Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Economy
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The fuss over the forms had finally died down somewhat.
“Damn old geezers...”
The new forms must have been easy to read, because the ministers from every department came chasing after me, kicking up a storm and demanding I make forms for them too.
Honestly, up to that point, I felt a swell of pride and a real sense of accomplishment.
But...
-Aiden, add a column here for numbers.
-Aiden, make the text bigger here.
The revisions kept piling up...
-Aiden! Make us new prison records!
-No! Aiden needs to make household registry forms right now!
With the endless demands for forms, I finally snapped in fury...
-Argh! I can't take this anymore!
...and ran off. Only then did the lower ranks in each department decide to make their own forms.
If they'd done that from the start, how much better would things have been?
“Financial Secretary Aiden, it's time for the secretaries' meeting.”
Jin's voice called to me from outside the office, and I replied in an exhausted tone.
“Yeah, coming.”
On the way to the secretaries' meeting room.
Is this really right?
Back when I was just a guard commander, the job had been easy.
I'd just show up to meetings, nod along, and do whatever they told me.
But after getting promoted to secretary, things started going weirdly wrong.
The ministers kept coming to me asking for this or that...
They were acting like I was some kind of all-purpose errand boy.
My salary had tripled, so I'd been dreaming happily about paying off all my debts next payday...
But with them dumping work on me nonstop, and even arguing among themselves in my office to hurry me up, I felt like no human could handle it.
I need to sell the house quick and get out of here.
Lost in those thoughts, I asked Jin about the meeting.
“By the way... what exactly do we do in these meetings?”
Jin gave me a puzzled look in response.
“Uh... I'm not entirely sure either. I know it's where the Grand Duchess gets briefings on key issues before the cabinet meeting. Didn't you read the agenda?”
“It's not that I didn't read it— I couldn't.”
The old geezers had been hounding me so much I didn't have time.
But Jin said in a fearful voice,
“Oh? Then you might get chewed out by the Grand Duchess.”
“Pfft, it's only been a couple weeks here. Isn't it normal not to know stuff yet? All I've learned since coming is how to bundle paperwork and where to store it.”
It's true.
All I'd done was sort the documents coming into the Grand Duchess's office by type and file them away.
Skimming through them while organizing showed me just how backward the administration here was...
“Then explain it well, and she'll probably let it slide! No matter what anyone says, those forms and woodblock printing are revolutionary!”
The meeting room came into view before I knew it.
“I can't go in there, so hurry and head inside.”
“Got it, see you later.”
Stepping into the meeting room, it looked quite luxurious.
Muted oil paintings on the walls, porcelain vases here and there.
And a massive table that could seat dozens, even if there weren't nine chairs set out.
Is this really a meeting room?
As I thought that, I spotted eight people already seated.
Oh? Everyone's here except me.
Luna was even in the head seat, looking my way, so I rushed to an empty chair.
“Financial Secretary, arrive a bit earlier from now on.”
Under her sharp glare, I apologized.
“Sorry. I thought I was on time...”
I had no idea how late I was, so I checked my pocket watch— I was two minutes early.
“Huh? I'm not late though?”
“Watch your words, Aiden Secretary. The Grand Duchess has been waiting here for a full twenty minutes.”
A man in his fifties wearing a Military Secretariat uniform.
I vaguely remembered seeing him in passing before...
Jake, was it?
Anyway, I could see a faint vein pulsing on Luna's forehead, just like he said, so I apologized hurriedly.
“My apologies. I thought the meeting started right on the hour.”
Luna raised a hand at my apology and spoke.
“Enough. I'll now convene the secretaries' meeting. Military Secretary, you start.”
The Military Secretary, Jake, stood at her calm command.
“As this year draws to a close, northern forest reclamation has improved somewhat, and the frontline fortress is complete, allowing further expansion. We'll need troop deployments and war supply transport as a result.”
With that, the analyses and advice from the Grand Duchess's secretaries on each department rolled out.
“Prisoner numbers are up, so we need to expand the jails.”
Mostly talk about northern reclamation, public security, and legal matters.
Even some familiar topics came up.
“We swept up a ton of organized crime this time, but there are still plenty of petty crooks left. We need to beef up patrols.”
Luna frowned at the Interior Secretary's words.
“Aiden should know this area well. What specific measures do we need?”
At her question, I racked my brains...
But nothing much came to mind...
“Uh? How about raising guard pay or giving them incentives while we're at it?”
“Pay raises aside, what's an 'incentive'?”
An incentive is performance-based pay for hitting targets or goals.
They don't even know about that...?
This place is way too primitive.
Luna was portrayed as brilliant in the novel, but she fell way short of my standards.
“It's a system where, if they hit certain performance targets, they get extra pay added to their monthly salary based on results. I think that would stop guard corruption and make them do their jobs properly.”
But Luna frowned at my clever idea.
“I've never heard or seen such a system. And with our current finances, isn't that impossible?”
