Marquis Rockshooter often wanted to throw away the title of Representative of the Noble Council. People thought that being the Representative of the Noble Council meant wielding enormous power, but that was not the case. Elected positions are trash.
What is the power hierarchy of the Empire’s decision-making bodies? The Imperial Privy Council is first, the Magic Tower General Assembly is second, and the Noble Council is merely third. Honestly speaking, calling it third was being generous.
Lately, he had the thought that the central bank might be stronger. Marquis Rockshooter grumbled as he moved his feet.
"Another emergency summons..."
Because right now, the Imperial Privy Council had been convened. The Empire’s number one decision-making body had called him. Being the representative of the third-ranked Noble Council only meant he was a mid-level figure in the first-ranked group.
'By the way, an emergency summons at this time...' There was only one thing he could guess was the agenda of the meeting. It was because of the 'Unification of the Imperial System of Units' declared at the Festival of Longevity just last week.
Rockshooter was there too, so he knew it well. Thinking about that time still made his knees weak. 'The Emperor coming down from the sky to teach the rules of the earth...'
Would he ever see such a magnificent sight again in his life?
Probably not.
However, despite such a stimulating 'show,' Rockshooter expected this Privy Council meeting to be lackluster. 'His Majesty won't appear anyway...' It was a story he dared not speak aloud, so he only swallowed it inside.
At some point, Emperor Pertinax Arcanus had hidden himself from the Privy Council meetings. Issues where Princess Isolde did not appear as a proxy usually ended up fizzling out as the bureaucrats argued back and forth. Matters that flowed back down like that often reached the Noble Council.
It meant Rockshooter’s work increased.
'Please, Princess. Please, Princess. Please, Princess...'
Rockshooter opened the door to the conference room, imagining the image of the Princess, who was younger than his own daughter, dozens or hundreds of times. And his expectations were shattered to pieces. 'Why is His Majesty here...'
In a good way. Marquis Rockshooter froze on the spot. At the head of the conference room, at the center of the giant oval table, sat not the Princess, but the Emperor.
The Emperor’s golden eyes turned toward Rockshooter. The Emperor spoke in a low voice.
"You arrived early, Marquis Rockshooter. Sit down."
"Yes... Yes, Your Majesty!"
Rockshooter hurriedly sat down. Cold sweat ran down his spine. 'His Majesty... in person?'
It had been more than ten years since the Emperor had personally revealed himself at a Privy Council meeting. The other administrative officials were the same. Everyone wore blank expressions, stiff as stone statues, unable to even breathe loudly.
After a while, all the other officials took their seats, and the Privy Council meeting began. Naturally, the topic was the 'unit system.' Commonly known as the metric system.
A young administrative officer began a brief explanation.
"The meter unit itself was already established by the late Emperor. However... due to the limitations of technology at the time and the resistance of regional nobles, it could not be completely settled in real life."
The officer opened a map. In most territories except the Imperial Capital, daily units like feet, inches, and yards were still being used.
"To correct this, a First-Class Medal recipient, Isaac Upperhills, suggested to His Majesty to establish a 'Standard Unit System'."
Nod, nod.
His Majesty nodded his head. The officer continued speaking.
"The first chairman of the 'Imperial Weights and Measures Committee' that will manage this unit system is scheduled to be the proposer, Isaac Upperhills."
Silence flowed through the conference room for a moment. At that moment, an old official sitting in the corner cautiously opened his mouth.
"Your Majesty, this is a grave matter of setting the Empire’s standards. Shouldn't the Imperial family or the Noble Council take the helm, rather than a mage of unclear origin?"
At those words, the chief court mage immediately refuted.
"He already has a history of establishing the concept of Absolute Temperature and setting new standards for the world of magic. In both authority and practical affairs, there is no one more suitable than him."
The Emperor nodded.
"My view is the same. Furthermore, that child is not trying to create a new unit system from scratch. He intends to inherit the will established by the late Emperor. Therefore, there is no objection to entrusting him with full authority."
The objectors fell silent at the Emperor’s firm tone.
'Thrilling.'
Rockshooter felt a sense of euphoria. As expected, a meeting needed a focal point. The Princess is good too, but the Emperor is even better.
Only authority dominates everything. The Emperor looked around the assembly and said.
"What you all need to worry about from now on is not who holds the initiative of the committee. You must worry about how to make this new unit system take root throughout the Empire."
The topic of discussion changed. The officials put their heads together and pointed out realistic problems.
"If we do that... the biggest problem is modifying existing documents. Land registers, tax books, contracts... we have to convert all those vast parchment documents into the metric system and rewrite them."
