Thanks to that, the major banks resumed operations this week, once again serving as currency exchange centers. The Ministry of Finance had been separated from them, however, creating a new problem. Documents that should have been routed through the ministry were beginning to pile up. At the moment, there was no authority coordinating the banks from above, since the Central Bank was not yet ready to assume that role.
Although the Central Bank building had already been repaired, there was still a severe shortage of personnel. Then there was the Imperial Treasury, which was dangerously close to bankruptcy. Vast amounts of money had already been poured into restoring stability—stability that could collapse again at any moment.
Fortunately, the first shipment from the Blue Tower arrived today, easing some of the pressure.
Only some.
The goods would be distributed to merchants for sale, while the gold and mana stones would be transferred to the Imperial Treasury until the Central Bank became fully operational.
There was at least one piece of good news. A department had already begun operating inside the Central Bank building—the Mint.
And it brought another encouraging report. Old coins had entered the recycling process, and gold was finally being extracted from mixed metals. Even though the Cube's purification methods were remarkably advanced, production remained slow. The bottleneck was no longer refining the gold, but minting the coins themselves.
The department's sole responsibility was regulating the flow of currency into the market.
At present, circulation was limited to roughly three hundred thousand gold coins and one and a half million silver coins. There was neither the need nor the capacity to produce more. Any surplus would be transferred directly into the Imperial Treasury.
"At least I've finished designing the security system."
Unfortunately, it couldn't be built yet.
There simply wasn't enough money.
Every available coin was currently being spent on recruiting suitable personnel for the Central Bank's remaining departments. The Royal Academy was still closed, and most of its instructors had already left the capital. That left only one option: recruit talent from the Mage Towers and neighboring duchies.
Letters had already been sent.
Very few had replied.
There were changes inside the palace as well.
The number of servants had been reduced enough that even I noticed it. Morgana seemed occupied with internal reforms and rooting out spies, while Sysilin spent his days rushing from one place to another due to the shortage of assistants.
"Your Majesty, the mana stones you requested have arrived."
The servant's voice cut through my thoughts.
So they were finally here.
The mana stones I'd ordered.
I dismissed the servant, set down my pen, and somehow managed to pull myself free from the mountain of paperwork surrounding me. Then I headed to the adjacent room.
Several mana stones and mana crystals had already been arranged on the table.
All of them were mid-grade.
The distinction between them was simple. Mana stones came from nature, while mana crystals were harvested from monsters.
Most of these crystals had come from the River of Stars Guild, which had finally begun operating and sending out hunting parties. Minor disturbances that once interfered with the Empire's daily affairs had now been turned into guild requests, offering food and generous rewards in exchange for their resolution.
Perhaps it was because of the name.
The Star Guild had attracted a great deal of curiosity.
Many people came to ask about it.
Far fewer actually joined.
Departments suffering from manpower shortages—particularly those that did not require advanced education or specialized knowledge—had been filled with slaves and acquaintances recommended by existing employees.
Since slavery was legal in this world, I had issued a simple policy.
Anyone who officially joined the guild would be freed.
That way, discrimination inside the organization could be avoided.
There was another reason as well.
By accepting slaves from other races, I was making a statement. Unlike previous administrations, I had no intention of excluding non-human races from government institutions.
Perhaps because of that policy, the newly appointed head of one Central Bank department was an elf.
She had submitted numerous suggestions and reforms, and within a single week of her appointment had successfully reorganized the entire department into several specialized teams.
She was the reason I eventually issued a formal order expanding recruitment into neighboring cities and opening positions to all races and species.
The hiring process itself was simple.
Determine what a person excelled at.
If their abilities matched the needs of a department, they would be sent there for evaluation.
That elf had originally been hired because she was good with numbers.
One week later, she had become a department head.
That was the defining feature of this system.
Rapid promotion.
There was also a recommendation program. Ordinary citizens could recommend individuals they considered capable, creating a steady stream of applicants.
As a result, newspapers had been publishing positive developments three times a day without fail.
Even slaves could read in this world, which meant information spread remarkably fast. News traveled through the streets almost as quickly as it was printed.
Truthfully, this world lacked very little.
Its problem was the opposite.
Magic had accelerated development so rapidly that many fundamental systems had simply been neglected.
That was why grand structures like the Central Bank already existed. The sewage system was fully developed. Even the lights illuminating the streets were powered by enchanted crystals that absorbed sunlight during the day and released it after dark.
Yet despite all that progress, water infrastructure remained strangely unsettling.
The only real advancements had been the excavation of underground channels and the construction of wells practically everywhere.
But the possibility of someone poisoning those wells was difficult to ignore.
There were magical safeguards capable of cutting off water from any contaminated well the moment poison was detected. However, such measures would be useless against a plague carried through the water supply. Worse still, if a major well inside the castle were targeted, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Setting that aside, the people of this world valued cleanliness.
For that, I was grateful.
After looking into the matter, I discovered that the Second Emperor had possessed an obsessive fixation on hygiene. He had imposed strict sanitation laws throughout the Empire, and that obsession had ultimately become the foundation of the modern sewage system.
...I had drifted off again.
Back to the important matter.
After the servants left, I took out the Cube.
The surveillance system shut down immediately.
"What do you think? Is this enough?"
[The available energy is sufficient to unlock three additional abilities. Abilities will not be disclosed before activation. Please provide the next numbers after eleven to proceed.]