The budget was heavily skewed toward military spending right now.
From what I'd heard, the Grand Duchy’s north had vast plains, woodlands, and a long mountain range.
They were reclaiming it for resources, but the problem was the orcs, elves, and dwarves living there— they were at war driving them out.
“Exactly. As I said earlier, normalizing the new fortress will cost a fortune... Raising guard pay? Ridiculous.”
Jake shot back, veins bulging in his neck.
“And don't we have forest attacks to deal with this winter too?”
He smirked mockingly at me as he said it.
“What a joke.”
It was absurd coming from someone without even forms.
“What? A joke?”
“Listen here, Secretary Jake. Think about it. Is now the time to wage war? No one here seems to know economics, but what's the most important thing in war?”
“Have you ever seen such a greenhorn? Well-trained soldiers and commanders! Quality weapons and supplies— that's it! How dare you lecture me on war?!”
I nodded at the trembling Jake.
“I thought you were an idiot, but apparently not. So, what's needed to get those three things?”
“Economic power, obviously! Are we playing twenty questions here?!”
Why is this guy so hot-headed?
To Jake, who was glaring like he wanted to kill me, I made a calming gesture with both hands.
“Right. So how are our Grand Duchy's finances?”
“Our finances are plentiful! We've claimed so much northern land! That's why we can't waste money on guards— we need to push further north!”
“Claiming land... Sure, we get land, but it barely contributes to production. Can you explain how that's tied to economic power? With GDP this low, blindly grabbing land and paying it off is problematic!”
Jake was stunned speechless by my words.
“GDP? What's that?”
The others looked equally baffled, question marks practically on their faces.
“Sigh, this is why I hate muscle-headed types. Pay attention. How does northern reclamation turn into money?”
“Simple! We claim land, sell it, develop mines, and money rolls in naturally!”
“Good! But we have no population, right? Can't cultivate the land? Can't develop mines? No money then? Meanwhile, we've got a ton of soldiers eating up funds... Who's feeding those troops? We're lucky not to go bankrupt.”
The financial statements I'd glanced at by chance.
I was shocked to see most of the budget dumped into massive defense spending like some North Korean regime.
Governments spend money that naturally flows to the private sector, circulating and boosting the economy.
That's why they pump out public funds.
But defense spending is different.
It mostly goes to arms makers, it's a money pit in peacetime, and a money elephant in war.
So how had the Grand Duchy sustained its economy? Only one way...
Sell off reclaimed land to civilians dirt cheap.
Looking at this place, it was shocking they ran the country without even a Goguryeo-style plunder economy.
“We're gonna go bankrupt!”
“Yeah, because war nets us tons of land. But lose land or hit external shocks, and we're done. We already have plenty of debt, right?”
The Grand Duchy's economy was a spectacle the more you looked.
Wage war, rack up debt, sell land to cover debt, war again for more money, debt again— an endless cycle.
Win every time? Fine. Lose once?
Even winning means huge costs and manpower to develop it.
But who’d come to this frozen wasteland?
I looked at Jake smugly.
I flashed a victory smile, mirroring the disdain he'd thrown at me earlier.
Who're you to look down on me, you primitive?
Just as my triumph seemed sealed...
Luna asked me in an icy voice,
“So what should we do? If we don't wage war, our debts mature just like you said. Anyone who's glanced at state affairs would know that.”
She narrowed her eyes, pressing me.
“If you can't answer... you'll face judgment by law.”
Wait, what...? Did I piss off Luna?
Well, yeah, I'd basically criticized Grand Duchess Luna's management...
But I hadn't meant to.
I'd just been showboating to pay back that jerk Jake for mocking me.
As I sat there dumbfounded, unable to reply, Luna called on the Justice Secretary.
“Andrea, what's the punishment for insulting the sovereign?”
At her words, the bespectacled man replied calmly.
“Fifteen years imprisonment to execution.”
Luna rested her chin on her interlaced fingers and spoke evenly.
“Well? What's your answer?”
This is bad... One wrong move, and my head might roll.
Her gaze grew colder by the second.
What do I do?
I racked my brain for a way out, but nothing came.
Uh... Buy time first... then bolt! Yeah, run!
Taking a deep breath, I forced a relaxed expression.
“No need to worry. I've nearly found a groundbreaking way to fix the Grand Duchy's economy. But for a proper report, I need a bit more systematization.”
Truth is, nothing like that exists.
How do you fix this dumpster fire economy?
I'll stall like this... then make a midnight run.
Heard the far south has a mild climate— no one'll find me there.
“Is that so? Really? Is Jin outside?”
At Luna's words, Jin's voice came from beyond the door.
“Yes! I'm here!”
“From now on, guard Aiden closely. Execute him on the spot if he tries to flee. This meeting is adjourned.”
As Luna shot me a final glare and rose, I thought to myself,
I'm totally screwed...