I stared at the youth and thought for a moment.
"...All right. What you've told me is valuable, but speak of it to no one else."
"Of course! I won't say a word to anyone."
"Go back to Oscar's mansion as you are and work as you usually do."
"Understood! I'll keep a sharp eye out for—"
"No, that won't be necessary."
I cut him off.
"Huh?"
"You don't need to consciously snoop around."
"B-But then—"
"Do as you are told."
"—Y-Yes, sir..."
When I spoke firmly, the youth reluctantly backed down.
I want to be of more use, so why won't you let me...? That dissatisfaction was written plainly across his face.
"Look at this."
I summoned Huwawa from my ring, conjuring my original crest in the air between me and the youth.
"This is...?"
"Look closely and memorize it."
"Huh? Y-Yes, sir..."
The youth stared intently at it.
It was my crest, but I had altered a portion of the design I normally used.
I made it a specific variant shown only to him.
"Did you memorize it?"
"Y-Yes."
"Good."
I nodded and had Huwawa withdraw.
"If I ever need you, I will have someone carrying an item with that pattern make contact. If you see that, consider them my proxy."
"Yes, sir!"
The youth's brow cleared.
He seemed to instantly perk up, realizing that he was indeed needed.
"I repeat, do not act with intent. Oscar is clever."
I stared straight at the youth, my expression dead serious.
"If you consciously try to snoop, you will inevitably be discovered. So do not think about it. Working earnestly in Oscar's mansion is how you can be of the greatest help to me."
"Understood! I will work earnestly!"
"Good."
I nodded and reached into my coat—but stopped.
Thinking better of it, I did nothing and pulled my hand back out empty.
"That is all for today. It won't do for anyone to see you meeting with me."
"Understood!"
With that, the youth kept his head down and left the teahouse.
I watched his retreating figure.
This was beyond unexpected.
No, perhaps it had been this way from the very beginning.
I had stepped in at Dosso to help Zoe.
To protect the land from the locust-like merchants who swarmed in after the flood, I had bought up almost all of Dosso.
Even back then, Dylan had expressed his deepest gratitude to me.
Dylan, the elderly man who served as my head butler when I was the Thirteenth Imperial Prince.
He, too, hailed from the region around Dosso.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that something similar had simply happened again.
"Good deeds really do pay off."
I chuckled softly and reached for the snacks on the table.
"Lord Noah."
A gentle voice called my name.
Looking up, I saw that Alice had made her way over to my table, her song having concluded before I even realized it.
"When did you finish...? Well, have a seat."
"Yes, pardon me."
Alice murmured politely and sat down beside me.
"May I ask you something, Lord Noah?"
Out of consideration for being in the shop, Alice mindfully addressed me as "Lord Noah."
That said, her consideration was actually meaningless.
Almost all the regulars here knew that I, Alice's patron, was the former Thirteenth Imperial Prince and the reigning Emperor of the Empire.
Taking care to call me "Lord Noah" in this shop served no real purpose.
It didn't, but pointing out her thoughtful gesture would be in poor taste, so I let it be.
"What did you want to ask?"
"Earlier, were you about to give that man a reward, Lord Noah?"
"Ah, that."
I had been too absorbed in our conversation to notice, but Alice, having finished her song and approached the table, seemed to have seen everything clearly.
Indeed, at the end of my exchange with the youth, I had reached into my coat.
Rewarding someone by giving them around a thousand rien was my usual practice.
Having known me for a long time, Alice was well aware of that, which was likely why she found it strange that I hadn't handed anything over.
"If he were a servant from my estate or someone far removed from the court, that would have been fine, but he belongs to Oscar's mansion."
Pausing for a breath, I continued.
"Judging by his clothes, he's a servant who only handles lower-class menial chores. That means his monthly wages would be—well, around fifteen to twenty rien at Oscar's estate, I'd say."
I knew Oscar well.
He was known for his mild temperament and was among the imperial princes who treated their servants kindly.
In the imperial capital, the average monthly income for an adult man was around ten rien.
Oscar likely paid about double that.
Even so, it was still twenty rien a month.
If I were to hand someone like that a thousand rien as a reward...
"If an ordinary person suddenly comes into a large sum of money, they become the center of rumors, don't they? No matter how hard they try to hide it."
"That is... true."
Alice nodded with a wry smile.
She knew from personal experience.
Back when I first discovered her, rumors about the 'Cinderella girl' had swept through the imperial capital in no time.
