Alfonso, the president of the central bank, is a noble. But he was not a noble from birth. Born as an illegitimate son, his natural intelligence allowed him to be adopted into the main family and rise to his current position.
He fought his way up with only his practical skills amidst the checks and ploys of his enemies, so much so that his once-luscious hair had all fallen out. 'That's all in the past now.' Alfonso looked back on his past and faced the present.
"The price of sweat is far too heavy to be snatched away by the schemes of criminals."
Alfonso listened intently to Anna Upperhills's words. They were words too pragmatic for a child who was not even old enough to be his daughter. But for that very reason, they held sincerity.
Her simple desire for the money earned through hard work to be justly protected held a depth that transcended age. 'Just what has she been through... Is it because of the Upperhills shackle?'
The meeting continued while Alfonso was pondering Anna Upperhills's circumstances. The finance minister spoke.
"Due to the many projects currently underway, we are in a temporary funding bottleneck."
"Then it would be impossible to mint the gold coins in advance for immediate exchange."
"Yes. Therefore, we propose issuing and circulating certificates of the same value as gold coins for now..."
The Emperor asked in a worried tone.
"Paper certificates? Is there no possibility of forgery or illicit circulation?"
"Of course, the risk exists. However, it is a risk we must take to complete the currency reform in the long run."
"Hmm..."
Normally, Alfonso would have proposed a solution. But after Anna Upperhills's statement, he could not focus on the meeting. Just then, Isaac Upperhills quietly raised his hand.
"Your Majesty. May I make a suggestion?"
"Speak."
"First, how about using the gold coins stored in my personal vault as seed money?"
A stir went through the meeting room.
Snap.
Alfonso, the president of the central bank, came back to his senses. 'What did he just say?' Isaac continued to speak.
"The idea is to mint and circulate the serrated gold coins with my money first, and I will be reimbursed later."
"... Oh? If you would do that, I will ensure you receive the maximum interest."
"In addition, I will seek cooperation from Head of school Doloren if necessary."
"Doloren..."
The finance minister was lost in thought.
He muttered.
"Indeed, using the gold she has hoarded could speed up the reform."
Alfonso agreed.
This would be enough to handle the initial demand for gold coins at the start of the reform. After that, they could just melt the old coins that came in to mint the new ones. Of course, this meant Isaac would not be able to get his funds back until the reform was complete.
'Such great loyalty...' Alfonso looked at Isaac anew. He had thought Isaac was a troublemaker just like Doloren, whom he associated with, but that was not the case at all.
'How can he be like this?' Alfonso's gaze fell on Anna, seated next to Isaac. His sister, with whom he shared a surname, though not by blood.
It was probably for her sake. He was stepping forward, risking everything he had, so that his sister and the many others who bore the name Upperhills would not suffer unfair harm. 'If this young man is so dedicated... what have I... been doing all this time?'
Alfonso reflected on his past. He thought he had lived an honest and fierce life... but was that not, in fact, just a struggle to eat and live well for himself? Perhaps if he had been more kind-hearted, God would not have taken his hair.
The meeting ended. The Emperor, with a satisfied expression, left first, and the other officials also dispersed. Alfonso quietly called out to Isaac.
"Mr. Isaac Upperhills. Do you have a moment?"
"Yes, President."
"Is there... anything I can do to help?"
"Pardon? Hmm..."
Isaac seemed to ponder for a moment, then smiled and said.
"In that case, would you be willing to come to our Upperhills boarding school and give a special lecture on economics?"
"A special lecture? You mean a class?"
Alfonso asked back blankly.
"Yes. Just once is enough."
"Just something like that is enough?"
'This is absurd...' There should be a limit to how nice a person can be. Alfonso's eyes gleamed.
"Once will not be enough. I will visit periodically and teach to the best of my ability."
"Really? Oh. Thank you."
When I returned to the foundation and shared the news, Laura asked me.
"This time... a special lecture from the president of the central bank?"
"Yes. It just sort of happened that way."
"That's amazing. How on earth did you win over such a strict person?"
"Hey... 'win over'!"
That made it sound like I had bribed him or something. I said to Laura.
"He must have sympathized with my great cause."
I said it half-jokingly. To which Laura muttered softly.
"Well... that might actually be true."
"...?"
Taking a joke as a serious statement. This was making me feel awkward. Anyway, that concluded the matter of persuading the imperial family.
I even managed to profit in the process. The money I invested was money that would cause a huge problem if released into the market right now anyway. Giving that up for a while in exchange for more interest was a gain.
'And the president of the central bank offered to help the Upperhills school before I even asked...' I had obtained a golden opportunity to prevent a second Anna incident. This pleased me more than a few pennies of interest.
Now, all that remained was the cooperation of the dwarves. And I already had a card prepared to persuade Balkan. The next day, I handed Balkan the schematic for a machine.
It was not for the coin minting, which was the real purpose. Now was the time to offer the bait. I gave Balkan the schematic for a welding machine.
It was not one that used gas or electricity, but a type that induced high heat in the surrounding metal by attaching a mana stone to the tip.
"Hoh..."
Balkan said, stroking his beard.
"A device that melts and joins metal together."
Balkan saw through the machine's purpose at a single glance.
He continued.
"The kids majoring in riveting are going to be in tears. Their jobs will disappear."
"Still, there will be many places where screws or rivets are needed, right?"
"That's true. This thing feels like it can't be used on parts with heavy vibration or on alloys weak to heat."
He saw it perfectly. I said to him.
"Welding isn't a cure-all."
"Still, this alone will drastically reduce the labor needed to build an airship."
