Was it because I had taken a gamble in front of the Founding Emperor and caught his eye?
The establishment of the National Tax Agency was proceeding far faster than expected.
I had assumed it would take two years, no matter how quickly they moved.
At this rate, it looked as though everything would be settled in about a year and a half.
If you ask whether a year and a half is fast, of course it is.
Even putting up a single building takes longer than that.
To say nothing of organizing an administrative body tangled up in every kind of vested interest.
In any case, the formation of the three internal departments of the National Tax Agency was also picking up speed.
I still did not know who would become the heads of the Review Department and the Investigation Department.
But the position of commissioner of the National Tax Agency was beginning to take shape.
“The commissioner will probably be appointed from among the nobles of the Eighth Prince’s faction.”
“You know that well. Did someone else tell you?”
“That much can be predicted, Godfather.”
“Don’t be so sure. Politics is a madhouse that keeps defying those predictions.”
Since Godfather was right, I merely shrugged.
In the end, this world moved and stopped according to people’s hearts.
If you got too confident and thought you understood that, you could end up dead.
“Still, your prediction about the commissioner’s seat is correct. I don’t know exactly who it will be, but what’s certain is that someone from House Rejestis will take it.”
“The chancellor is coming out quite strong from the start. Considering he could strangle anyone at any time over tax matters, the Fifth Prince’s side must be extremely wary.”
“When have you ever seen that man, the chancellor, proceed cautiously? He is like a flame itself. Even though he might end up as ashes too.”
I had felt this before, but Godfather found the chancellor extremely difficult to deal with.
The reason was probably the repulsion that came from their utterly different temperaments.
Godfather was easygoing and liked meeting and speaking with people.
Given his personality, there was no way he would take kindly to the autocratic chancellor.
Wasn’t it said that the chancellor’s ears existed solely to hear the emperor’s commands?
It was only a single sentence, but it described the chancellor perfectly.
“Still, unless something happens, he’ll continue being chancellor, so perhaps you should get along with him…”
“Enough. As it happens, I heard something new from the minister. Ethan, once you hear this, you’ll understand that my worries are not unfounded.”
What could it be, for him to be so certain?
“The chancellor’s goal is to complete the entire formation of the National Tax Agency within a year and set it properly in motion. Internal personnel assignments, and even the reporting system—all of it.”
“Within a year? Wait. Is that even possible? The personnel issue is so complicated and tangled up everywhere that they shouldn’t be able to handle it carelessly.”
“Even that one year is just what he says. From what I can see, he seems to be trying to shorten it even further.”
“No… Good grief.”
It was unusual enough that the commissioner of the National Tax Agency had already been fixed as someone from the Eighth Prince’s faction.
There were the staff who would assist the commissioner, the people who would take charge of the two departments besides the Enforcement Department.
Then beneath them, those who would handle the actual fieldwork.
And, most crucially, the new positions in the Ministry of Finance that would be linked to the National Tax Agency.
This was not something that ended just because the Founding Emperor pointed and said, “You! You!”
Suitable candidates would be proposed first. The nobles would discuss them.
If there was opposition, they would compromise; if that still failed, both sides would make concessions.
Only then would the emperor’s signature be given and the personnel assigned.
And would that be the end? Each person would also have to adjust to their duties.
The National Tax Agency would need to secure the operating funds it would require going forward.
It would also have to establish a close communication system with other administrative bodies for smooth work.
“This work alone should take at least more than a year. And he wants to cut it even shorter? Isn’t that a bit reckless? The establishment of the National Tax Agency is important, but there’s nothing to gain from rushing it like this.”
“Do you think the chancellor doesn’t know that? A man as intelligent as he is must have already accounted for such problems in his head.”
“If he knows it so well, then why on earth…”
I stopped in the middle of asking Godfather and belatedly realized the reason behind the chancellor’s actions.
“Don’t tell me. Is this also for the Eighth Prince’s sake?”
“You’re quite sharp. Yes. It seems the chancellor intends to use this opportunity to make the National Tax Agency, this new department, into an achievement of the Eighth Prince. Compared to the other princes, the Eighth Prince has done so little that it’s embarrassing. It looks as though he means to push him forward somehow, even in this way.”
“That is rather reckless.”
The Eighth Prince was now ten years old. By the standards of my previous life, he was basically still a schoolkid.
When Condor fell and the beginning of the empire was proclaimed, he had only been four.
There was no way he could have achievements or accomplishments to speak of. It had been impossible from the start.
That was why people kept raising objections about the Eighth Prince in regard to the crown prince issue.
Now that the First Prince was dead, the principle of succession by the eldest son could no longer be fulfilled.
If going by order, the Second Prince should naturally be elevated.
If choosing by merit, then, as expected, the Fifth Prince would be mentioned first.
No matter how one looked at it, the Eighth Prince was in no position to step forward.
That was how matters had reached the point where the chancellor was making reckless moves.
“Fierce discussions are still continuing, but in the end, they are of no use. What matters is His Majesty’s will. And from what I can see, His Majesty has already chosen the Eighth Prince.”
