The Palace of Heaven

In the palace of heaven.

At first, Haneul actually listened earnestly. These were envoys, after all—people who came asking for the god's opinion on matters of national importance. Or so she'd assumed.

"We would like to celebrate our prince's birthday..."

"We are holding a coronation this season..."

"We humbly ask for your blessing upon our castle..."

Fine. Invitations to weddings and funerals, sure, that's fair enough.

"Please, deign to attend in person..."

They all send delegates while I'M the one who can't send a representative? How is that not discrimination?

"ALL OF YOU, GET OUT!"

And so she chased them all off.

"Our king has recently been widowed. Might I suggest marriage? He holds vast territories in the heart of Europe."

"How old is he?"

"Fifty-two..."

Younger than her, sure, but when a dusty middle-aged man starts proposing marriage, you throw him out too. Which she did.

"I wish to purchase one of Daehan's ships."

"You mean the one sitting out there?"

"That very one!"

"It's really, really expensive?"

If you valued that thing as scrap iron alone, your countries' entire productivity would still wobble trying to pay for it?

"Hahaha! Our kingdom is among the wealthiest in all of Europe—we even have gold mines!"

"Then give me gold amounting to one-tenth of that ship's size."

"...?"

"I said gold."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I told you it was expensive, didn't I? That thing is genuinely, astronomically expensive. The maintenance costs alone are no joke."

Do they actually think we use those ships just because our technology is good? Do they have any idea what the production and upkeep costs are?

It really did seem like their economic scale was simply so far removed from hers that they couldn't even begin to conceive of it. Steamship maintenance was positively bloodcurdling.

"Ha! Then I would rather decline!"

"No, seriously, I'm telling you the truth—that thing is insanely expensive."

"Ha! I understand your meaning well enough."

So she met people who wouldn't believe her no matter how she explained it, then got huffy and angry on their own. Absolute lunatics.

"Would rejuvenation perhaps be possible?"

"Huh? Now what's this about?"

"They say that if one sleeps with the Holy Maiden, one may regain one's youth."

"Says who?"

"Eh? I read it in a book."

Yeah. After a few days of sitting through meeting after meeting, she concluded they were nothing but lunatics, the lot of them.

So she posted a notice on the wall.

She wrote about thirty of them, but the six above covered the essentials.

"Phew..."

"Things have quieted down now, haven't they?"

Right. Those people hadn't come for diplomacy at all—they'd just shown up to see what freebies they could leech. Greedy little beggars, the lot of them. From now on, if anyone wanted something, they'd better start by putting a fistful of gold in her hand first. They kept trying to walk away with things empty-handed, after all.

Still, for the first time in a while, a customer had actually come with money in tow.

"From the Portuguese royal family?"

"Yes. They apparently arrived carrying a mountain of genuine gold coins?"

"Let's hear them out."

Is it because they live so close by? They know my tastes remarkably well?

"Greetings. It has been far too long."

It was António—the man who had once come claiming to be the king's personal secretary. And here he was again.

"Long time no see."

"We wish to purchase what you call... light bulbs."

"Oh?"

Light bulbs. All the Westerners called them that now. In other words, the English didn't write "electric bulb" in English—they wrote jeonkku, the Daehan word.

"Hmm. But you wouldn't be able to maintain them, you know."

"Hm? Is it simply a matter of expense?"

How am I supposed to explain power transmission?

"To use the bulbs, you need to send power, and the farther it travels, the harder it gets. It costs an enormous amount of money."

"Ah! So it truly is the Holy Maiden's power that creates the light!"

No? Stop interpreting things in bizarre directions?

"But is it possible, with money?"

"It's possible, but it'll cost a lot."

"Ah! So THAT is why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Your Holiness loves gold so!"

Fine. Your scientific knowledge is too rudimentary for any real explanation anyway, so go ahead and interpret it however you like...

"Also, once it's built, guarding the thing will take constant manpower. Just give up on it."

"Hmm..."