"I sincerely hope this is worth it. I've spent everything left in my treasury on this. At this point, even a beggar probably has more money than I do."
[Stop complaining. What are the prime numbers after eleven?]
"If this turns out to be useless, you'll spend the rest of your existence as a decorative pen holder. The next prime numbers after eleven are thirteen, seventeen, and nineteen."
[Confirmed. Unlocking abilities.]
The Cube floated above my palm and began drawing energy from the mana stones and crystals.
One after another, they crumbled into dust.
Normally, depleted mana stones merely became empty shells.
The Cube consumed everything.
Nothing remained.
From this point onward, unlocking new abilities would become increasingly difficult.
The reason was obvious.
If the energy available was only enough for a single number and I provided the wrong answer, both the energy and the opportunity would be lost.
And I didn't exactly have an encyclopedia of prime numbers memorized.
I knew the basic definition.
Numbers divisible only by themselves and one.
Small values were manageable.
Large ones?
That was another matter entirely.
Just how many abilities did this thing even have?
After draining the last traces of energy, the Cube drifted back into my hand.
Silence followed.
As if nothing had happened.
Then it remained completely still.
Was it waiting for me to start the conversation?
"Don't tell me you're pretending to be dead. What are the new abilities?"
[Confirmation complete. The default domain has been unlocked: Map. The domain has evolved and can now detect nearby creatures. Transformation has evolved. Analysis has evolved and gained reverse-engineering capabilities.]
"Two new abilities and two evolutions? That actually sounds impressive."
The Cube floated up from my hand once more.
Then, right before my eyes, it transformed into a small humanoid machine roughly the size of a child.
[What do you think of the new transformation?]
"So now you can turn into a robot? Can you take a human form as well?"
[Yes.]
The lower half of its body broke apart into countless black and white cubes.
The cubes expanded and rearranged themselves.
Its frame grew larger.
For a moment, it copied Ray's body structure before adjusting the details. Colors shifted, proportions changed, and within seconds a human figure stood before me.
The final result looked exactly like Ray.
The same height.
The same appearance.
The same cold expression.
[This is the first model. I am incapable of combat, but I can now assist with paperwork.]
"Looks like I've acquired another assistant."
[That would be an accurate assessment.]
"Can you take any other forms? Don't tell me Ray is the only set of data you have stored."
[I have others.]
The Cube—no, the humanoid form—closed its eyes.
Its body broke apart once again.
Thousands of cubes shifted and reorganized themselves.
This time the figure emerged slightly taller.
The shoulders broadened.
Lean, defined muscles became visible beneath the clothing.
When the transformation finished, a completely different person stood before me.
A young man with calm yet sharp features.
Thick black hair.
Glowing crimson eyes.
There was something imposing about him. Not aggressive, but quietly intimidating.
The kind of face people instinctively remembered.
"Whose appearance is that?"
[My maker.]
"Can't you turn into a beautiful girl instead?"
[I currently lack the capability to assume a different gender for my master.]
"What a difficult excuse to believe. First there was the handsome traitor, and now an annoying cube with an equally annoying attitude. Whatever. I'll call you Rei."
[Understood. Please refer to me as Rienhalyot Maclum.]
"...What?"
[It is the name my maker preferred to use whenever I adopted this form.]
This idiot might be intelligent.
He might even be handsome.
His naming sense, however, was absolutely hopeless.
"Your name is Rei from now on. I refuse to waste brain space memorizing something that long."
[Then you may call me Rei Rienhalyot Maclum.]
"No. I absolutely may not."
I pointed at him.
"Your full name is Arkanos Venturi. Rei for short."
[...]
"You'll stop hiding in the shadows and start working openly. First, you'll accompany Sysilin. Learn how things work. Build relationships. Gain experience. After that, you'll replace him."
The more I thought about it, the better the idea sounded.
Using a walking supercomputer as a government official felt far more productive than letting him sit around disguised as a decorative cube.
[It makes no difference what name you choose. My heart shall remain loyal to the name given by my maker.]
"How touching."
I waved a hand dismissively.
"Just introduce yourself using the name I gave you."
[Very well. Then take this.]
A small cube emerged from Rei's palm.
It floated into the air before rapidly reshaping itself.
Moments later, a ring landed in my hand.
I stared at it.
Then at him.
Then back at the ring.
[Since you intend to send me into the field, this will allow us to communicate directly.]
"You can do that too?"
Now that was actually useful.
The first genuinely useful thing I'd heard all day.
"This is getting interesting. What other abilities do you have?"
Unfortunately, my excitement faded almost immediately.
None of this solved the Empire's immediate problems.
The treasury was nearly empty.
The Central Bank remained understaffed.
Half the government was running on improvised solutions.
And somehow I was standing here discussing fashion choices and name changes with a shape-shifting cube.
Still...
Having another competent assistant wasn't exactly a bad outcome.
Especially one that never slept, never complained, and could apparently transform into communication devices whenever convenient.
Maybe this investment wouldn't be a complete disaster after all.
---
End of Chapter
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[Side Note:
Mana Stones and Mana Crystals are widely used throughout many advanced industries. They serve as power sources for transportation gates, communication devices, magical artillery, and even flying ships.
For greater efficiency, large quantities of Mana Stones and Mana Crystals can be refined into what is known as a Mana Battery—a condensed magical power source capable of storing vast amounts of energy.]