Chapter 171 : Chapter 171
Chapter 171. The Capital Transfer (2)
There are things people habitually check before leaving their front door.
It varies from house to house, but for me, it was the following.
Whether the heating and air conditioning, and the computer were turned off.
Whether the windows were closed.
And whether the gas valve was shut.
No matter how late I was for an appointment or how rushed, I couldn't leave the house until I had done these three things.
Similarly, even in a hurry to get to the imperial capital, what needed to be done had to be done.
While I, in the Emperor's body, was preparing for the journey with the few remaining retainers, my main body quickly handled a few tasks.
First, the magic stone factory.
“A-are these all magic stones?”
“Assuming we run four factories, this should last for half a year.”
I revealed the magic stone warehouse to William.
It wasn't something I had prepared in advance.
I didn't have the time for that.
In my haste, I just poured all the magic stones that had accumulated in the subspace into an empty warehouse.
For reference, the power engines of the first to fourth factories, which were in full operation, had been modified by William over the past few weeks.
As befits the work of a genius engineer, with a little maintenance, they could run on either magic stones or peat.
The new factories being built had also been redesigned to be able to choose between magic stones and peat.
“The magic stones are well-prepared, so from today, all four factories will operate on magic stones.”
“My lord Viscount, then the demand for peat will plummet. Weren't you planning to switch over while slowly reducing the existing peat inventory and production?”
“The situation has changed. The peat inventory has run out.”
“B-but when I checked this morning, there was plenty…?”
“I just checked, and it was all gone.”
“Pardon??”
William ran to the warehouse.
I watched him for a moment, then opened the subspace.
The volume of the subspace, upgraded to [Extra Large Subspace], was comparable to a vast harbor.
More than half of it was filled with peat from Karnburk.
I had taken out not only the amount needed for the factories, but also the city's logistics warehouses and strategic reserves.
In the remaining space, I had roughly filled it with conveyor belts and empty containers and boxes for magic stones.
‘Master, don't we also need space to eat, sleep, and poop!’
‘If you speed up the production process, you'll have space. When peat becomes magic stones, the volume decreases, doesn't it?’
‘Even so, this is a violation of human rights, no, divine rights….’
‘I missed it on my last visit because I went straight to the basement, but this time I'm thinking of bringing in all the popular snack recipes from the imperial capital….’
‘Alright, let's move it quickly! Let's place the conveyor first! Tick-Tocky! Ding-Dong!’
‘Tick-tock…!’
With that, the labor negotiations were also concluded.
It would be a long journey until my return from the imperial capital.
For future production, the magic stone factory in the subspace had to run 24 hours a day.
Perhaps even the tightly packed peat would not be enough.
Well, then I would have to procure materials locally.
Just then, William returned, scratching his head.
I patted his shoulder and left the warehouse.
The next destination was the administrative building.
“…I'm not sure if I understand correctly. Are you telling me to manipulate the ledgers?”
“You understood correctly, Bart.”
I adjusted the numbers for the peat volume.
It was more like erasing from the middle and rewriting than adjusting.
Even a small business would get caught by the Financial Supervisory Service if they manipulated their ledgers this way.
It didn't matter.
The administrative office managed the ledgers, and I was the one stamping them.
A small convenience that could be enjoyed in a society with a class system.
There would be a temporary supply shock, but it would be resolved quickly once the supply started coming in again from tomorrow.
I stamped the documents before the ink on the ledgers and reports had even dried and went outside.
The outskirts of the city.
I entered the slums.
A street where unauthorized buildings were haphazardly intertwined, with a characteristic gloomy atmosphere.
Such slums were unavoidable, no matter how well-planned a city was.
You could think of it as a kind of mold.
Even if you could scrub it with bleach and make it invisible on the surface, a little bit of mold was bound to remain in places that eyes and hands couldn't reach.
Looking on the bright side, it could be seen as proof that the city's population was growing.
Flap flap flap!
There.
A crow was perched on the chimney of a shanty.
It was a prearranged contact.
I changed my face to Tribus' in the shade of a building and revealed myself.
The crow, as its kind usually did, turned its head sharply, seemingly wary of me, but it stopped moving the moment our eyes met.
A red light flashed for a moment in its black eyes.
I looked around.
No one was there.
Everyone was out at work.
The fact that even the people in a slum like this went out to work to earn an honest living, instead of wasting their time with alcohol and gambling from broad daylight, was proof that this city was on a growth trajectory.
I extended my arm to the crow that hopped down the roof and approached.
As it naturally climbed on, I whispered.
“Prepare the troops. It seems a war is not far off.”
“Caw?”
“The elven kingdom in the western forest is our ally, so make sure there is no friction.”
“Caw”
“And keep an eye on the Lumer Legion's movements. Find out what they're up to in the great desert.”
Caw-
The crow nodded its head.
The good thing about being mistaken for the ‘Lumer Emperor’ by the vampire duke was that I didn't have to do that annoying ‘kihihit’.
I sent the crow off and returned to the lord's castle.
Just in time, the Emperor summoned me.
Well, it was me summoning myself.
“Viscount Ash, prepare to go to the imperial capital.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
‘Giving an order and receiving it himself. I've never seen anything like this in my life….’
‘Tick-tock….’
‘Nyom nyom nyom.’
“…….”
Let's ignore the static.
The magic stone factory was running well.
I had finished preparing to leave.
Before the sun set, the Emperor's party left the castle gate.
