The Chancellor, Cherit Merken. He was currently tending to his duties.
The various ministers were seated beside him, in the middle of giving their reports.
A peculiar tension hovered over those ministers' faces.
He was a man of such a fiery temper; no one knew when sparks might fly.
If something failed to please the Chancellor, all manner of harsh words came flying.
They acknowledged his ability. But he sorely lacked forbearance.
It was a problem that hadn't surfaced when he played the role of strategist beside a war hero.
But when that war hero ascended to the founding ceremony and established an empire.
As the strategist became the center of the political world, that flaw had naturally emerged.
He excelled at pushing forward and assisting, but was weak at leading.
In the political arena, it was bound to serve as a fatal weakness.
"Minister of Finance. What in the world is this?"
That same Chancellor continued, fluttering a sheet of documents.
"Establishing a new National Tax Service within the Ministry of Finance. This has already been decided, so I'll move past it. Placing three bureaus within it. This, too, is similar to other administrative branches, so I'll accept that as well. But this. This part about separately organizing personnel belonging to the Enforcement Division!"
Each time the Chancellor's voice grew louder, the ministers gauged his temper.
Couldn't he speak a little more gently? How could he speak like that to a full-fledged minister?
Did people with great ability always have to be so difficult?
"You call it an Enforcement Division, but aren't you essentially saying you'll establish an armed organization?"
"That is—"
"You will need to explain yourself properly. Before I personally report to His Majesty the Emperor that the Ministry of Finance may be attempting some reckless scheme."
Sweat ran down the Finance Minister's forehead. But he did not shrink back.
He had already spoken with Edan, who had proposed this opinion the day before.
On what grounds the Chancellor would object. And how he should respond.
"Surely the Chancellor is also aware of the reason for establishing the new National Tax Service."
"I know. Those who dare to still cling to their regional influence even though a new heaven has risen, taking taxes hostage to attempt negotiations. Is that not why we are doing this—to pressure them and exercise the rightful authority of the Empire?"
"Even if the Tax Service's people visit such individuals, they will not feel any great pressure."
"An act that could be construed as daring to raise arms against the Empire's governance, yet they wouldn't feel pressure? Do you truly think that makes sense?"
"Does not the Chancellor know as well? That sometimes humans know the future is coming yet deny it. For such people, the show of force in the present is a far greater burden than pressure applied later."
The Chancellor glared at the Finance Minister for a moment, then let out a sigh.
He understood the meaning. The explanation of its necessity had also been sufficient.
But even so. He could not permit an armed organization.
Where was the guarantee it would be used purely for official duties?
The reason his liege, who had been with him, could become Emperor.
It was because there had been a powerful force privately following him.
They were neither soldiers nor an army given by Condor.
They had been beneficial then, but were a burden now that the Empire had been established.
Now, all individual armed organizations had to be absorbed into the state.
'Those who had followed my liege—no, His Majesty—on campaign were now largely divided into two groups. Those who remained as private soldiers, and those formally affiliated with the Imperial Palace Guard. And the remaining private soldiers were divided among the Second Prince to the Fifth Prince.'
The Seventh and Eighth Princes, born of the current Empress, were excluded here.
From the start, it was doubtful whether the private soldiers would sincerely follow those two princes.
They had never properly seen them, had no connection to them. They were merely strangers.
Conversely, the princes above were young masters who had shared hardships and joys with them.
They had to be converted into the regular army as soon as possible.
They had to be loyal not to a household, but to the Empire itself.
So that they could even point their spears and blades at their own young masters.
In such a situation, an armed organization in the Ministry of Finance's National Tax Service...
From the Chancellor's standpoint, it was simply one more matter added to his plate.
"I well know what the Chancellor is worried about. But collecting taxes is of utmost importance. Places in need of immediate funds only continue to grow, yet is not securing tax revenue moving far too slowly?"
"Mmm."
"That the local nobles do not heed our words is merely a trifle. We also need to investigate and collect from the new imperial territories secured by His Majesty. Furthermore, what of the frontier lands developed during the Condor era? Those lands are now imperial soil, yet the settlers dare call us rebels against heaven and attempt to exert independent influence."
The Finance Minister did not back down and pressed on with his intent.
"Moreover, there are underground organizations that grew rapidly by bribing Condor's high officials. We must pressure them, drag the underground economy into the light, and obtain proper due. Only then can the people who suffered under Condor's tyranny return to their lives, Chancellor."
Why had Condor fallen? It was because of the corrupt tax system.
It had been declared that wrongdoers would be toppled and right brought forth.
But if they could not even resolve this obvious tax problem?
Those who would defy the heavens could emerge at any time.
More than anything, this was something his liege—the Emperor—did not want.
At times, his stubborn, overly rigid nature was stifling.