The thing she'd only belatedly learned was that Manuel I, the current King of Portugal, had luck so absurdly good that he was raking in money on a staggering scale. Which apparently explained his conspicuous appetite for luxury and vanity. That was why the palace even had its own zoo, she'd realized.

It seemed he wanted to hold nighttime parties under the glow of light bulbs and show off to everyone.

"You really want it that badly?"

"Yes. We can secure any sum of money you require."

"Alright! Thirty thousand gold coins to start."

"Whoa... th-that is steep."

"Did you think it was cheap?"

Thirty thousand was expensive, but manageable, wasn't it? Portugal was known to be doing quite well for itself financially. Word had it they were sucking the African colonies dry with great enthusiasm.

Building the transformers did require a lot of copper, but that was still far cheaper than gold. And now that the Whale Shark class had started plying the seas, importing minerals from overseas had become far easier too.

"And you'll owe me ten thousand more, every year."

"Gasp..."

"Did you think sending power was free?"

"Ah..."

They did use coal and firewood for it, true, but running it year-round only took about ten bulbs. The rest was upkeep and maintenance ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fees!

"Go think it over and come back."

"There is no need. Let us sign the contract at once."

"Oh! Now that's impressive! Then we'll get started right away—this is for the royal palace, yes?"

"Yes!"

Just how much money does Portugal make that they close a deal this quickly?

Portuguese gold coins didn't seem to be pure gold, but they were satisfyingly hefty all the same.

Payment was expected soon, so it was time to get to work.

First she put in the order for materials, and from the following day onward, employees of the Daehan Company began erecting utility poles toward the royal palace in Lisbon.

"Oh? Is that the path that carries the power?"

"Yep. Those are the poles that hold the lines. The lines themselves will go up on top later."

"Ooh..."

But if people started swiping the things left and right, that would be a headache.

"Whatever goes up on top later—touch it and you'll burn to death, so be careful. Keep people away from it."

"Gasp..."

The voltage would be quite high; brush against it the wrong way and you could be a lump of charcoal in an instant. Vigilance was required.

"You'll need to have soldiers patrol the route, at least."

In an ideal world I'd build them tall as steel pylons, but if I made anything out of iron around here, the thieves would haul that off too...

"Understood. We shall recruit soldiers specifically for this."

"Keep it well maintained, please. If someone tampers with it and breaks something, repairs cost money too. It's expensive—so take care of it, understood?"

"Ah... WE'RE supposed to do that?"

"It's outside your palace walls. Who else is going to do it?"

Nice try, pal. Like you're shoving that onto US.

And so, after roughly a month of construction, the final step began: installing the light bulbs in the palace's grand banquet hall. Apparently the electricity had been needed for parties all along.

"Oh! Ha-eun, it has been too long."

"You seem to be doing well for yourself."

It was Manuel I, whom she'd met once before. His face practically glistened with prosperity—the man was clearly living well.

Then again, he'd rebuilt even the collapsed palace, so credit where it was due. If it were her, sheer terror alone would have driven her to build the new palace somewhere else along the river.

"Aren't you scared to live here?"

"Hahaha! This is merely my place of business."

"Ah! So you sleep somewhere else."

That explains it. No matter how thick-skinned a man is, after witnessing THAT, he wouldn't want to live here.

"This will likely be the first time in history that electric lights are switched on anywhere outside Daehan."

Best make sure he feels properly proud of it.

"Oh! Is that truly so!"

"Yes. Really and truly."

"Wahahaha! I must invite even more guests, then!"

Just how lavish are you planning to make this thing?

"Will you attend the celebration as well?"

"If I'm there, you probably won't be able to be the star of the show, will you?"

"Wahahaha! Quite true, quite true!"

Absolutely NOT because it would be a hassle. Not at all.

"Besides, I'm not fond of big crowds. If it's just a handful of people, maybe, but..."

"I see. Should I extend an invitation again someday, I shall keep that in mind."

Lisbon was only a four- or five-hour walk away anyway, so it wasn't like visiting would be a burden.

"Miss! Installation complete!"

"Hm? Is 'Miss' a royal title in Daehan?"

"Hahaha. Here, it'd be like calling someone Lady or Milady?"

