Chapter 35 - Sleepless Night
Chapter 35 - Sleepless Night
The 'Excel Revolution' that would shake the Empire's financial system struck the heart of the Imperial Palace much faster and more violently than expected.
Bartolo Rix, the Minister of Finance, clutched Edric's stack of documents to his chest and marched straight to Emperor Theodore's office, forgetting all etiquette.
Even the guards made way for the urgent footsteps of the usually fastidious old minister.
Normally, it was too late for an audience, but the Emperor allowed him entry at the minister's earnest request.
The Emperor opened his dim eyes with difficulty and said.
"What is it at this late hour, Sir Bartolo?"
"Your Majesty! I have found a treasure that will change the thousand-year foundation of Imperial administration!"
Minister Bartolo spread Edric's financial statements out on the Emperor's desk.
The Emperor, who had been peering at the documents with his glasses pushed up, felt his eyes slowly fill with astonishment.
"What... is this? The financial status of a territory, which would usually require digging through thousands of ledgers to understand, is summarized in just a few sheets. Looking at this 'graph' line, I can see at a glance where the money is leaking!"
"That is correct, Your Majesty! If we introduce this format throughout the Empire, officials' working hours will be cut in half, and we will be able to recover tens of thousands of gold in wasted taxes!"
One of the people who read the most documents in the Empire was the Emperor himself.
He had felt like he was going truly insane more than once while looking at those dense numbers for decades.
To such an Emperor, that easy-to-read document format was like salvation, and he asked immediately.
"Who made this document format?"
"It is said to have been made by the Prince's aide, Sir Edric."
"Edric!?"
The Emperor couldn't help but be surprised when Edric's name came up.
He knew Edric was capable, but that was only as an aide.
Usually, someone is called a genius if they are excellent in just one field, but to show such outstanding ability even in finance, the Emperor could not hide his admiration.
"Edric Noel... You are amazing. To perform such a miracle in administrative practice, on top of your martial prowess and loyalty."
"That is correct, Your Majesty. Edric is the talent the Ministry of Finance needs. Please, I beg you to grant permission for him to be dispatched to the Ministry of Finance for a while."
Edric was the Prince's close aide.
However, the ability he showed was far too valuable.
After much deliberation, the Emperor finally issued an imperial decree. It was an order to appoint Edric Noel as a Special Advisor to the Ministry of Finance and to reorganize the Empire's entire accounting system with this 'Excel format'.
That news was delivered to Edric, who had peacefully arrived at the Prince's office the next day, like a bolt from the blue.
"... What? I am being dispatched to the Ministry of Finance?"
"That's right, Edric! The Minister is completely in love with your innovative document format. His Majesty also earnestly requested that you use your talents for the entire Empire."
Prince Leopold-nim patted my shoulder as if he were genuinely happy.
I tried to refuse with a tearful face.
"Le... Leopold-nim, I am an aide who must assist the Prince. If I am not here, the work of assisting Leopold-nim..."
What kind of place is the Imperial Ministry of Finance?
It was a hell of all hells, a paperwork hell where one sees the documents that ordinary officials would see in a lifetime every single day.
To tell me, who had barely escaped the paperwork hell, to go there... I clung to the Prince as a ray of hope in my despair.
However...
"Haha, don't worry. There won't be any special external duties for a while, so go to the Ministry of Finance and unleash your talents to your heart's content!"
"... Yes, I understand."
The Prince cut off my hopes with a single stroke.
I wanted to escape somehow, but at the words 'Imperial Decree' and the Prince's bright smile, I couldn't bring myself to reply, and in the end, I was dragged away by the Ministry of Finance officials.
As soon as I arrived at the Ministry of Finance, dozens of officials surrounded me as if I were a saint.
In their eyes, a mad thirst for learning was burning.
These were the recognized genius brains of the Empire.
I was to give a lecture in front of such people?
As I seriously contemplated escape, the bombardment of questions from the officials began.
"Advisor Edric! What is the most efficient way to set the criteria for this 'category classification'?"
"Is there a separate rule for drawing the lines in this table? I am curious about the secret to making the figures easy to see at a glance!"
