Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy

964 – Become the Heart of the Continent – 5

A joke that was said in jest set the conference room on fire.

“Airborne headquarters… Are you okay?”

I closed my eyes tightly at the voice of the Foreign Minister, which was a mixture of ecstasy, madness, or perhaps even liberation.

I couldn’t possibly look back. I didn’t have the courage to see what kind of expression the Minister of Foreign Affairs was making.

‘Once you see it, it’s over.’

And when I meet the Foreign Minister, I know I’m going to get all kinds of questions from the person who first proposed that crazy idea. For now, the answer is to just stay silent.

“Airborne headquarters. Are you serious?”

Anyway, if I just keep silent, other ministers will step forward in my place.

“If you’d rather have the ships float into the air, I’d be more than happy to accept that. There was a precedent for building an aerial fleet back in the days of Aphels, so we can also build one for symbolic purposes. It might be difficult to deploy it in actual combat, but if it’s a ship that symbolizes the new order, it’s within our range of capabilities.”

In fact, the madness of the Minister of Foreign Affairs was suppressed by the Minister of Finance, who was in charge of money, rather than the Minister of Culture, who was the opponent of the argument.

“However, the aerial headquarters is a building, not a ship. Furthermore, we did not intend to build the headquarters alone, but rather to build a city by constructing buildings connected to it. Making a city float in the air is something that even Aphels has never attempted.”

Every word of it was so true that I kept nodding my head inwardly.

The Valent Imperial Family amassed such overwhelming wealth that it is said that all the wealth of the continent is gathered in Aphel, and the wealth of Aphel is gathered in the system. The Valent Imperial Family created crazy inventions based on their uncontrollable wealth and technology that reached a singular point.

For example, there are things like the aerial battleship that was stuck in Chenes and became a tourist attraction, the amphibious battleship that was so completely destroyed that no one knows where it is, and the Gundam that you wonder how it was made. The Valent family threw away practicality and went all-in on romanticism and show-off, but even they didn’t build anything like a city in the sky.

“Even if you just float a single building in the air, let alone the entire city, there will be disputes over sunlight rights. It’s already annoying to have a tall building in front of you, but what about a building in the air blocking out sunlight? It’s impossible to estimate how much of an area would be blocked.”

“By the way, what kind of affiliation should the buildings in the sky belong to? Should they belong to the territory right below them? Or should the sky itself be treated as an independent territory? For now, it would be right to treat them as a precious imperial territory.”

“Let’s not look too far ahead. Does it even make sense to float a building?”

“No, it is possible if you simply want to float it.”

“Is that possible…?”

Following this, other ministers began to speak one by one. The ministers of the Imperial Household, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministers who seemed to have even the slightest connection with public buildings rolled their eyes here and there and stubbornly expressed their opinions.

At the same time, there was a faint warmth in their voices. Despite being overwhelmed by the madness of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and even though they were shocked by the unprecedented agenda of the aerial headquarters, they were all secretly looking forward to it.

What if. What if a public headquarters is really created? That’s the expectation. So the ministers are probably having discussions on the premise that a public headquarters will be created.

Minister of Magic gave passive support, saying, “It’s possible if we focus only on floating, not combat like a battleship.”

‘Should I run away?’

Anyway, I was watching the madness spreading slowly and then I glanced out the window.

If you jump down from here and land on your legs first, it’ll only sting a little and be over. If that’s the case, it’s better to retreat strategically than to stay put in this madness.

‘If you stay long enough, you will definitely get caught up in it.’

Aren’t the ministers already half-out of their minds after a three-hour-long discussion between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Culture? It’s only natural that they would roll their eyes when they heard about the sky buildings and sky cities that stimulate human romanticism and fantasy.

Budgetary issues? That’s not something the ministers should be concerned about. Money-related issues are a burden that the finance minister alone has to shoulder.

‘Let’s go.’

So I quietly got up from my seat and headed towards the window─

“Where are you going?”

‘ah.’

I froze in place at the firm voice of the Minister of Finance.

Since I became the Minister, I have been using formal language with the Minister of Finance unless it is a private matter. For such a Minister to speak informally means that he is slowly losing his sense of reason.

“If you make the suggestion first, you should take responsibility and take the lead. How dare you run away secretly.”

I felt my blood dry up at the sight of those sinister eyes.

No, it’s too much to take something that was just a joke as a suggestion. If there’s a mistake, it’s on the Minister of Foreign Affairs who took the entertainment show as a documentary. Why are you being strict with me?

‘Did you know it would turn out like this?’

To be honest, it’s unfair. If I had known that the entertainment show would turn into a documentary, I would have kept my mouth shut.

So I am also a victim. A victim of the madness of the Foreign Minister. If I had known this future would come, I would never have done it.

