A Request from Queen Tianis

The discussion with Her Majesty Tianis concluded, and the citizen tax collection I'd delegated to the Bureau of Internal Affairs wrapped up without a hitch.

It had been rewarding to command such a large number of subordinates, even if only temporarily.

I'd been the one giving the orders while the actual logistics were worked out and carried out by the bureaucrats, Kanon included, but that wasn't my area of expertise, so I hoped they'd forgive me for that.

I certainly wasn't just cherry-picking the easy parts.

We'd also obtained an up-to-date and unaltered census through the Bureau of Internal Affairs.

Information always proved useful.

Coordinating with the guard force could aid in maintaining public order, and population distribution and average age among citizens could be calculated from the census data.

We just had to be very careful about misuse.

Given the proportions, we could also get a rough estimate of the number of people not paying citizen tax.

As a side benefit, we'd collected more in citizen tax than expected and deposited it into the national treasury.

There were surely spies from other nations mixed in as well, but that was accounted for. Let's be grateful for their financial contribution.

With this money, funding the development project was feasible.

No matter how much you called it an investment in the future, pulling money endlessly from the national treasury would lead to bankruptcy before you could recoup anything.

No, before it even got to that point, there'd be a coup and Her Majesty Tianis would be removed from the throne.

The Deianclure dynasty ending because of, of all things, running out of money.

Recouping and investment really had to be considered as a package.

"You only ever look like a villain when you're counting money, you know."

"Ah, I see it. All the refinement just drains right out."

"Quiet. Don't interrupt the most enjoyable part of my day."

I let Alexia's and Princess Yupe's words go in one ear and out the other.

Right now, I was verifying the collected citizen tax.

Checking that the total in gold coins added up correctly.

Gold coins to the right. Gold coins to the left. Was this paradise?

"I do get a bit of a power trip seeing mountains of gold coins myself, but Yohane's case is terminal. Born to be a merchant, I suppose."

"Oh? Have you come to count gold coins too, Your Majesty?"

"Why would I? Has being surrounded by gold coins turned your brain to mush?"

I may have gotten a little too carried away by the sight of all that money. I needed to reflect on that.

The looks I was getting stung.

I covered it up with a cough.

It was the golden gleam that drove me mad.

Outside of the wealthiest merchants, nobody could keep this much money stored in one place.

Most of the time, it was converted into assets.

In my case, there was the inn I'd left to Kazusa, the shop, and so on.

The factory I'd invested in over in the Empire was another example.

"I convened an emergency assembly to allocate the recovered citizen tax."

"Can an assembly really be convened that casually?"

"We're technically still at war, so… it's necessary for acting on our feet. In peacetime, the monarch's authority handles most things without needing one. And in a genuine emergency, I can issue orders without waiting for the assembly. Though they'll scrutinize thoroughly after the fact whether the decision was justified."

Right, the capital was relatively peaceful, but we were still in the middle of a war.

Even with the attack that had occurred, daily life was so normal that it was easy to forget.

Even now, in a faraway place, soldiers of the kingdom were advancing into Church of the Sun God territory to defend the nation.

The assassination attempt on Anatia had been the catalyst, but various factors had piled up and turned it into a full-scale national conflict almost overnight.

I hoped for peace to come as quickly as possible.

"So what was the result?"

"It passed. This time, it would've been harder to find reasons to object, so there wasn't much to say. I discussed it thoroughly with Anatia-nee-san in Alsarm via magical communication device as well, and it went smoothly. Oh, she was praising you, by the way."

"She's been generous with me ever since I saved her life. It feels like she's complimenting me every time she opens her mouth."

"Well, she is the 'motivate through praise' type, that's for sure."

I was starting to miss the sound of Anatia's voice.

She'd probably come back once the chaos in Alsarm settled down, but… things over there were tough in their own right with the lord and the military deployed elsewhere.

"Now then, I have an order for Yohane, my right hand. Following the citizen tax and the rations, I want you to successfully manage the capital's development project."

"Surely you realize that city development is well outside my expertise."

This was unreasonable.

Building a single shop or factory was one thing. This was an entirely different scale.

"You know how short-handed we are, don't you? Kanon and the Bureau of Internal Affairs are busy analyzing the new census, and I don't want to hand this off to the Treasury Bureau. Besides, I heard about it. Apparently you've been well-received as a non-noble Royal Advisor. It lets me project the image that I'm elevating commoners, so it's two birds with one stone, wouldn't you say?"

"Your Majesty. That's what they call armchair theory. I understand you want notable achievements, but…"

"If you can't do it, it goes to Yupe, you know. Is that okay?"

"That… no, that wouldn't work."

"Hey, why not? It sounds like fun."

I didn't think she'd betray us at this point, but if she took charge, I could see her launching some needlessly extravagant development plan.

Ideally, this should have gone to Kanon, Tianis's actual right hand, but having that woman supervise commoners would be… well, quite bad. Very bad. I could clearly envision a future where she'd clash with the workers and it would all end in disaster.

She was a good person at heart, but she held aristocratic values in the worst sense and unconsciously looked down on commoners.

Not the right fit at all.

Her Majesty Tianis's faction was truly short on talent.

She'd been recruiting from commoners, including maids, but it would be some time before they were ready.

The cleanup fell to Anatia, myself, and occasionally Princess Yupe.

And with Anatia away, the burden was heavier than usual.

"I'll make sure your pay reflects it, okay? And if you want to open a business in the capital, I can fast-track the license with my authority."

"That would definitely get us accused of cronyism."

Not that I had any such plans. There was no time for new ventures while serving as Royal Advisor.