I couldn't come to my senses amidst the pouring rain of questions.
I wanted to tell the truth, that 'it's because I rolled around as a contract worker in my past life and did hellish accounting work,' but if I said that, I'd be treated like a crazy person.
I answered with as polite an expression as possible.
"There is no grand secret. I just reached this standard after worrying about how to deliver vast amounts of information most efficiently and intuitively. Even if it hadn't been me, one of you capable officials here would have thought of it sooner or later."
I spoke as humbly as possible.
In fact, my words weren't wrong.
I just knew for sure that doing it this way was easier because I had experienced it in my past life, and they just didn't have that experience.
If there was a long time ahead, they would surely come to have this format and process, and being geniuses more than me, they would be able to utilize it even better.
But at my words, their eyes turned into sparkling, moved gazes.
What is this... that look?
It's fucking burdensome.
"To be so humble even after creating something like this..."
"You are truly amazing."
"I respect you!"
Just as I was receiving the suffocating gaze attack from the Ministry of Finance officials, Minister of Finance Bartolo Rix appeared, pushing through the crowd while shouting.
"Now, everyone calm down! Advisor Edric will suffocate!"
He had a triumphant expression, like an explorer who had obtained the treasure of the century.
"You all, we have brought a precious person, so show some courtesy. Advisor Edric is the savior of our Ministry of Finance starting today! Now, let's hurry. We don't have time!"
At Minister Bartolo's urging, the officials moved in an orderly fashion.
The place I was guided to was the Ministry of Finance's Central Hall.
There, thousands of ledgers and stacks of documents from all over the Empire were piled up like mountains.
Just looking at the sight made my eyes dim, and I wanted to step back, but behind my back, a legion of dozens of officials stood firm with eyes that said, 'Give us your teachings.'
"Advisor, shall we start with this 'Southern Granary Tax Ledger' first?"
A young official handed me ink and a quill with a flushed face.
I swallowed a sigh and stood in front of the blackboard.
"... Good. Let's start with standardization first. Create a fixed 'header' on the first line of every ledger. Sequence, Item, Quantity, Unit Price, Total. Even if you just unify these five things, you can escape from reading hellish prose."
A middle-aged clerk who was taking notes from the side let out an exclamation.
I continued speaking while drawing a grid on the blackboard.
"Next is categorization. Group expenses with the same nature, such as food expenses, labor costs, and repair costs, under one code number. For example, the 100s are for administrative expenses, and the 200s are for military expenses."
"Wait a moment, Advisor!"
One official raised his hand high.
I focused on what he had to say.
"If we group them like that, it's certainly easier to organize, but wouldn't it be difficult to check the detailed breakdown? We have been recording even the weight of every single supply item until now."
"That is exactly the trap."
I looked at him intently and replied.
And I showed him the document materials I had brought and said.
"What His Majesty is curious about is not the weight of the supply wagon wheels, but what percentage of the total military budget for this month exceeded the budget. Put the details in the 'Remarks' column, and only put the total at the end. Dividing the hierarchy of information is the core of Excel, no, this document format."
"The hierarchy of information...!"
The officials muttered while moving their quills in unison.
It was as solemn as monks recording a passage from the Bible.
The work that continued throughout the afternoon was grueling.
I divided the officials into four teams and had them do practical exercises.
"Team A, align the three years of income from the Livia territory by year on the horizontal axis! Team B, calculate the proportion of each expenditure item and visualize it with a 'pie chart'... no, a round diagram!"
"Advisor! The figures don't match! The repair costs for the Eastern Fortress from last year are recorded twice in two ledgers!"
An official from Team C shouted.
I walked over there and scanned the ledger.
"Look. Doesn't it show up immediately when you put it in a standardized table? It's a duplicate expenditure that you would never have known about when reading it as prose. With this one table, you just saved 500 gold of the Imperial budget."
"My goodness... It really does!"
The officials were now starting to become steeped in madness.
From here and there, shouts of "Found it! It's missing tax!", "Why is this item set so high?" burst out.
Minister Bartolo's mouth stretched to his ears as he watched the scene.
