Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy

961 – Become the Heart of the Continent – 2

There was silence for a moment.

Although the wife was the spouse of a minister, she was still a civilian and did not interfere in the conversations between officials. The servants seated in the restaurant covered their eyes and ears and did not dare to interfere in the conversation between the two ministers.

That is why only I and the Minister of Foreign Affairs have the right to speak and be heard in this place.

‘Danis, Danisra.’

However, since I, who should have been responding to the Minister of Foreign Affairs’s words, fell silent, the restaurant naturally became a place of silence.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs’ remarks were not trivial. If he were talking about developing an underdeveloped area, then that would be understandable, but Danis has already gone beyond underdevelopment and has become a relic. Although it may have significant historical value, Danis is not a place suitable for people to live.

Even its historical value has been drained by thousands of years of research and excavation. To be frank, it has no value other than the name, ‘The capital of the Muno Empire.’

Of course, it is valuable in itself as the capital of the first empire for a thousand years. There are many more glorious and splendid regions within the vast empire. There is no need to focus on the likes of Danis.

“That’s an interesting point.”

So, for now, I gave a ceremonial answer.

“Danis is the place where it was first proven that there is such a thing as a destiny in this world. The destiny started from Danis and passed through Kreuta and Firnen to Ausen, so the name of Danis is a beautiful place that will be remembered forever as the place where the destiny sprouted.”

I acknowledge Danis’ honor, but I answer that it is only a past glory.

“But I’m worried that if I touch Danis carelessly, her beauty will be ruined.”

The question is whether it is necessary to bring back the glory of the past that has already become an antique.

In fact, even if you develop the capital of the pre-war empire, Muuno Empire, even if you develop Firnen, the capital of the former empire, there is no force that will miss Muuno and revive it. The force that has strong memories and longing for Muuno was destroyed by the Trika Empire.

So there is no reason not to develop Danis, but on the other hand, there is no reason to develop it either. No matter how much you think about it, there is no reason to develop it.

‘We should develop the North instead.’

If you want to develop somewhere, it is advantageous to invest manpower and materials in the north. The nobles of the north would have bowed their heads in hopes of civilization in the grasslands, so it would be right for the central region to show some effort in development as well.

“I fully understand the Minister of Finance’s concerns. More than two thousand years have passed since the fall of the Muuno Empire. During that time, Danis has become a place of memories for many continental people, and it is not a decision to destroy those memories lightly.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs nodded as if he agreed with what I said.

That makes me even more anxious. I wonder what he’s trying to say by acting so meek.

“But if you can guide your memories in the right direction, if you can polish them to make them shine more, wouldn’t there be anything more valuable?”

“That’s true, but.”

I became even more anxious. What on earth was he proposing that would make it worthwhile to develop Danis, which was nothing more than a relic?

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to establish the headquarters of the Transcontinental Treaty Organization in Danis.”

“yes?”

And the question was quickly resolved.

Any doubts were quickly dispelled by the powerful and surprising remarks of the Foreign Minister.

“The Transcontinental Treaty Organization is a great step toward a new order and peace. It will be a beautiful place where all nations become true neighbors and all neighbors sing peace together.”

“It is a thrill to even imagine. It is truly an honor to have such a feat accomplished in my time.”

“The same goes for me. To be able to create a new order with my own hands. Isn’t this an honor beyond words for a diplomat?”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, who let out a small laugh, quickly straightened his expression. He then placed the fork and knife he was holding next to the plate and continued speaking with a serious face.

“However, the glory that encompasses the entire continent cannot be treated lightly. The place where the nations gather to sing peace cannot be made shabby. That is the greed of one who carries excessive glory.”

I was about to say that why not just set up headquarters in Ausen, but then I closed my mouth again.

Ausen is already fully developed. It has been an island for 300 years since the founding of the Kpelopen Empire, and was designated as the capital of the Kpelopen Kingdom for about 200 years before the founding of the Empire.

Moreover, even before the founding of the kingdom, Ausen was the home of the noble Livnomans. When the House of Honnell of the Kingdom of Palian fell into extinction, Michael the Great, who took the throne and founded the Kingdom of Kpelopen, was not he himself the Count of Ausen?

To that extent, Ausen is a place with a long history and glorious development. There is no space to install a huge facility that is not even an ordinary office building but the headquarters of a treaty organization.

‘Then you’re saying that we need to establish a symbol that will lead the continent outside the system.’

…

‘Ugh.’

A sigh came out naturally. With the absolute candidate for the system gone, no suitable place came to mind.

Imperial Territories ruled by His Majesty the Emperor? There are only five royal territories under His Majesty the Emperor’s direct control. It is obvious that they will bother His Majesty the Emperor by trying to host the headquarters of each treaty organization.

If the royal territories are in chaos, the territories below them need not be mentioned. In the capital of the old Aphels Empire, which still has some legitimacy, there is an Imperial Academy, and in the capital of the old Trika Empire, Behemoth has set up a huge ranch.

‘There is no one but Danis.’

Even after just a moment of thinking, I was able to understand the Foreign Minister’s mind.