***
It was an urgent matter.
The party was small.
First, there were five from the Emperor's side who had remained without returning to the capital.
The Emperor, Archduke Gabir, the vice-captain of the Patama Knight Order, the veteran knight of the Pegasus Knight Order, William, and an unnamed mage from the Black Magic Tower.
To this, three more from my party were added.
I was accompanied by Randal and Bart.
Randal was the best bodyguard, and I planned to entrust one of the tasks to be performed in the capital to Bart.
A total of eight people rode on horseback to the imperial capital.
Clip-clop, clip-clop…!
A small party had the advantage of being light.
The journey was expected to take about ten days.
Of course, this speed was only possible with a luxury that an ordinary person couldn't even dream of.
It was the same method as when Randal and I had headed to the capital before, stopping at cities along the way to change horses.
The difference from that time was the breed and condition of the horses.
At that time, I had to move without revealing my identity.
Therefore, there were many restrictions.
Traveling through the wilderness instead of the imperial highway, setting up camp in a place far from the city, then disguising myself and infiltrating the market, and despite having enough money, choosing a decent horse that wouldn't arouse suspicion, and so on.
This time was different.
I could choose the best horse.
No, I didn't even need to go to the market.
The imperial army in each city raised selected horses for different purposes in preparation for such occasions.
The number of horses prepared for the Emperor or a messenger sent by the Emperor to ride at any time was over ten in small cities and over thirty in large ones.
We even took spare horses and switched between them to increase our travel speed.
“They say the nomadic people who used to live in the wasteland in the old days would travel with several horses like this. Ah, they say people used to live there before the orcs occupied the wasteland.”
Bart, the encyclopedia of Wolfskrig, was spreading useful common knowledge again today.
That knowledge and his extraordinary brain were the reasons I had brought this friend along.
For the sake of the ‘plan’, I would have to show an appropriate reaction here.
I expressed my admiration lightly in the form of the Emperor.
“Your knowledge is outstanding. I heard you graduated from the Imperial University.”
“Thank you. By the grace of Your Majesty and the Empire, I was able to enjoy the benefits of higher education.”
“I see. Are you interested in the Imperial Library?”
“The, the Imperial Library, you say?”
“Yes.”
Bart's eyes widened.
I didn't answer and turned my head away.
That was more like the Emperor.
All I had to do here was create a pretext.
Anyway, the focus of this journey was speed.
Fourteen hours of the day were allocated to travel, and ten hours to sleep and meals.
When circumstances permitted, we were treated to a bed in the lord's castle of a city, but we didn't shy away from sleeping outdoors.
Although it was an era where dangerous wild animals and bandits were common, the party was what it was.
No one here was of a skill level to be taken down by mere bandits.
Even Bart had learned a few spells as a hobby while managing the administration in Wolfskrig.
“As a hobby?”
“As the city grows, a security vacuum is bound to form, isn't it? I judged that it would be good to have some self-defense spells.”
“No, I mean, as a hobby? Barrier, lightning strike, and freezing spells?”
“Yes, it wasn't difficult.”
“Hoho……”
It wasn't me or the Emperor who let out a dry laugh, but the vice-captain of the Patama Knight Order.
Learning mid-tier magic as a hobby, and while shouldering all the administration of a rapidly growing city, was a talent that would make even the imperial family click their tongues.
“Your Majesty.”
“Hmm? Uh, what is it?”
“With such talent, couldn't a position be made for him in the capital as well?”
“Well, Viscount Ash is greedy for people.”
“Hmm. I see. I had forgotten for a moment the process by which the Viscount recruited Sir Randal.”
“……?”
“Didn't you hear? He abruptly declared to Archduke Ian Petroke to hand over Sir Randal, and before a day had passed, he had requested a personal duel. They say he also rescued Priestess Alina, the Bishop of Wolfskrig, by backstabbing the vampire duke. Ah, there's also the story that he sweet-talked the elf queen, spirited her away, and established a kingdom….”
“…….”
Is this old man a conspiracy theorist?
There seem to be a lot of distortions.
Come to think of it, it seems that almost all the key members I've gathered are talented.
The elf queen Karen, the swordsmanship prodigy Olif, the old man Brol with the unidentified confession trait, the dwarf-like engineer William, and so on….
Anyway, while Bart's stock was so-called ‘soaring’, my reputation also rose in the same way.
Because in the capacity of the Emperor, I often showed a good rapport with Viscount Ash, that is, my main body.
“Your Majesty, seeing you up close, I understand why you cherish Viscount Ash.”
“Hmm?”
“The Viscount understands Your Majesty's will and heart well. To do so without exchanging many words, it seems he is always contemplating Your Majesty's will.”
“…He's a smart friend.”
“Indeed he is.”
Well, we were one person in the first place, so to not get along, I would have to force myself to act.
Anyway, while I was ‘manipulating the stock prices’ of myself and my people, six nights of camping and three nights of staying at a lord's castle passed.
On the 9th day of our departure.
Rumble rumble rumble-
In the middle of the night, the gate of the imperial capital opened secretly.
We followed a secret passage and entered the inner castle's imperial palace directly.
There was no grand welcome.
The Emperor had never officially left the capital.
By the way….
‘Master, this situation is….’
‘I know.’
Even in the middle of the night, with the moon obscured, and without going out onto the streets, I could feel it clearly.
The city was dying.
We had boarded a sinking ship.