Chapter 167: How to use the Front and the Back
In the deepest part of the palace, there is a secret library.
I brought Gigi with me into that library.
The library door is about three times thicker than a normal door, and there are five locks lined up from top to bottom for opening and closing it.
I unlocked the five locks one by one with a key, pushed open the heavy door, and entered alongside Gigi.
“What is this place…?”
“This is where I store the documents I signed after ascending the throne. In a way, it’s a record of the life of Emperor Noah the First.”
“I see!”
“For example, this is something I signed right after my coronation… Ah, it represents that palace as the symbol of supreme power.”
I pulled it off the shelf, read the opened document aloud, and then handed it to Gigi.
Gigi took it and looked it over, but had an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry, Master… I… um…”
“You can’t read it, can you?”
“Yes…”
“Don’t worry about it, I anticipated this.”
“Should I learn how to read and write?”
“What I just read out loud is what I put here.”
I took the document back from Gigi and returned it to its original place on the shelf.
Then I looked at Gigi.
“Can you remember this document’s contents if I convey it to you verbally and remember that it’s here?”
“Yes! I will never forget what you say, Master!”
“Then that is enough. Whether or not you can read and write is a trivial matter.”
“Huh…?”
“What is it?”
“I thought I was supposed to study how to read and write. Ah! I will absolutely do it for you, Master!”
“Do you understand why we teach children to read and write?”
“Huh? Um… Is it to get ahead in life…?”
“Fufu, that’s not wrong.”
I chuckled softly and gently placed my hand on Gigi’s head.
“To put it more clearly, it’s to expand the children’s futures. Being able to read and write means they can retain a broader range of knowledge, which in turn increases the number of futures they can choose from.”
“I see!”
“If we’re being specific, that’s not your strong point.”
“My strong point?”
“Your unique memory, which can link my words to the location of these documents, is irreplaceable within the Empire, that is your strength. There’s no need to discard your strengths to forcibly develop what you perceive as weaknesses.”
“My strength… unique…”
“If you wish to do so as a hobby, I won’t stop you.”
“No! I won’t! I’ll do my best only for you, Master!”
“I’ll count on you. Take this with you as well.”
“This is… the key to this place?”
Gigi’s eyes and mouth were wide open in astonishment.
She was surprised to see the bundle of keys I had given her resting in her palm.
“Yes, you should keep it.”
“Is it really alright? This is a very important item, isn’t it?”
“I trust you, it’s in your hands.”
“You trust me…?”
Gigi was even more astonished and tightly hugged the bundle of keys as if they were something precious.
“Even someone like me… Thank you, Master. I promise I won’t lose it, even if it costs me my life!”
“Ah.”
I again placed my hand on Gigi’s head and stroked her hair.
Saty alive and that would be useful–I thought that there was no need to douse cold water on such a happy moment for Gigi.
I decided I would wait for the right time to explain things to her later.
☆
In the first half of the palace, in the Emperor’s office.
I was sitting at the desk, facing Don directly.
I was using the office desk to sit, while Gigi was positioned a little away in the corner of the room.
Don stood across from me at the desk.
He seemed a bit interested in Gigi, but since it was clear that I had her by my side, he purposefully chose not to ask anything.
“Here is the report from Lady Jessica.”
“A public document and… is this Fuwawa’s box?”
“Yes, it was sent via a different route but arrived around the same time.”
“I see.”
I nodded and first opened the public document to read through it.
“What do you think?”
“There is a military force that has become independent from the Turbaif army, and it has been successfully defeated—right?”
“That’s somewhat… crafty.”
“Just because my subordinates acted on their own doesn’t involve me—it’s a classic tactic; not bad.”
I chuckled slightly.
This was the sort of pattern that often occurs.
It’s undeniable that Turbaif harbors intentions against the empire.
At the same time, they are still hesitant to confront the empire head-on.
So, they likely made a part of their subordinates “independent,” allowing those subordinates to run rampant on their own.
This is a common pattern seen not just between nations but also within various power struggles.
