is most important for the development of human society?" Lanny put down the sample in his hand, pondered for a moment, and then held up a finger to Melissa with a solemn expression.

Hey, you little nobleman, are you sure you want to discuss this with me?

Watching Lanny's actions, Melissa looked at him with a half-smile. She didn't think that Lanny, a country nobleman, could have any insight into this matter.

Don't assume that just because you can make some strange inventions, you have insightful opinions on all issues. This requires a lot of vision and knowledge accumulation. With the few books in your study, you only have a general understanding of the situation on the mainland at best.

On the contrary, the upper echelons of the Bauhinia Kingdom exchanged more ideas on this matter. Many so-called young talents especially liked to talk eloquently in front of her, and she heard a lot of novel viewpoints and had some thoughts on them herself.

“A wise king!” Melissa waved her hand casually; this was an easy question.

"And you?" Lanny didn't immediately offer an answer, but instead looked at Tiffany beside him.

"I think... I think..." Tiffany was clearly a little uncomfortable. She had almost no experience discussing such issues with people. Her face flushed, she stammered for a moment, then blinked and said uncertainly, "A good system?"

After hearing their answers, Lanny shook his head. "That's true, and that's not true!"

Before the two could react, he explained, "A good king and a good system are indeed very important for a kingdom."

"But what I'm talking about is what's most important for the entire continent, and even for all of humanity in the world!"

"Uh!" Melissa looked doubtful. "On our continent of Saint Tor, there are several large kingdoms, and even more small ones. Each kingdom is completely different, even their customs are completely different. How can you generalize?"

She hadn't really considered this question, but after a brief moment of thought, she didn't believe there was any factor that could affect all the kingdoms and all the people on the continent.

“Actually, there is!” Lanny shook his head in disappointment, as if to say, how could you not even think of such a simple question?

Lanny's words made Melissa's expression turn somewhat unpleasant. She glanced at Tiffany discreetly, and was about to angrily question her when Lanny spoke up again.

"The most important thing that has enabled humankind to develop from ancient times of slash-and-burn agriculture to its current state is the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge!"

In Lanny's view, the true origin of humankind is not the first ape to learn how to use tools, but the first person to spread the knowledge of tool making and use.

This is actually easy to understand. Biologists have long discovered monkeys in some monkey groups that use tools, whether it's cracking walnuts with stones or eating termites with twigs.

But did they become human? No, they remained a group of monkeys relying on biological instincts to survive.

What's missing here?

Some might say that they simply lack time, and given enough time, they too could become the next intelligent species.

But Lanny believes that as long as they don't break free from learning these things solely through imitation, they have absolutely no chance.

Do you really think that those primitive drawings in caves were simply totem worship?

Actually, no. That can be seen as the earliest form of knowledge, and it is not fundamentally different from the books and diagrams we have today.

Similarly, knowledge in this world is almost entirely monopolized by nobles and royalty, not only because some people intentionally do so, but also because the printing cost of books—the current medium of knowledge—is simply too high.

If books, as a medium for disseminating knowledge, can be made cheaper and more accessible to the general public, even if the effects are not obvious in one or two generations, the world may still develop rapidly if viewed from a 100-year perspective.

"You must understand that there are still more commoners in this world than nobles!" He said this with a compassionate expression, without any sense of incongruity, as if he had never thought that he was now a member of the noble class.

Although she was somewhat convinced, Melissa couldn't help but retort to Lanny's solemn expression, "Tch, I bet you're just after the money, aren't you?"

“Since we created this thing, why not make some money on the side? Shouldn’t we?” Lanny said matter-of-factly. He didn’t feel embarrassed about making money at all, and his original purpose in creating this thing was to make money.

Tiffany initially looked at Lenny with admiration as he spoke eloquently, but she became increasingly surprised. At this point, she suddenly asked a question, "Darling, you said we were transformed from those ugly monkeys?"

Uh oh no, I was just trying to pretend, and I accidentally blurted out this damn thing.

This argument could really get you killed in this era. Even though it's not a church-dominated kingdom, if others don't burn you at the stake, you'll become an outcast in everyone's eyes if this idea gets out.

Lanny felt that his forehead was starting to be covered in beads of sweat.

Just as Lanny's brain was racing, trying to figure out how to smooth things over, Melissa chuckled and said, "Little sister, don't be scared by him, it's just a legend!"

She glanced at Lanny sideways before turning back with a bright smile. "I don't know where this guy heard this legend from, trying to scare you!"

Wow, at this moment, Lanny thought Melissa was like an angel, so adorable, that she actually knew to help cover for him.

"Ah, Sister Melissa, how could there be such a strange legend?" Tiffany looked at Melissa with curiosity. She couldn't understand how anyone could believe such a ridiculous legend.

“I don’t know the exact location…” Melissa said that even in the Bauhinia Kingdom, few people know this legend. It is only circulated in some places near the sea, and no one knows the exact place of its origin.

Legend has it that in ancient times, the ancestors of humankind were a group of wild beasts, barely clothed and starving, struggling to survive on the continent.

Later, there came an indescribable being called "Saint." The ancestors had suffered greatly, so they transformed into mortals and entered the tribe, teaching the early inhabitants of the continent various survival skills. Only then did the early inhabitants of the continent escape their ignorant state and become the humans of the Saintly Continent we know today.

However, since the "Saint" could not possibly teach everyone all kinds of knowledge, he required the first group of people who received his knowledge to teach the other members of his tribe.

The first to directly receive knowledge were the nobles, while the next to receive knowledge were the commoners and slaves.

Ok!

Hearing this, Lanny felt that this legend was indeed full of the characteristics of the times.

Is this considered a religious origin?

Or is it a form of primitive totem worship?

Or perhaps it was a rhetoric devised by the nobles to facilitate their rule?