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Chapter 155: Personal Identification
As Alice praised me, I recalled my earlier conversation with Chancellor Don.
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The former residence of the thirteenth Prince was upgraded from the designation of “mansion” to “detached palace” at the same time as my ascension to the throne.
Along with this, renovations, in the form of expansions, that matched the status of a “detached palace” were carried out.
Not only the main residence but also the gardens underwent significant enhancements.
Amidst the increasingly luxurious proposals, Don and I wandered the grounds together, ensuring that all servants were kept at bay for a private discussion.
Once a close aide to my older brother, Don had now settled into the role of the Empire’s First Chancellor, serving as my trusted confidant.
With Don in tow, we had a quiet discussion as we strolled through the garden.
“Public works, is it?”
“That’s right, do as much as you can,”
“But even if you say that… there’s not much that can be done…”
“You can create things forcefully.”
I first outlined the general direction before providing specific examples.
“In a nutshell, this month, we can peel away the walls of this villa to repair the palace of His Majesty the former Emperor, and next month, we can peel away those walls to repair the walls of this villa.”
“You’re wasting a lot of money”
“Just focus on preventing the contractors from skimming off the top. As long as the laborers are paid, that’s enough.”
“What about the labor force?”
“Let’s see…”
I thought for a moment.
The “labor force,” as Don had called it, referred to those who would be “paying their taxes through labor.”
Since they were technically paying taxes, they wouldn’t normally receive any salary.
“Pay them a little. The balance is up to you.”
“Your Majesty…”
“Hmm?”
I stopped and turned my head slightly.
Don also halted, his face showing the expression of someone who had swallowed a bitter pill.
“…”
“Speak your thoughts. Anything is fine, this conversation will not be questioned.”
“Then, without hesitation. Your Majesty, are you aware that the Empire’s finances are chronically in deficit?”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
I nodded slightly.
This was something I had been told since I was a child and it had not improved at all.
The now larger Empire had correspondingly increased its expenditures, gradually putting pressure on the finances.
So far, it had not reached a critical crisis, it was still at a “chronic” level.
“Are you wasting money, even knowing that?”
“If you say that the household budget is in the red, so we should cut spending, then that’s correct.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Don, having understood that my phrasing of “correct” didn’t match my tone, frowned and asked again.
“There is one prerequisite to that.”
“What kind of prerequisite?”
“It won’t hold unless income is fixed or at least stable. Especially for those who receive regular monthly salaries.”
“…If income is fixed, then if we just reduce spending, the deficit can be turned into a surplus.”
“That’s right. However, the country does not operate that way. What is the main source of the Empire’s income?”
“Tax revenue and… profits from wars and tributes from vassal states.”
“Correct. The Empire is a warrior nation, and it has maintained its income by ‘rolling’ wars.”
I said this and then changed to a serious expression.
“If we reduce expenses, then naturally the money allocated for wars will decrease, leading to a reduction in income. Starting from the premise of reducing spending, how do you think neighboring vassal states will perceive that?”
“…The weakening of the Empire?”
“That’s right. If that happens, the tributes from the vassal states will naturally decrease. As a result, income will decrease initially, and although expenditures were reduced, the deficit may further increase depending on the circumstances.”
“That’s true.”
“In other words, if it remains at a ‘chronic’ level, the Empire cannot afford to reduce expenditures, even through gritting its teeth. Reducing spending will lower income, leading to further spending cuts and a further decrease in income – a vicious cycle.”
“I see… As expected of Your Majesty, I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
Don said this while his expression became slightly brighter compared to before.
“We’re saying that we should carry out public works to maintain the scale of tax revenue.”
“That’s it.”
“Understood, I will proceed accordingly.”
“Thank you.”
“However, if the economy were better, we wouldn’t need to do this at all.”
“…What do you think it means for the economy to be good?”
“Huh? That would be…”
The topic suddenly shifted to my question.
Don seemed a little puzzled by such a riddle-like question, but he frowned in thought as he tried to come up with an answer.
“It would mean that the citizens have money… perhaps?”
“That’s a score of 50 points.”
“What is lacking?”
“The economy will not improve just because people have money.”
“…Then?”
“It’s an old story. There was a time when saving was seen as a virtue, and all citizens had a considerable amount of savings. Even ordinary people would have enough savings to last them, say, ten years, if they practiced frugality.”
“That sounds good.”
“However, even though everyone had savings, no one was willing to spend it. Money is abundant, yet no one is willing to use it. What do you think happened in that situation?”
“Um… oh!”
Don suddenly realized.
I smiled gently.