“However, if they were victorious, that’s for the best. If Turbaif views just ‘testing the waters’ it will serve as a deterrent.”
“…”
I silently tapped Fuwawa’s box with my index finger.
Pointing at the second report Jessica had sent simultaneously, Don suddenly took notice.
“Well, if it’s such a simple matter, then there’s no need to go through the trouble of sending a confidential report like this.”
“That’s right – Fuwawa.”
I released some of Fuwawa’s power from the ring and opened the box.
The box fell apart into wooden pieces.
There was no glue, no fittings, no nails, and no screws, it was only a collection of mysterious wooden shards, making it hard to understand how the box had maintained its shape until now.
Inside the wooden pieces, I found a letter. I picked it up, took out the contents, and looked it over.
“…I see.”
“What did it say?”
“That’s a different story. We engaged in a battle with the Turbaif separate unit and took down 1,500 of their troops.”
“Almost the same, just more detailed numbers.”
“Our own casualties were around 1,300.”
“Umm…”
Don frowned.
The detailed casualty figures were included in the top-secret report sent to us. The enemy lost 1,500, while our side suffered 1,300. Given these numbers—
“We can’t call this a victory, can we? Considering the quality of the Imperial Guard and the quantity of the army, with similar casualties—”
“It’s a technical loss.”
“Yes.”
Don nodded.
That is true.
“What shall we do?”
Don said this and placed the back report on his desk. He arranged the two reports side by side and asked.
“First, we praise them.”
I stated while tapping the front report with my fingertip.
Don nodded clearly.
“Of course. It is a fact that we annihilated them, the report sent publicly is a report of victory. Therefore, it’s appropriate to commend them.”
We were in agreement up to this point.
Next, I tapped the back report, emphasizing my next point.
“We should praise this too.”
“This one… as well?”
“Don’t you ever wish that the subordinate of the person responsible for the area you oversee was honest?”
“…Yes, I think about it all the time.”
“That’s the point.”
“I see.”
“So—praise the honesty, and we’ll settle the punishment when they return home, so forget about it for now. What do you think?”
“That’s brilliant, Your Majesty, it’s the best response imaginable.”
“Then let’s do that.”
I nodded, took out some paper, and began to write.
I wrote two letters, one sealed with the Emperor’s seal and the other reinserted into Fuwawa’s box.
And I handed both to Don.
Don took them and was about to go outside.
“…Wait.”
I called out to Don.
He stopped and turned his body around.
“What may it be?”
“Return the back report immediately, the front one—wait about a week before sending it.”
“Why would we do that?”
Don tilted his head in confusion.
I first pointed to the official document that Don was holding.
“I am not in the Imperial Capital.”
Then I pointed to Fuwawa’s box and the back document.
“I am in the Imperial Capital.”
“…Ah! I see!”
Don’s eyes widened in realization.
“Exactly. It would be strange for an official document to be sent back immediately when I am not in the Imperial Capital.”
“That’s amazing, Your Majesty! I’m sorry for not considering that!”
“Please.”
“As you command!”
Don said this and bowed once more before finally leaving the room.
I added annotations in red ink to the two documents sent by Jessica.
“Put this away. It’s a test for Jessica.”
I handed it to Gigi along with the keywords.
Gigi received it but looked puzzled.
“What’s wrong? Can’t you remember it?”
“Oh! No, that’s not it! I absolutely won’t forget! It’s not that…”
“Huh? Just say whatever you want. I’ll answer anything I can.”
“Oh, yes. So… what is this test?”
“It’s a simple matter, it’s a test to see if you can deduce whether I’m in the imperial capital based on the number of days on the front and back of the documents I sent back.”
“Oh, I see. That’s amazing, Master, to figure that out in an instant.”
“You could still score 90 with what you have now, but if you can deduce it, then it’s 100.”
Jessica’s loyalty was beyond doubt with these two reports.
On top of that, I wished for her to have even more capability.
I thought it was indulgent of me, but I still hoped for that.
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