"I see. 'Miss,' is it? Not a bad sound. Has a friendly ring to it."

People really do seem to be getting more and more curious about Daehan, don't they?

"First of all, this here is what switches them on and off."

"Oh?"

Look at that gleam in his eye. This man is absolutely going to leave them burning all day long just for show.

"Those things that make the light are called light bulbs. If you keep them running for days on end, they break. And then you'll have to buy new ones. So only switch them on when you actually need them."

"Oh dear..."

Knew it. He was planning to burn them in broad daylight just to show off.

That's wasted electricity! Wasted energy!

"Well then, let us light them."

"Ah, yes, of course—the first...? What should we call this ceremony?"

"Hmm. How about a lighting ceremony?"

"Splendid! I shall have the honor of the first switch!"

Click.

The switch was nothing grand—just a lever you pushed up. Still, this was a royal palace, and if some curious hand got at it there'd be hell to pay, so she'd fitted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it with a protective cover.

Fizz!

"Ooooooh!"

"Magnificent!"

Quite a few nobles had gathered, and they were all beside themselves with wonder. Seeing the harbor lights glow from outside and watching a richly decorated hall blaze to life were two entirely different things.

And these people were no fools either—they'd had the bulbs fitted onto chandeliers.

Then we dressed it up with beautiful glass ornaments of our own design.

"Behold that chandelier!"

"It's rainbow-colored!"

With the chandeliers trimmed in faceted glass, the light scattered in every direction, casting rainbows across the room—an absolutely dazzling sight.

"Ah..."

"This truly is a palace of heaven."

To eliminate every shadowy corner, they'd mounted bulbs in every nook and cranny, and the expansive banquet hall now glowed bright as high noon.

Whew... lighting a space this size with incandescent bulbs is a genuinely scandalous waste of energy...

"It turned out nicely, I think."

"I am grateful."

Is it really that moving? Quite a few of the people gathered there were actually wiping away tears.

Hah... the mood's getting to me too. Why am I feeling all sentimental...

"Wahahaha! Now we can drink all night long!"

"And we can dance, too!"

Oh... my moment of beauty... These people? They're happy just because they can stay up all night partying now?

"Heh heh heh. My thanks to you. Now, while we feast, we can amass even greater wealth."

"You're... not spending it?"

"These revelers' play is hardly free, you know."

Ah. Mood destroyed. So he's even turning THIS into a revenue stream? Incredible... The Middle Ages—no, is this early modernity now? Still a pack of barbarians, every one of them.

But if word spread and every corner of the world started demanding the same thing, she'd never get any rest.

"If anyone asks how this was made, tell them: it was only possible because we're right next to our harbor."

"Would it be difficult elsewhere?"

"Yes. It couldn't be properly maintained."

Building a harbor and a power plant in the middle of the desert and trying to keep them running? She genuinely thought that was a fool's errand.

"Oh! Even better! That makes it something that can only be seen here!"

This man is fully intending to weaponize it for profit, isn't he? Well, he did show up with an unreasonable pile of gold coins, so he can do as he pleases.

"Please take good care of the maintenance. If someone touches those lines wrong, they will genuinely burn to death."

"Leave it to me. Trust only in me."

He says that, but he's a merchant at heart, which makes him the one person I trust least.

He'll obviously decide the bulbs are too expensive and try to rip them out and copy them.

"Enjoy the party, then."

"Yes—thank you."

True to form, Lisbon brought a fresh wave of petitioners. This time it was over the light bulb installation—but when they heard the staggering costs, every last one of them fled.

"Wouldn't it be easier if we just installed a generator for them?"

"The generator IS the problem. What if someone steals one, or takes it apart to see how it works?"

Sure, there was no way these people could copy a turbine. But smaller components could be cast, and once that technical know-how started accumulating, it would come back to bite her later.

"Don't you regret it? That's easy money sitting right there."

"We earn plenty without it. Time to let it go."

For reasons no one could quite explain, enormous quantities of weapons had begun flowing into Europe.

As if some great war ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was about to break out.