"I can hand out as many rewards as I please, but if it draws unwanted attention to him, it won't do him any favors."
"I see... That's amazing. To think there are so many things you have to consider just when giving a reward."
I smiled faintly.
"Yeah. I think about all sorts of things on a regular basis."
"Are there other things you keep in mind?"
"Yeah. The poorer the recipient, the more I prioritize giving them a reward."
"Is that so?"
"For example... Alice, suppose you received a tip of ten rien right now. How would you spend it?"
"Huh? A tip... of ten rien?"
"Yeah."
I nodded.
Though bewildered, Alice adopted a thoughtful look.
After agonizing over it considerably, she answered.
"I probably... might not spend it. There isn't anything I need to buy immediately right now."
"Then, what if you had unexpectedly come into ten rien back when we first met?"
"Back when we met? That would have gone... toward medicine for my mother."
"Exactly."
I nodded once more, this time firmly.
Alice blinked, looking blank.
She didn't seem to fully grasp what I meant by "exactly."
"People who possess a certain amount of wealth don't feel the urge to spend extra income right away. But the poorer someone is, the faster they spend that money. What's more, it's spent on things tied directly to daily survival. For you in the past, it was medicine; for a poor, large family, it would be eating their fill or buying winter clothes. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Yes."
"That is how money circulates. If you give ten rien to a poor person, they spend it as is, and the person who receives that ten rien spends ten rien as well. Then the next person who receives it does the same—commerce spins round and round on that reward money, producing an economic effect far greater than the initial amount I gave."
"Ah..."
"And that's how it works."
"That's incredible, Lord Noah... This is the first time I've heard of such an idea, but you truly are amazing."
I smiled faintly.
This, too, was something I had learned from history.
It wasn't something I needed to go out of my way to explain to Alice, but toward the end of the Pawoo Empire, there was a prevailing sentiment that the national treasury—the nation's balance of payments—had to be forced into a surplus.
There were several reasons for this, but the biggest was the notion that the state conducting wasteful public works and scattering money among the populace was deplorable.
However, history would later judge that to have been a catastrophic mistake.
At the time, the government and the public united in condemning public works as useless and wasteful.
Yet, even if an expenditure was labeled wasteful, that money did not simply vanish into thin air.
The money used for public works was paid to the laborers employed.
Unlike the wealthy, who had no choice but to hoard their earnings once they made more than necessary, commoners—the day laborers—were people who, nine times out of ten, spent money the moment it entered their hands.
It was spent first on food, drink, and entertainment.
Drinking until they were thoroughly soaked, buying women, and the like.
And the money spent at taverns and eateries flowed to farmers via merchants as payment for purchasing ingredients.
Farmers were also the kind of people who would spend money as soon as they had more of it.
There was no shortage of stories about men taking a wife simply because a tidy sum of money had become available.
Even without that, there were countless uses, like repairing houses or stocking up on clothes made with plenty of cotton for the winter.
All of that disappeared.
Because the primary source—public works—was cut off, the flow of money withered drastically.
As a result, the commoners became impoverished, and tax revenues plummeted.
At that point, the Pawoo Empire made an even worse misstep by resorting to tax hikes—but well, that was another story.
Even if the nation's finances were tight, I believed it was vital to distribute money to the social class that would spend it immediately upon receiving it.
Yes, I learned that from history.
Well, that wasn't something I needed to burden Alice with.
"More importantly, regarding our upcoming matter, I'd like you to enter the palace soon to begin preparations."
"Yes."
Alice nodded quietly.
"Audrey, my wife, also mentioned that she wants to meet you."
"The Empr—no, um, your w-wife?"
Alice was surprised and flustered.
Having known me for so long, she could smoothly switch between "Lord Noah" and "Your Majesty," but since this was practically her first time dealing with the Empress, she couldn't manage the same composure.
"Pfft."
"W-What is it?"
"Nothing, it's just... you seem more nervous and intimidated by my wife than by me."
"Ah..."
Alice cast her eyes down in embarrassment.
Then, she shot me a resentful, upward glance.
"Sorry, did I tease you too much?"
"N-No. Um, when... should I go?"
"Whenever is convenient for you."
"Understood. I will go ask the master."
Alice stood up and headed toward the shopkeeper, who was waiting a short distance away.
It happened right at that moment.
"Out of the way, move it, move it!"
"Didn't you hear us say you're in the damn way?!"
