The Incompetent Emperor Who Changes the World from the Shadows: Iron, Gunpowder, and the Young Maidens of Favor - Chapter 6: Launching the Emperor’s Financial Reforms

Chapter 6: Launching the Emperor’s Financial Reforms

The office in Brunhilde Palace is vast—almost excessively so.

The floor is made of marble, the ceiling’s reliefs are adorned with gold leaf, and the walls are decorated with old-fashioned portrait paintings.

The room is filled with gaudy artwork embellished with gold and silver.

I have no idea about their value, but their colors make me feel oddly uneasy.

“…To begin with, how much money can I freely use right now?”

I ask myself the question.

Then I glance at Sopina, hovering nearby.

How would I know? If you want to find out, call someone who works in this palace.

In front of me is the “Butlers’ Bell.”

It’s meant to summon a butler, but ringing it calls Gerda, the “head maid assigned to the emperor.”

“I’d rather not call Gerda if I can help it.”

It’s not because of the burn scars on her face—that’s not some discriminatory reason.

Well, she’s the chancellor’s granddaughter and your watchdog, so I get why you’d want to avoid her…

“But calling the captain of the imperial guard wouldn’t get me much useful information either.”

Your personal maids didn’t have much valuable info either, did they?

What I need right now is information to survive.

If I keep living aimlessly like this, I’ll only end up on a path to ruin.

By evening, I take my seat at the dining hall for dinner.

A long marble table is set with silver cutlery and crystal glasses, with the head chef and several servers standing by.

Tonight’s menu is a parade of the finest ingredients sourced from across the Empire.

First, the appetizer: canapés topped with imperial caviar and cream.

Next, veal carpaccio generously sprinkled with shaved white truffles.

The fish course is pan-seared sea bass from Pisia Port, served with a saffron cream sauce.

The meat course features roasted lamb from the mountain regions, drizzled with herb-infused gravy.

Side dishes include seasonal asparagus and marinated grilled vegetables.

The bread, baked fresh every morning, includes buttery brioche and rye.

Several bottles of top-tier southern wines are opened.

For dessert, there’s a berry tart and chocolate mousse garnished with gold leaf.

Everything looks extravagant, made with top-quality ingredients.

…But it feels strangely unreal.

As I cut into the lamb with a silver fork, a thought crosses my mind.

(…How much does this dinner cost, anyway?)

It’s super lavish, isn’t it? Truly fit for an emperor!

Sopina teases me with a smirk.

After dinner, I decide to summon Gerda to address my lingering questions.

“No choice but to bite the bullet.”

Muttering to myself, I ring the Butlers’ Bell.

The door is knocked on immediately, and Gerda enters.

“You called for me?”

“Yes. Since I collapsed the other day, my memory’s been spotty. I need your help filling in the gaps.”

“Help… you say?”

She tilts her head, looking puzzled.

“How much money can I freely use each month?”

“The Imperial Support Fund provides 10,000 Starks per month, but…”

If one Stark is roughly 10,000 yen, that’s easy to calculate.

So, about 100 million yen? That sounds reasonable for royalty.

“For Your Majesty’s personal use, it’s about 5 Marks at best.”

Wait, Marks? If one Mark is 1,000 yen, that’s… 5,000 yen?!

That’s a middle schooler’s allowance!

“But the support fund is 100 million, isn’t it?”

“The support fund is for maintaining the imperial household.

Once you account for personnel costs and building maintenance, there’s not much left.”

“Even so…”

“For example, food expenses alone—for just Your Majesty’s meals—come to 800 Starks per month.”

That’s 8 million yen in Japanese terms. About 86,000 yen per meal…

What? How extravagant is this food?

“Surely it’s not 800 Starks just for me? I’m not eating that much.”

I get full, but it’s not like I’m eating excessive amounts.

“It’s not about quantity.

It’s because we summon high-end ingredients and renowned chefs from across the regions every week.”

“Summon them?”

Gerda seems exasperated by my forgetfulness, given that these were the emperor’s orders.

“You’ve forgotten, haven’t you?

Your Majesty is a gourmand and easily bored, so you get upset if the same dishes are served too often.”

“Oh, I see. Sor—”

I start to say “sorry” but catch myself.

That’s dangerous.

Memory loss is one thing, but acting too different from the previous emperor might raise suspicions.

If they think I’ve gone mad and lock me in a room, that’d be disastrous.

“Sor…?”