My lips twitched at Balkan's praise. Finally, someone recognizes it. My revolutionary improvement in mana efficiency...!
I said to Balkan.
"It was really hard to make this."
"Oh. Was it?"
"Yes. Mana stones are structurally too unstable for the mana they contain, so they break if you try to draw more than a certain output."
For that reason, it was difficult to use mana stones in magical devices. If they were used at all, it was for things like typewriters or lamps, but they were absolutely unusable for high-output equipment like this.
"Hmm. I see, a peculiar rock."
I agreed.
Still, compared to a floating stone, it was a godsend. I said to Balkan.
"To improve this situation, you have to understand how mana is stored and used within the mana stone."
"The mana inside a mana stone moves like alternating current power under certain conditions..."
"What I mean by it looking like AC power here is that the mana appears to flow only on the surface."
"The reality is a bit different. Anyway, by using this to connect mana stones in parallel to maximize the surface area per unit volume..."
"Enough."
Balkan raised a hand to cut me off.
"Unfortunately, I'm not interested in the magic side of things."
"... Could you please hear me out to the end?"
The people at the Magic Tower at least nodded their heads. But Balkan's answer was firm.
"What's the point if I don't understand? It's a waste of time."
"Besides, haven't I listened enough already?"
Is that so? Was I a bit too much?
No, wait.
If that's the case... What if Balkan isn't the strange one? What if everyone has been enduring my excited talk about theory because it's actually incredibly boring?
What if the people around me were just nice enough to listen...? A wave of existential dread washed over me.
"In any case, even if the source technology is magic, this will be a great help to us. Thank you."
Balkan reached for the schematic.
Tap.
I quickly pulled my hand back, protecting the schematic.
"I can't let you do that."
"What are you doing?"
Balkan frowned.
"Is this revenge for ignoring you? Will you give me the schematic if I listen to everything?"
It was a little tempting, but that would be too pathetic. I replied to Balkan.
"It's fine for you to make and use this. But there's a condition."
"A condition? What is it?"
I took out another schematic from my coat and showed it to him. It was the blueprint for the 'compressed gold coin manufacturing machine' that Anna had conceived the basics of. I explained the gist of the currency reform to Balkan.
Balkan glanced at the schematic and snorted.
"So you're saying if I make this coin minting machine, you'll give me permission to make that welder?"
"Exactly."
Balkan crossed his arms and thought for a moment.
"Hmm..."
Balkan's gaze shifted between me and the schematic. A strange tension filled the air.
"If any other human had made such an arrogant proposal, I would have broken his nose on the spot."
I swallowed hard.
"But you're more dwarf than human. You know iron well, and you handle heat well too."
Balkan smiled so broadly that it was visible even over his beard.
"It's a deal. I'll take on this job myself."
"Okay!"
I was even able to make a show of transferring the welding technology, which I had intended to give for free. Balkan was already putting his personal ballpoint pen to Anna's schematic.
Scribble. Scribble.
A ballpoint pen, not even a fountain pen. I want one too.
Balkan said.
"You said this was your sister's idea? The concept is good, but it's caked with the inefficiency typical of a bookworm who only likes theory."
I did the specific design... I should just keep my mouth shut.
"Still, it intuitively expresses what the client wants. An easy type to work with."
"Hehehe."
"... Why are you laughing?"
"I have my reasons."
Balkan quickly modified the design. I asked him.
"How long will it take to complete?"
"It'll be done by tomorrow. I can handle this alone easily."
"Wow... As expected, the technology of the dwarves is amazing."
Thud.
Balkan's hand stopped at my words.
He said.
"It's not that the humans who still make gold coins by hammering them are primitive...?"
There are various socio-cultural reasons for that... but Balkan wouldn't understand such things. Anyway, this really is the end of the currency reform matter. From now on, I just have to be careful not to let rumors spread to the merchant guilds.
Of course, it wasn't because I was afraid of the merchant guilds. This was more of a consideration to protect them. If they acted rashly upon hearing rumors of recoinage, they would suffer great losses.
That night.
In a corner of [Winegold], a pub exclusively for merchants.
"Don't raise your voice, just listen quietly. This is information that only we know for now."
"What is it that you're being so serious about?"
"... I heard the imperial family has a plan to recoin gold."
"This is insane...!"
"I told you not to raise your voice..."
It would be stranger not to be surprised by such news. Any merchant with common sense would understand the hidden meaning in those words. Unless they were volunteers, there was no reason for them to make gold coins of the same purity without some ulterior motive.
In other words, the imperial family was planning to lower the purity of the gold coins to make a profit from seigniorage. Acting wrongly in this situation could easily lead to ruin.
"Damn it... I thought the imperial family was starting too many projects lately."
The metric system, paper, typewriters... Innovations that should happen once in decades were pouring out all in this one year. The imperial treasury couldn't possibly be flush with funds.
"And I heard that... 'he' is involved in the recoining process."
"'He'? You don't mean Isaac Upperhills?"
"That's right."
At the mention of Isaac's name, the merchants' expressions noticeably darkened. They had once commissioned the School of Classical Alchemy to steal the paper-making formula. The result was a total failure.
Worse, they later jumped into the paper business themselves only to incur losses. There was simply no way to surpass Upperhills Paper.
Grind.
One merchant gritted his teeth.
"We can't keep being played by that bastard."
"That's what I'm saying."
"It seems we'll have to bet big, even if it means taking risks."
Take on debt, buy physical goods, and sign futures purchase contracts. By doing so, they could reap huge profits after the currency's purity was lowered. Of course, if the currency was revalued upwards as a result of the recoinage, everyone here would be out on the street...
But all indicators were smiling upon them. At least, that was their delusion.