“That’s right, the people have money but refuse to spend it. Naturally, the economy worsened. However…”
“…Because there’s savings, there’s no sense of crisis.”
“Exactly. In that way, the economy gradually declined, and by the time the issues became apparent, it was already too late. The savings had also significantly decreased.”
“I remember now. It was about the Kingdom of Husaal, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
I nodded clearly.
A little while ago, when I researched history, I became curious about the details of the history of the Hussal Kingdom.
It’s a well-known story at a general level, so it seemed Don knew at least that much.
“That was the answer from earlier. ‘The people have plenty of money, and on top of that, they have a strong willingness to spend it.’ This is the minimum condition for an economy to improve.”
“…Or if they don’t have money now but recognize that they can earn it through work.”
“That’s a perfect score, 120 points.”
Don connected “willingness” to “recognition.”
My First Chancellor is as quick-witted as ever, and I felt a bit pleased.
“In other words, that’s how it is.”
“I see… I’ve learned a lot. To see the essence of it all, as expected of Your Majesty.”
I chuckled lightly.
“That’s why we should carry out unnecessary public works, not just in the capital. Keep the workers aware that ‘They’ll have work tomorrow,’ and ‘If they work, they’ll earn money.’ Oh, and tighten control on middlemen. You can execute a few of them as a warning.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! By the way, why focus on the workers…?”
“Unlike the middlemen, those workers don’t have the temperament to hoard. They spend what they earn, so if we spread the money around, they will naturally become the starting point of the economy.”
“To think you considered all that… Amazing…”[TN: It was going very well if not for that last word]
☆
While I had Alice by my side, I continued to look through the reports.
Compared to the urgent matters, they were all quite simple administrative tasks.
Out of ten cases, nine were just “reports,” and I added just one word, “Understood,” at the end of each.
With “Understood” written in my own handwriting as the Emperor, sending back the report meant that the administrative tasks would proceed accordingly.
I was processing them one by one, but of course, fatigue started to build up as the number of cases increased.
After writing my customary “Understood,” I felt a bit of stiffness in my shoulders and started rolling them around.
“Perhaps it’s time for you to rest, Your Majesty,”
Alice, who had been silently folding the reports I processed, said this.
“Ah, you’re right.”
I glanced at the pile of reports still remaining.
There were still quite a few left, but they were all unnecessary and non-urgent matters.
They could easily be postponed.
“Your Majesty, why do you write by hand instead of using a seal for these…?”
Alice glanced at the “Understood” report I had just processed and said.
“If it was just a response, wouldn’t your seal have been sufficient?”
“You’re quite clever.”
I genuinely thought so and replied.
“Huh?”
“As you said, that would reduce the effort. But doing so wouldn’t prove that the Emperor actually read it. Anyone can apply a seal.”
“But, it is something that Your Majesty always keeps with you…”
“See?”
I grinned and handed Alice the Emperor’s seal used for official documents.
Alice instinctively reached out to accept it and then became extremely bashful.
“T-this!?”
“This kind of thing happened frequently in history. It was like a favored concubine handling such things on behalf of the Emperor.”
“Is that really the case?”
“Moreover, the seal itself doesn’t prove anything; fingerprints would be a different story, but even those could be proven if verified. However, once it’s sent…”
I almost continued but stopped.
A thought surfaced in my mind.
It shot through my brain like a white lightning bolt.
“What’s wrong, Your Majesty?”
“I have thought of something good.”
“Something good?”
“It should be possible… The one who can do this best is…”
I thought for a moment, held my ring in front of me, and called out.
“Apophis, can you do it?”
At my call, Apophis responded.
After receiving a positive answer, I turned my back to Alice.
While keeping it concealed, I pulled a pristine white sheet of paper from nearby and touched the corner of it.
The power from the ring surged out.
A vividly colored liquid formed my emblem at the corner of the paper.
Seeing that, I turned around and handed it to Alice, who was looking puzzled.
“Look at this.”
“Yes… Ah…”
The moment she looked at the paper, Alice’s eyes widened in surprise.
“This is… Your Majesty?!”
“Ah, this crest.”
I said that and manifested the emblem behind me this time.
It’s the emblem that anyone who doesn’t know me would recognize as “the Emperor!”
“This is a repurposed item.”
“I see, so this is something anyone can see…”
“Exactly, it’s designed so that people instinctively know it’s the Emperor’s.”
While I had been able to do this before, I had never thought of repurposing it this way.
Alice, who gave me the idea, was unaware of the influence she had on me.
“That’s amazing… This is more recognizable as ‘Your Majesty’ than a seal or handwritten signature…”
She gazed at me with eyes full of strong admiration.
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