Take Me to the Sea

An unprecedented event was unfolding at the royal castle: tax collection continuing through the night.

People even showed up to sell food to those waiting in line, apparently mistaking it for a festival.

This might go down in history in more ways than one.

And if it were to be critiqued by future generations, whose name would be attached? Queen Tianis's, or mine as the person in charge?

Mulling over such idle thoughts, I carried on with the procedures.

Compared to when we'd started, the whole operation had been refined into near assembly-line efficiency.

"Please write your name and address here. Family composition as well. If you can't write, we can do it for you. Yes, thank you very much. Your citizen tax is confirmed. This grants you one year of citizenship in the Royal Capital. Here is your certificate."

That was the basic loop.

But some cases made me go "hold on a second."

"… This address is for an inn. Even though we're granting citizenship to everyone who pays the citizen tax, I can't approve this."

Frustratingly, some people were trying to register with an inn's address.

If we allowed that, the census would be meaningless.

This was exactly why it had been a good call not to spread the collection sites around, so things wouldn't slip through the cracks.

There were obvious fake names and people with foreign names, but as long as they had a home in the Royal Capital, they counted as citizens for now.

The work continued into dawn.

The number of citizens in the capital clearly exceeded all previous estimates.

And this was only counting those who could afford the citizen tax.

Including those without citizenship, the true population must be staggering.

The assembly had been making all sorts of decisions based on a population figure far below reality.

No wonder Alsarm had overtaken them.

With this many people, there was no end to what could be done: expanding the city through public works, building more housing, and so on.

Population was directly tied to a city's labor force.

Once those initiatives got seriously underway, combined with the reconstruction boom, the capital's tax revenue would explode.

Her Majesty's policies would be a resounding success, and the royal family's position would become even more secure.

It had been grueling, but worth every bit of effort.

Budget approvals should come easier now, too.

Break time came and I swapped out with a bureaucrat.

I might have written more characters than when I was buried in paperwork.

Princess Yupe had brought sandwiches for us.

I picked at them alongside Alexia, who'd also come off duty.

Orleans had nodded off like the child she was, so she was in the nap room.

… My right hand had no grip left from holding a pen too long, so when I tried eating with my left, Alexia started feeding me.

A little embarrassing.

"You two sure are close. Saying 'ahhh' and everything."

"Mmrph"

A voice from behind caught me off guard.

That was Princess Yupe.

"Yupe-sama. The sandwiches were delicious."

"Oh, thank you. Want me to do 'ahhh' for you too?"

"No, I'm full."

"Too bad. I wanted to try doing that to someone too."

"I'll eat for you, then?"

When Alexia jokingly offered, Princess Yupe stuffed a sandwich straight into her mouth.

After a moment of bewildered deliberation, Alexia managed to chew and swallow it.

"Honestly, you…"

"Ahaha! Don't get mad over something like that."

"Here," she said, handing over some soup.

Alexia grudgingly accepted it.

I took one too.

Princess Yupe sat down next to us.

"I felt this at the concert too, but there really are so many people. I always thought the population was growing every time I snuck out of the castle for fun, but…"

"I was surprised too. I just checked and property and housing prices have been rising for years now. If anyone had been watching the numbers, we would have known."

"Ouch. The royal family never paid much attention as long as the tax money kept coming in, and the people filing the reports had been fudging the numbers. No wonder nobody noticed until it got this bad."

The previous chancellor had apparently tried hard in various ways, but in that environment it must have been a losing battle.

The fact that he'd lost his drive after the Secretary of Military Affairs' departure was probably because the cumulative stress had finally caught up with him.

"A merchant who's good with numbers is really handy at times like these. Tianis is lucky to have you."

"I'm being worked harder than I ever imagined, though."

"Can't be helped. Even with more allies now, the number of people that girl truly trusts is limited. With Anatia gone from her side, she's probably leaning on you even more."

Being relied on by a lovely queen wasn't a bad feeling.

It wasn't as if I was working for free. The information I gained here would be enormously useful for business.

Surely using a little of it as a perk would be fine.

Misusing it was strictly off-limits, though.

"Getting tired? She wouldn't blame you for stepping down. But she might cry. Aww, you're going to make a girl cry."

"Please don't put it like that. Walking away at this point would be irresponsible. There's a saying about not hesitating to board a ship you've already stepped onto."

"Then I can rest easy. Looks like I'll get to keep taking it easy a while longer. Speaking of ships, though, I've never been to the sea. Have you two?"

"We have. Once for a trip with just the family, and once to transport food supplies to the Empire. So twice."

"A trip?! Why didn't you invite me?"

"That was before we'd even met!"

"Must be nice… Swimming in the sea in a swimsuit must feel amazing…"

Princess Yupe in a swimsuit.

That would certainly be a feast for the eyes.

If someone captured that image with a magitool, the bidding war would reach astronomical sums.

"Take me along next time you go to the sea, okay? I'll show you a daring swimsuit."

She whispered it right into my ear.

It tickled.

Alexia looked exasperated.

"What a free-spirited royal. Even among the Empire's royalty, there was nobody as free as you."

"Well, I did die once, and I have no claim to the throne. Holding back would just be a waste. Gotta enjoy life to the fullest."

Princess Yupe was awfully proud of herself for some reason.

We chatted like that for a while, until a guard came running up in a panic.

"I was told Royal Advisor Yohane was here… Y-Your Highness Yupe?!"

"Don't mind me. What is it?"

"People who heard about the citizen tax reduction are demanding that not just citizens, but they too should have their business taxes lowered. And they've gathered into a group."

Break time was over, it seemed.