"Just that alone would be a massive project taking several years at least..."
"Moreover, administrative demand has increased recently, and the price of parchment is skyrocketing. Securing the budget will not be easy."
"How about just modifying the original documents..."
The officials’ gazes turned to Rockshooter.
He answered.
"Impossible. Due to the risk of forgery and alteration, Imperial law requires the originals of all administrative documents to be preserved."
Eventually, the problem came down to 'parchment supply.' To rewrite a massive amount of documents, astronomical costs and time were needed. The atmosphere in the conference room sank.
At that moment, the Emperor spoke with a strange smile.
"... That part might be resolved surprisingly quickly."
"Pardon?"
The officials looked at each other with puzzled expressions. The Emperor did not explain further and issued instructions.
"First, draft a bill mandating the use of the metric system for all newly created official documents from now on. And figure out the level of resistance against this within the Noble Council and report back."
The Emperor’s gaze fixed on Rockshooter.
"Marquis Rockshooter, you take charge of this."
"Yes! I will keep it in mind, Your Majesty."
Rockshooter answered vigorously. It was the dignity and charisma of a monarch he hadn't felt in a long time. Had there ever been a time when his life as a court noble felt as rewarding as today?
It seemed there hadn't been.
Yesterday, I was exhausted handing over the metric system prototypes to the central bank vault. I wanted to set up Planck units as the base if I had my way, but... Even so, I am not crazy enough to do that.
Because I am a generous person who allows Celsius as well as Kelvin. 'Now I just need to inspect the prototypes every few weeks.' The Imperial family said they would cast preservation magic on the prototypes, but I can't rely solely on that.
Therefore, I will have to periodically visit the vault to check if the physical quantities of the prototypes haven't changed. With this, the basics regarding the metric system are done. There is something else to do today.
Laura bowed her head deeply.
"Thank you. We will prioritize distributing these prototypes to our secretarial staff first."
"Yup. Put them to good use."
Laura left with her subordinates carrying the 'willpower typewriter' prototypes. Since I removed excessive functions this time and made them solely for typing, no big incidents should occur.
Probably. Click.
The lab door closed.
"Ughhh..."
I stretched greatly. With this, today's daily routine is over.
"Phew... I need to rest a bit now."
It's all work I started, but dealing with it one by one is tiring. My head is spinning. When I made a groaning sound, Senior Giuseppe asked.
"You said you were going to rest, but aren't you going to the workshop to carve airship parts again?"
"Ay, you think of me as some kind of workaholic."
"... Were you not?"
I don't know why this misunderstanding arose. I felt wronged, but I didn't bother to clarify. Because I really intend to rest today.
First, let's eat dinner. 'Should I make a smoked salmon sandwich?' No. Let's eat out today for the first time in a while.
I have so much money it's rotting away; I should spend some to make the economy turn. Of course, I don't know much about the economy. I don't know much about investments either, so I reject all offers to invest in the foundation or the workshop.
The destination is a high-end restaurant targeting the nobles of the capital. You might wonder what kind of restaurant exists in this world that didn't even have paper until a few days ago, but unexpectedly, the restaurant industry was quite developed. Because there was a market for Magic Tower mages or high-ranking officials who didn't keep personal chefs.
'It's a bit awkward to go to a place like that alone...' If I took the workshop people, I felt like I'd get sworn at for skipping work alone. I was especially afraid of Tobin's scrutiny.
When I took Callen away to make the 'metal type willpower typewriter' this time, he screamed his head off. 'I should recruit some more personnel when making the airship.' Since I can't leave metal manufacturing to just two people forever.
I asked Giuseppe.
"Senior. Do you want to go out and grab dinner? It's on me."
"No. I still have research left to do. Go by yourself."
Giuseppe refused sharply. Is it eating alone then? Then, I suddenly thought of Anna.
'She'll like it if we eat together, right?' Surely she will. I took a carriage to the Magic Academy in time for Anna's classes to end.
The campus was bustling with students. 'Why are there so many people?' Strangely, Anna was at the center of the crowd.
My sister was cutting through the crowd with an expressionless face. I managed to penetrate the wall of students and approached Anna. At that moment, a female student blocked my way.
"Excuse me! You can't just approach like that!"
"Huh? Is that so?"
When I asked back in confusion, the female student glared at me.
"That's obvious."
"..."
What exactly is obvious? At the commotion, Anna's gaze turned toward me. I waved my hand at my sister.