"Hahaha! Sir Edric, look! Our Ministry of Finance is alive and moving! In just 3 days since you came, we've already uncovered three ledgers suspected of fraud!"
"Hahaha... Congratulations, Minister."
I was laughing on the outside, but on the inside, I was screaming.
My average sleep time for 3 days was 3 hours.
There were so many people calling for me that I couldn't go home at all.
As the night deepened, the candles in the Ministry of Finance did not know how to go out, and I was squeezed by dozens of 'fanatics' as I reconstructed the hellish bottom of the Imperial administration one by one.
This was a revolution for the Imperial Ministry of Finance, and at the same time, it was an endless overtime hell for me.
"Aaaaaah... the work won't end..."
5 days passed.
No... was it a week?
My sense of time was becoming increasingly paralyzed.
What was filling my head right now was only the bad premonition that if I didn't organize the data for the Western Laira territory within today, I would have to come out on the weekend too.
On such a late night, in the quiet Ministry of Finance office where everyone had left.
I was writing 'data' to be used for the next morning's meeting, relying on a single candle alone.
My hand moving the quill was trembling.
"Fucking hell... I wanted to tear into some roast chicken at the mansion with Nataliya, what is this state..."
Just as I was muttering a self-deprecating complaint about the never-ending paperwork hell... a cautious knock was heard from outside the door.
Knock knock-
"Who is it? At this late hour."
When I opened the door, an unexpected person was standing there.
There, standing there... was Princess Camilla, dressed in flashy outing clothes and holding a small basket.
"You are working hard, Edric."
"How did Camilla-nim come in person..."
"I thought it was admirable that Edric was dedicating himself to the Empire until late at night, so I brought some late-night snacks."
"Ah... no. I am fine!"
Growl-!
"........."
"........."
"... I will eat a little."
"Pfft, you made the right choice, Edric."
This stomach of mine really cannot tell a lie.
At first, I tried to refuse out of courtesy, but just then, a thunderous sound of 'growl' echoed from my stomach, and I decided to eat the late-night snack Camilla had brought.
Camilla smiled slightly and opened the basket.
Inside were freshly baked warm meat pies, sweet tarts made from southern specialty fruits, and fragrant milk tea. As expected of the Imperial chef's skill, the savory smell stimulated the tip of my nose.
"Then... I will accept it gratefully without refusing."
Munch-! Munch-!
I greedily bit into the meat pie.
Wow! As expected, it was a dish made by the Imperial chef.
Tremendous flavor spread throughout my mouth, and I ate the late-night snack very deliciously.
As expected, the things that aren't good for the body are the most delicious.
But... Camilla sat in a chair and stared at me.
Stare—
"........."
"Munch munch..."
Her gaze was so blatant that I felt like I might choke.
What is it? Is there something on my face?
"Ca... Camilla-nim, is there something on my face by any chance? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No. It's just, I thought that even the way you eat is very sincere, Edric."
Camilla answered nonchalantly and took a sip of tea.
By the time I had finished even the tart in the silence, she asked in a low voice.
"Edric... haven't you been under a lot of stress lately due to the heavy workload?"
Camilla leaned closer to me, asking with sparkling eyes.
I do have a lot of stress, but... why is she asking that? Is she going to let me go home?
"To be honest... it has piled up quite a bit."
"I thought so!"
Camilla was happy at my words that I was stressed.
What is this? Is she happy that I'm stressed?
Noticing that my reaction was strange, Camilla regained her dignity and said.
"Ahem! I see. I felt bad because it seemed like you ended up taking on the Ministry of Finance work because of me. So I thought I would join you in relieving your stress a little."
"Relieving my stress?"
I tilted my head.
She's going to help me relieve my stress? What on earth is she going to help with?
I was increasingly unable to understand what Camilla was saying.
"How? Would you like to go for a walk together?"
Camilla slowly stood up from her seat and approached me.
And pointing to her own smooth cheek with her hand, she said with a blank but serious look in her eyes.
"Like that time... slap my cheek."
"............ What??"
What kind of crazy talk is this again!!!???
The Princess's crazy talk echoed through the sleepless night.