32-Episode 31: He's not the real king, but he's actin...

In a room in the royal castle.

'Master Yuki, we've been inundated with inquiries from the lords about taxation.'

'What is it?

'In regards to the change in currency that was made on the third day, they want the old currency to be accepted for this year's treasury tax payment. ......'

''I was advising Regulus to issue the new currency.

I was issuing the new currency on Regulus's advice, because the system had completely changed, and there was another major reason for the change: to add authority.

'No, you can't. I won't allow it. The kingdom has announced that it will exchange the old coins for equivalent ones, so answer me that you will exchange them and pay the tax.

'But you said it would take a long time to move a lot of coins.

'That's why we set up a special grace period for tax payment. There's a rush of exchanges right now, but if we prepare properly, we should be able to make it in time ......, I think.

'Okay, sir. I'll answer that way!

'Yes, please.

This is how the country is run, with officials visiting my office and me giving advice.

The king is Regulus, and under the current system, he has all the rights, but somehow I've ended up practically ruling the country.

The reason why I don't allow people to pay taxes with old coins is to collect money from corrupt lords.

Some of the lords had been lining their pockets by cheating on their tax payments to the treasury during the previous king's reign, when things were more lenient.

It would have been fine to catch them, but doing so in a kingdom that was already in chaos would have caused more chaos.

So we took the long way around.

With the change to the new coinage, the old coinage will only have value as metal.

As a remedy, the old coin will be exchanged for the new coin, so that no sane lord will be troubled.

Since the lords who agreed to the exchange would be given a special tax for their labor, many of them would be happy.

However, if you exchange a large amount of old coins, there will be an investigation as to where the money came from.

--That's what I'm telling you.

If they are allowed to pay taxes with the old coins, they can exchange only the clean money and use the dirty money to pay taxes.

That's what we're trying to stop.

The corrupt lords cannot exchange their gold, and the wealth they have accumulated through tax evasion becomes a mere lump of metal.

Well, the kingdom is preparing to buy back the metal, so they will get some of their wealth back.

Of course, if more metal than expected comes out of nowhere, the market price will drop, so I'm going to watch my step a bit and buy it down.

'Yuki, you're making a bad face.

I was satisfied with myself, but it seemed to show on my face. Aleria found out.

'Did I look that bad?

'Yes, a very bad face. Yuki is not a person who does bad things, so some bad lord might have trouble with him. ......'

Aleria has good intuition. That's about right.

'But you've been busy lately. ...... I'm finally able to leave some things to you.

There's no amount of time I can spare if I have to deal with every single thing.

I have hurriedly prepared a place to gather smart and talented people and let them discuss.

There are still many problems that need to be solved before the parliamentary system can be established.

I'm still busy, but I've found a way to make some time for myself in between.

'Tomorrow is your day off, right? If you don't mind, why don't you play an adventurer for a change?

'My day job is supposed to be an adventurer, but before I know it, I'll be a Sunday adventurer. ....... Of course I'll go along. I'm sorry I'm boring Aleria to death.'

'Not at all, sir. I've got important work to do. ...... But I'm happy to see Yuki in private for the first time in a long time.'

For some reason, Aleria squirms in embarrassment.

Cute.

You don't think she has a thing for me, do you ......?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

Calm down, me.

There's no way this beautiful girl would like me!

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Every day I was a lonely cripple.

There's no way I'd suddenly become popular in another world.

Whoa! Watch out! I was about to become a misunderstood uncle.

'I'm glad you said that. I've been boring Sui a lot, as well as Aleria. Is Sui sleeping again?

''Mnya mnya ...... master? It's a great life for a dragon to be able to laze around with three meals and a nap.

'It looks like you didn't need to worry about us .......'

It's no use keeping such a goofy pterosaur around, let's get it to do its job.

But I don't know what to do with this dragon. .......

If you're not sure what to do with it, you can always use it as a weapon.

That's easy, but it doesn't allow you to grow.

On the other hand, even if I attacked, I'd be punched in the face.

'It'd be nice if something like the demon tribe came out again. Something a little stronger this time.'

'What are you talking about! Peace is best, right?'

'Or, I'm talking about the possibility. As long as there's a Demon Lord, it wouldn't be strange if demon tribes came out of nowhere, right?

'That's true, but ......'

Such idle chatter was a welcome relief from my busy schedule.

I'm going to enjoy my first day off in a long time as a service to Aleria who supports me.