“Otherwise, the chancellor would never move like that. Even if he is autocratic and strongly radical, his loyalty toward His Majesty the Emperor alone is sincere.”
This was why I had hesitated, despite the author from Earth having done his research.
No matter how outstanding the Fifth Prince was, if the emperor said no, then it was no.
And this was no ordinary emperor, but the first. On top of that, he was a war hero.
Even at sixty years old, he could subdue three or four knights.
To oppose such an emperor? That was basically begging to be killed.
“Because the situation has become like this, Ethan, your position will only grow more awkward. The chancellor will try to keep you in the Eighth Prince’s faction no matter what, whether through persuasion or threats. You are the brains that will move the Enforcement Department.”
“I’ve already been receiving subtle pressure for the past few days. Things like how the chancellor used his influence on the National Tax Agency matter, or how His Majesty the Emperor is watching. That sort of thing.”
“Conversely, the existing princes will try to secure you somehow, if only you. In the conference room, you openly rejected His Majesty’s will and did something that displeased House Rejestis, the Eighth Prince’s maternal family.”
“Displeased them? I’m telling you, it was truly a choice made for the empire.”
“That may be true for you, but House Rejestis may see it differently. No. Perhaps they are convinced of it and already thinking of pushing you out.”
Godfather’s final words were neither a jest nor a joke.
It might truly happen. They might try to push me out.
House Rejestis now had to make the Eighth Prince the successor no matter what.
If they failed, it would not simply end with them being pushed out of politics.
They would probably be torn to shreds by whoever became successor in the Eighth Prince’s place.
In fact, the Eighth Prince’s faction was currently forcing me to give them an answer.
Including the chancellor, the pressure from those around me was growing stronger and stronger.
The one asking was far greater than I was and held far more power.
Even if we were both founding meritorious subjects, the chancellor and I were in different leagues.
If that man insisted on hearing an answer, there were not many paths available.
Give him the answer he wanted to hear. Or show him the opposite through my actions.
‘Or else, make him ease the pressure on his own.’
But for the latter, I needed a greater achievement.
I would make an impression on the emperor and take charge of the Enforcement Department of the National Tax Agency.
But that would not immediately amount to something. That alone was not enough.
Something that would make them recognize me more clearly.
An opportunity that would make them change course from pressure to persuasion in the end.
At that time, I desperately hoped that something—anything—would happen.
*
The empire’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The department responsible for diplomacy as a whole.
At present, they had found themselves in an extremely awkward situation.
“The eastern steppe tribes want an envoy? And the Beile of Urut mentioned it personally?”
“It seems they are uneasy that His Majesty the Emperor, whom they believed to have some degree of friendship with them, has shown no intention of reaching out even six years after proclaiming the empire.”
In the past, Condor, with its national power weakened, had suffered from tremendous foreign incursions.
The Winter Barbarians to the north. The Pirate Alliance to the south. And the steppe tribes to the east.
And the Founding Emperor had led every battle on those three fronts to victory.
In the midst of it, he had also established a fairly good relationship with the eastern steppe tribes.
Among them, the tribe closest to the Founding Emperor was Urut.
It was said he had a personal friendship with the son of the beile.
After that, the eastern steppe tribes avoided violating the border as much as possible.
Time passed in that state, and the war hero became the Founding Emperor.
The beile’s son became the beile and led his own tribe.
The emperor of an empire and the chief of a tribe. Similar, yet different positions.
Even so, until now, things had been maintained because of their past friendship.
But as time passed, misunderstandings began to arise among the steppe tribes.
Even someone we thought we could talk to will change once he becomes emperor.
He may suddenly point swords and spears at us for the sake of his own achievements.
The fact that he has not sent even a single person after becoming emperor is proof of that.
We must discern the true intentions of the empire and the emperor as soon as possible!
“What utter nonsense. We were simply too busy clearing away the remnants of Condor to pay attention. To begin with, they are not even a single nation, merely scattered tribes running rampant, so what is this about asking us to send an envoy?”
“But we cannot disregard them entirely either. It is thanks to the Urut tribe keeping the other tribes in check until now that the eastern border has remained quiet since the founding of the empire. They have maintained a pro-imperial stance because of their friendship with His Majesty. If we continue to remain silent here, the situation may change.”
The Winter Barbarians to the north and the Pirate Alliance to the south had suffered crushing defeats at the hands of the Founding Emperor.
Thus, for the past several years, they had not dared to approach the border or the coastline.
But no one knew how long that would last. They could come as soon as tomorrow.
In such a situation, the eastern border had to remain as it was.
“Sending an envoy is also a problem. Who would want to go there in this political climate? No matter how short the trip is, it will take at least four months. Everyone is desperate to remain in the capital and seize higher positions, so going as an envoy would mean they had effectively been pushed aside.”
Whom to send as envoy? The Ministry of Foreign Affairs racked their brains.
In the end, the matter was brought before the imperial council.
And amid the ensuing battle of nerves—“I absolutely refuse to go”—
“I will go.”
The one who raised his hand was none other than Ethan.