“I mean, it’s not good if I can’t spend money on the women I like.

It’s fine to hire more personal maids, right?”

“…Well, as long as it’s within the support fund’s limits, there’s no issue with how many women Your Majesty keeps.”

“Alright, let’s cut back on food expenses from now on.

Tell the person in charge to keep it to 1 Stark per day.”

Ten thousand yen still feels high, doesn’t it?

No, considering the food procurement logistics of this era, that’s probably the bare minimum.

“Understood.

However, tomorrow’s dinner is likely already in preparation, so the change will start from the morning after.”

“Yes, do that.

Also, if there’s a ledger detailing how the support fund is used, I’d like to see it.”

“A ledger?”

Gerda’s face openly shows annoyance.

I can understand not wanting someone meddling in how the palace’s money is spent.

“I’ll spare no effort for the sake of women.

If there’s a budget we can trim, I want to review it.”

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

With that, Gerda leaves the room.

Woo-hoo! That’s the womanizing emperor for you!

Sopina teasingly circles around me.

“Don’t mock me. I’m dead serious here.

This is important for you too.

Nuclear research costs money.

No amount of funds will ever be enough.”

Returning her to her original world requires immense energy.

And developing that energy source will need massive research funding.

Even if you cut back a bit, you’ll save maybe 10 million a month at most, right?

Most of it goes to personnel and maintenance costs.

“Even if I poured all 10 million into research, it’d take decades for any payoff.

It’s smarter to use the savings as capital to start a business.”

Right now, the emperor is just a parasite on the state.

I need to create a way to earn money myself, and fast.

That requires seed money.

But you didn’t exactly have a knack for business in your past life, did you?

“Business acumen? I don’t need that.

With your data-gathering ability and my knowledge of ‘future technology’ in this world, we can develop cheat-level products without any business talent.”

Sopina flashes a grin.

You’re right. Together, you and I might be unstoppable in this world.

“Exactly. I’m counting on you, partner!”

Just then, a knock comes at the door.

“It’s Gerda. I’m coming in.”

She approaches and hands me a single ledger.

“This records the income and expenses for the past few months.”

I take it and start flipping through the pages.

[1/31 Income: Imperial Support Fund – 10,013 Starks]

Wow, nearly 100 million yen really does come in.

Next must be salaries for the staff.

[2/2 Expense: Salary – Marina Shumire (Kitchen Maid) – 25 Starks]

[2/2 Expense: Salary – Ariel Finn (Laundry Maid) – 22 Starks]

…

…

They’re paid pretty well.

The personnel costs seem reasonable.

[2/3 Expense: Service Fee – Dennis Balshmide (Linden Territory Chef) – 425 Starks]

[2/3 Expense: Procurement – Ingredients – 357 Starks]

This is the epitome of waste, isn’t it?

Well, we’ll cut back from now on, so it’s fine.

[2/4 Expense: Maintenance – Golden Fountain – 50 Starks]

[2/5 Expense: Tuning – Golden Harp – 30 Starks]

What’s this?

“What’s the Golden Fountain?”

Since I took over the emperor’s body, I’ve never seen such a thing.

“The Golden Fountain is one of the fountains Your Majesty whimsically commissioned two years ago.

You’ve forgotten… well, I’d forgotten about it myself until now, so it’s understandable…”

“Where is it?”

“In the back garden.”

“Show me later. I want to see its condition.”

“Understood.”

“And this Golden Harp?”

“Before the war, you invited a harpist from Rontesia for a concert.

Have you forgotten that you took a liking to her?

…Oh, right, amnesia.

Let me explain: you purchased the Golden Harp to give to her, but the war started, and the gift was left unresolved…”

“But it says ‘tuning fee’ here.

This seems to be a monthly expense.”

“You instructed a tuner to keep the instrument in perfect condition so it could be gifted to her anytime after the war ends.”

The incompetent emperor should’ve just stayed quietly incompetent…

“We can’t keep wasting money like this.

Sell the Golden Harp.

And put all the unnecessary artwork up for sale too.

Make a list of anything that could sell.”

“Yes…”

Gerda stares at my face, as if deep in thought.

“Got a problem?”

“No… I was just wondering how many more personal maids Your Majesty plans to hire.”

“Oh, right.

Ideally, I’d like to sleep with a different woman every day.”

I blurt it out to cover my tracks, without thinking.

On impulse?

…No, isn’t that my true desire?