But his heart for the people was truly sincere.
Had he not been drawn by that and come this far to become Chancellor?
Taxes were no trivial matter. It was a question of life and death.
'Even so, placing an armed organization that can be mobilized at will into a body that is not the military...'
The Chancellor suddenly paused and stroked his chin.
Then, letting out an 'Ah,' he exclaimed softly and smiled.
"Very well, Minister of Finance. I fully understand your loyal and earnest heart."
"Then..."
"I will consider the special personnel assignment for the National Tax Service's Enforcement Division positively and report to His Majesty the Emperor. As it happens, there are many warriors of the revolution around His Majesty; we may station them there."
"Warriors of the revolution, you say? Surely not..."
The soldiers who had accompanied the founding. There were none more loyal to the Emperor.
If it were them, they would never be swayed no matter what sly tricks someone used.
Conversely, if it were the Emperor's command, they would be prepared to do anything.
Because they were not in the military, they could be more flexible; they were perfect for the role.
'All existing private soldiers must be organized into the regular army and used only for state affairs. However, in the event of necessity, His Highness the Eighth Prince might need people to handle. But if I try to extract them from the army, that sign will surely reach the ears of the existing princes.'
Viewed from that angle, the National Tax Service's Enforcement Division was an excellent smokescreen.
If he could only station here those who were soldiers yet not soldiers.
If he could only control them, it would be the perfect preparation for contingencies.
'The problem is that young man named Edan who will lead this Enforcement Division.'
He recalled how Edan had openly expressed an opposing view to the Emperor's will in the conference room.
He was truly a wild one, the Chancellor thought, and somewhat impertinent at that.
More than anything, his head was filled with the conclusion that this was no ordinary man.
Whether he had spoken those words truly for the empire's people.
Or whether he had aimed for the heart of the Emperor who loved the people.
Or if not that, perhaps he had chosen the Fifth Prince over the Eighth Prince.
In the end, the young man named Edan was one who sought to rise upward.
He knew how to increase his own worth.
The Chancellor knew how to deal with such a man.
He would support him and let him move as he wished.
He would even help with the personnel assignments needed for the Enforcement Division.
And extend a hand. Asking if he did not wish to stand together.
Whether Edan took that hand or not was his freedom.
But Edan likely knew well what would happen if he refused.
No matter how great the Fifth Prince was, that was his limit.
The Emperor's will was the Eighth Prince. It was the destiny decreed by heaven.
If he did not comply, they would all be swept away by heavenly punishment.
Present prestige meant nothing. Tomorrow was what mattered.
'Edan Montebello. If only that young man can be won over to our side, I will be able to wield the sharp blade called the Enforcement Division however I please.'
Taxes were the most sensitive and important thing in the world.
An armed group that could move under the pretext of them...
Could it be that Edan had moved anticipating even that?
'Strange. I was told he was barely in his twenties. And the way he carried himself in the conference room... Is this not the bearing of a thoroughly seasoned man?'
Had he gone off somewhere and aged alone?
Thinking it absurd himself, the Chancellor shook his head.
*
The model I had in mind for the Enforcement Division was the National Tax Service of the Heavenly Kingdom.
The situation was quite similar. Force was necessary for tax collection.
It wasn't just nobles who were somewhat disobedient.
The conquered lands expanded by the founding, and even the frontiers developed during the Condor era.
There were too many places where administrative power had not yet reached.
To collect taxes there, kind official letters alone were insufficient.
One had to add kind spears and blades alongside the kind letters.
'But still. I hadn't expected it to be to this extent.'
He had thought it would be enough to have some reasonably strong fellows.
It would be better if they had military experience, but he hadn't expected it.
However, the official document delivered to him today went beyond that.
The direct soldiers who had swept through every battlefield alongside the founding.
Some had been transferred to the Imperial Guard, but some still remained as private soldiers.
The contents stated that some of them would be appointed to the Enforcement Division.
'The one who decided this was the Chancellor.'
He roughly grasped what the Chancellor was aiming for.
He had realized the Enforcement Division could become a well-wielded blade.
This had to become a weapon that only the Emperor could unconditionally wield.
With that aim, he had gathered those loyal to the Emperor.
Then, if in an emergency he handed them over to the Eighth Prince under the Emperor's will...
'He hasn't personally drawn a blade, but the battle has already begun.'
More than anything, it bothered him that the Chancellor had personally signed it.
It meant that whatever my intentions were, they were of no interest now.
What mattered now was which side I would stand on. That was all.
I had wanted to observe the situation longer before deciding, but there was little time.
The Chancellor had begun watching me. He wanted an answer.
It was a hidden struggle over succession. Take it and live; be pushed out and die.
Would I be purged and vanish? Or survive as the victor?
To avoid being swept up in this typhoon, I had to pull myself together.