This is the only place that has Danis. Danis is symbolic, but the other candidates are so hopeless that they need to be redeveloped in a place that has been neglected as a relic.

Rather than building a large site in Ausen, where land prices are already skyrocketing, rather than suffering from requests from the five royal decrees to build it, Danis is more profitable than building it next to the Imperial Academy or Behemoth.

‘The name ‘the place where a thousand people sprouted’ is quite appealing.’

Crucially, the name ‘Capital of the First Empire’ rather than ‘Capital of the Empire’ is too powerful.

The Treaty Organization is a new order and means of maintaining hegemony as the Empire’s supreme power and chairman. And the justification for the Empire to stand above the nations is the idea of ​​the Mandate of Heaven, which was first established by the Muno Empire.

But the Treaty Organization headquarters is established in the place where the idea was first established? No one can refute or protest this. Even the countries that secretly resent the Empire as the supreme power and the presidency cannot prevent the Treaty Organization headquarters from being established within the Empire’s territory.

If you want, you can find a place closer to the idea of ​​a thousand mandates than Danis. It would be impossible, since the capitals of the second empire and the third empire are both located within the empire.

“A new order has been established where the mandate of heaven has arisen. This must truly be the protection of the heavenly gods and the great emperor.”

Anyway, the calculations were done. The reason why the Minister of Foreign Affairs had called for the development of the Danis was clear, and the necessity was also clearly felt.

If so, the next step is simple. If the cause and benefit are clear, opening the wallet is easy.

“Minister of Foreign Affairs. Who else did you tell this to?”

“For now, it’s just the Secretary of the Treasury.”

“okay.”

But before you open your wallet, it’s important to create a more perfect situation.

“How about writing a group petition after a long time?”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs blinked at my suggestion, then burst into loud laughter.

A petition containing the names of all ministers. A strong message of advice to His Majesty the Emperor, containing the general will of the administration.

In the past, when His Majesty the Emperor was still the First Prince, we filed a petition requesting His Majesty to make him the Crown Prince and to purge the Second Prince faction. Since then, we have once again filed a petition, which has never been done before.

“Here it is. I came to ask the Minister of Finance to give me some money, and I got an even bigger gift.”

“Haha, don’t be too happy. I don’t have any money, so I’m making do with this.”

“Oh, is that so?”

With those words, the atmosphere in the restaurant brightened again.

Now that the official business is taken care of, all that remains is to enjoy a private meal and conversation.

***

I got a call in the middle of the night from the Minister of Finance.

– Let’s do something together.

And then he cut off everything and started saying something completely out of the blue.

“…What’s going on?”

I blinked blankly, wondering what he meant, and then finally opened my mouth.

Working together? The Minister of Finance and I got along pretty well during the Great Suppression War, but we haven’t really worked together since I became the Inspector General and he became the Minister of Finance.

Even more so since the Inspector General’s Office became independent from the Ministry of Inspection.

– It’s not difficult. You just have to do a light inspection.

“He has a talent for making difficult things seem very easy.”

The subsequent nonsense made me burst into laughter.

This crazy person. He doesn’t know how difficult it is to conduct an investigation, so he says such things. The series of processes of obtaining evidence, investigating even the smallest information to obtain evidence, pressuring the subject of the investigation to an appropriate level, and obtaining what he wants. This is a high-level technique that is no different from an art. How much effort is the minister’s secretary putting into this art?

– Don’t worry, it’s really easy. Just make him vomit up some dirt.

“No, why are you asking me to do something like that? Let me hear what you have to say.”

– We plan to develop Danis.

At those words, I got up from where I was leaning against the back of the chair.

“Danis?”

– Yes. The headquarters of the Transcontinental Treaty Organization and its affiliated facilities. All living and entertainment facilities for residents and visitors.

I thought about it quickly, as it basically meant building a city.

“Wouldn’t it be difficult to build with the current area of ​​Danis? Unless we push all the ruins aside to build it, we need a considerable amount of land. We also need to incorporate the nearby land into Danis.”

It wasn’t long before a clear conclusion was reached: it was absolutely impossible with the area of ​​Danis currently at the level of a relic site.

– So, I want you to do some inspection. Those who own land near Danis, if there’s anything strange, just press it down and make them spit it out. I don’t need anything more than that.

At the same time, we learned why the Minister of Finance had requested an inspection.

They say that since it’s a hassle to buy land owned by nobles and turn it into a development zone, they’re just going to take it by force.

“How much is the land in that neighborhood? Let’s buy it for that price.”

– I don’t have any money. I’m so busy these days with the costs of supporting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the costs of excavating Wiridia, and the costs of welcoming the College of Cardinals of the Holy Church.

It was a reason that could not be refuted, so I let out a chuckle.

‘Just spit it out, ra…’

He thought about it, lightly touching his chin.

There is hardly a single noble in the empire who doesn’t get dusted when they are beaten. And what if they ask for some shitty land near the ruins in exchange for not being beaten?

‘It’s simple.’

It’s certainly not complicated.