Anna's pupils shook as if an earthquake had occurred. A moment later, Anna shouted.
"S... Stop it, Stephanie! Stop!"
At her words, the surrounding friends began to buzz.
"What? The 'Mage Who Reads the Stars' is moving personally?"
"Just who is that person...?"
Then one of them shouted.
"Uh uh uh? Perhaps that person from the [Principia] special lecture!"
"Hm?"
Special lecture?
Was there something like that?
Buzz buzz.
"Principia special lecture? Does that mean it's possibly..."
"Isaac Upperhills...! Lady Anna's brother!"
People were already gathered because of Anna, but the crowd swelled even more.
"I heard he flew in the sky with His Majesty the Emperor the other day..."
"Let me see! Is it really Lord Isaac?!"
If it were the past, I wouldn't have known what to do out of embarrassment, but now I know. The best way to deal with this situation. I approached Anna and said.
"Sister. Let's go eat."
"..."
I just have to ignore it and do my thing. Anna nodded quickly with a red face.
Like that, we arrived at a restaurant near the Magic Tower. Somehow, it wasn't just Anna and me; her friends followed in a line. 'Are... are you really going?
We agreed to eat dinner with Anna for the first time in a while...!'
'Hero... please!'
Eating alone with Anna would have been better... but I had no choice since the kids were on the verge of tears. To have friends who cry because they can't eat dinner together. Just like at the orphanage, Anna must have a talent for charming people.
Anna's friends didn't seem nervous at all even after entering the restaurant. Looking at their ingrained table manners and attire, it seemed they were all children of prominent noble families. Rather, the one looking expectant was Anna.
She looked expressionless as usual, but I could feel a subtle difference.
Well. Whatever.
A moment later, food was placed on the table. I said to the kids.
"Everyone, enjoy your meal."
Anna's roommate, Stephanie, answered on behalf of the group.
"Thank you for inviting us."
"Thank you."
I felt a bit of distance from the formal greetings. 'Is a young lady always a young lady?' However, a moment later, the conversation that followed at the table had no formality whatsoever.
"I heard you danced with Sir Henry at the ball last time? How was it?"
"Don't even mention it. He stepped on my foot once every three steps."
"Ouch..."
"Still, it was nice because he was kind of cute."
Right.
In their mid-teens, this kind of talk should be happening. I wish Anna would watch and learn a bit. I thought silently as I cut my meat.
'No one is talking about how they make a living.' It seems there really isn't a single commoner among Anna's friends. Was it hard to get close to commoner entrants because of the age difference?
From my perspective, it's a relief. An older woman might be one thing, but getting close to an older man feels criminal. ... I'm an older man (ahjussi) too, but anyway, that's how it is.
A moment later, the sparks of the romance talk flew to Anna.
"Anna, how about you? Anyone you're interested in? The seniors were really curious about you."
"I'm not really interested in things like that."
Anna's answer was lukewarm. It's a bit disappointing... but pretending to be an adult who is lukewarm about romance is also somewhat Anna-like? This wasn't bad either.
"... Ay, how boring."
At her friend's words, Stephanie chimed in.
"Give up. There's something else Anna cares about these days."
That's quite an intriguing story. Anna has a new hobby. Is she finally folding her life of walking only the path of research?
"What does Anna care about?"
At my question, Stephanie answered.
"Anna is studying investment these days. You know the theory usage fee from [Principia]? She was agonizing over where to invest that."
Investment...?
For a moment, a chill ran down my spine.
"... She's just studying, right?"
Twitch.
The corners of Anna's mouth pulled up. My sister's mouth opened.
"Actually, I already invested."
At Anna's words, gasps erupted from around her.
"Ooh. She's a total adult."
"As expected of Anna."
However, I couldn't just smile.
"By any chance, where did you invest, sister?"
At my cautious question, Anna twirled her pasta with a fork and answered casually.
"The parchment processing sector."
"..."
"..."
I calmly put down my silverware and replied.
"Sister... regarding that... I think it would be better to stop."
"Yes? Why?"
Anna continued speaking.
"Since the demand for official documents will increase with the unification of weights and measures this time, won't the parchment industry boom?"
She is truly logical, considering whose sister she is. It is a very reasonable deduction. If this were a normal situation, that is...
'I should have told her I'm making paper...' Of course, I can't right now. If Anna's friends blabber to their families too early, the situation might get weird.
Instead of answering, I placed another piece of steak on Anna's plate.
"Hm? I'm not short on meat?"
"Eat a lot, and cry a lot."
"...?"
Because when you become an adult, you have to cry on the inside.