“That’s right. Since it was first proposed by the Inspector General, it would be right for the Inspector General to lead the discussion.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs put his hand on my shoulder and burst into laughter.

Take this hand off me now, you evil seed. Right now, you are the third in the line of Marquis and Minister, and you are higher than me, but next year, I will be the highest position in the world, the acting Duke. I will be higher than the Marquis and Minister.

“That’s right. It’s not right for us to talk amongst ourselves in front of the person who first suggested it.”

“Haha, I got excited without even realizing it because I never thought of floating a city in the air. It’s embarrassing.”

“It seems that the presence of young blood is important in any group. Isn’t it because we have the Inspector General that we can have such lively discussions?”

But now is not next year. At this point, I am just the youngest minister, not the acting duke.

The youngest who has to smile and answer when the senior minister opens his mouth, and nod his head in agreement when the senior minister asks for something.

“But the city. Is there really a need to keep it floating in the air permanently? It would be sufficient to keep it floating in the air only when representatives from each country gather for a meeting.”

“If you’re just going to float it temporarily, wouldn’t it be better to just build it on the ground?”

“That’s true, but if we build it on the ground, there’s a high chance that the Danis ruins will be damaged, so there’s nothing we can do about it. On the other hand, if we build it far away, its symbolism will be blurred, so it might be better to just float it over Danis whenever necessary.”

“Wow, when the representatives of the nations gather, they rise into the sky. If packaged appropriately, it could become a beautiful anecdote.”

The tips of his fingers trembled as the plans for the air headquarters became more and more specific. The eyes of the Minister of Finance, who was in charge of the budget, also shook violently.

“Huh? Sirs, why are you all standing?”

And soon after, the emperor who had gone out returned.

The precious break time is already over.

***

From the moment the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Culture began their no-holds-barred debate, it was expected that today’s meeting would not be easy.

So I took a quick 30 minutes to cool my head and came back.

“It is to ascend to the place closest to heaven where the Mandate of Heaven first arose, to discuss peace on the continent! This in itself symbolizes the Mandate of Heaven and authority of the empire!”

“On the day when the representatives of the nations gather, we can establish the justification to leave the secular world behind and discuss only the cause before the Mandate of Heaven. There is nothing more symbolic than this.”

“Honestly, it’s impossible to float a city, and there’s no need to. Just floating a single headquarters in the air would be enough.”

“If so, let’s build the city so that it is within sight of Danis, but far enough away that the ruins won’t be damaged. If the headquarters moves over Danis during the meeting, the city can be a bit further away.”

What the hell is going on? What happened in the 30 minutes I was gone that caused such a scary conversation?

What? Floating the headquarters into the air? Discussing in the sky while the representatives of the nations are gathered?

‘Who would come up with such a crazy idea?’

I bit my lip secretly and glared at the Count.

The Count has been staring at his desk silently since the meeting resumed. He is clearly the culprit. He must be reacting like that because he has been stabbed in the back.

Crazy guy. Crazy as hell. Is it because you ride a jizz that the sky feels easy? I wonder what kind of brain you have to have to come up with the idea of ​​flying in the sky.

“Minister of Magic.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

First, he stopped the ministers’ discussion by waving his hand lightly, then turned his gaze to Minister Mado-seong.

“In the past, the Aphels Empire did build floating ships. However, due to the enormous maintenance costs and terrible efficiency, only one aerial battleship remained in the fleet, and even that crashed during the Great War of Thousand Days.”

“These are the words of a petty person who is obsessed with treasures that do not match his station.”

“If so, what does the Minister think of the luggage?”

“You are the representative of God who can rightfully embrace everything in this world, and you are the greatest monarch on earth.”

I nodded lightly at the mention of being able to build and maintain aerial buildings rather than aerial battleships.

‘Why.’

Of course, my insides burned even more.

Why, why is this possible? Why is this crazy thing like floating a building in the sky possible? If it were technically impossible, there would be a justification for rejecting it.

‘I can’t refuse this.’

Ministers who are already discussing the building in the sky. The Minister of Finance who touches his forehead but doesn’t open his mouth. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Culture who have smiles on their faces. Even the Count who has brought the situation to this point and has no intention of taking care of it. If the situation continues like this, even the Emperor cannot turn the tables.

This place was created to ask for the opinions of the ministers. Therefore, it is a burdensome action to refuse even if the ministers’ intentions are the same.

“…What kind of building do you plan on making that will float in the air?”

“Build a building similar to the Sun Temple and name it Gilbert’s glory─!”

“stop.”

I waved my hand again at the dizzying answer.

Let it be Livnoman’s glory instead. Gilbert’s glory is too harsh.