From right beside me—the shop's entrance—a trio of crude, thug-like men barged in.
One walked in front, leading the other two.
All three swaggered with their shoulders swaying wide.
It was a classic intimidation tactic meant to physically make themselves look larger.
"What's this, is it full?"
"Just kick someone out."
"Wouldn't that table over there be good?"
Saying so, the men strode toward the table where I was sitting.
Then, not the leader in the front, but one of the lackeys trailing behind stepped up in front of me.
"Hey, give up that seat."
"Hand it over quietly and we won't have to get rough with ya."
"..."
I was a little exasperated.
Even though I was outside the palace traveling incognito, everyone in this shop, from the owner to the customers, knew who I was.
Only first-time visitors wouldn't know.
And despite being first-timers, they certainly had the nerve to put on such a classic, clichéd intimidation display on unfamiliar turf they had just stepped into for the first time.
"You lot—"
"Wait, Master."
"Alice? Why are you stopping me? At this rate—"
"Why would you rob that person of a chance to shine?"
"Huh? No, but..."
"Men of that caliber wouldn't even be able to lay a single finger on him."
"That... might be true, but..."
Alice and the shopkeeper were whispering back and forth a short distance away.
What are they talking about? I wondered, glancing over in their direction.
"Hey! Are you listening to me, bastard?!"
"Hm? Ah, sorry, I wasn't listening."
"—Tch! Why you...!"
Enraged, perhaps thinking I was mocking him by ignoring him, one of the men raised his fist.
In that instant, my mind envisioned several different ways this could play out.
From those scenarios, I selected one.
I shifted slightly.
The man's fist grazed past my cheek.
" " "—Ah!" " "
Instantly, the shop erupted into a collective gasp.
From the regular customers to the shop staff, every single person went paper-white.
The only ones who didn't were me and the three clueless thugs.
Even if they didn't know the circumstances, they seemed to possess at least enough instinct to read the room.
The three noticed that the surrounding atmosphere had completely transformed, with everyone wearing expressions as if they were witnessing something unimaginably horrifying.
"Wh-What's with you guys...?"
That silence was likely more terrifying to them than outright defiance.
Because every single person wore a face as if the world were ending.
Realizing that something was undeniably wrong, the three shrank back from the bizarre atmosphere.
I touched my cheek with my fingers.
There was a slight trace of blood.
In terms of severity, it was just a scratch no worse than a paper cut, but there was no denying that my face had been scratched and blood had been drawn.
"Your Majesty! A-Are you all right?!"
Alice rushed over to me, her face pale with horror.
" " "Your Majesty?" " "
At Alice's words, the three blinked blankly.
They didn't even seem to understand what the title meant yet.
For now—I suppose I'll put a stop to this.
"I'm fine."
Reassuring Alice, I stood up.
Then, I turned toward the three.
"Wh-What do you want?"
"This counts as self-defense, then."
I declared, pointing to my own cheek.
"—Tch! Mocking me, are you?!"
One of the men, the thug who had taken the lead in swinging at me, raised his fist once again.
It seemed his anger had overridden his confusion.
I had no obligation to let him hit me a second time.
I swiftly slipped past his fist and caught his wrist.
And then—I popped it out.
Crack! With a sharp snap, the man's wrist joint was wrenched out of place.
"Gyaaaaaah!"
"Wh-What?!"
"You bastard!"
Clutching his forearm between his wrist and elbow, the man collapsed to his knees, screaming in agony.
I stepped toward the remaining two.
Furious, they retaliated.
Clenching their fists just like the first man, they swung at me recklessly.
Using the martial arts I had learned from Lutye, I dislocated both of their wrists as well.
With the exact same fluid motion, I popped the right wrist joints of all three in identical fashion.
Having had their wrists dislocated with lightning-fast efficiency, the three crumpled to the floor, groaning in pain.
Then, while clutching his arm, the man who seemed to be the leader glared up at me, greasy sweat beading across his forehead.
"You... don't think you're gonna get away with doing this..."
"I will get away with it."
"What?!"
"Under Imperial Law, a party who is attacked first is permitted to mount a proportionate counterattack. I was struck by you lot and bled, so I dislocated your joints so you couldn't use your fists. It will be recognized as ninety-nine point nine percent lawful."
"Like I give a damn about that! Doing something like this to us, you'll definitely—"
"..."
I had said all that needed to be said; I decided to deliver the finishing blow through means other than words.
I closed my mouth, released my power, and manifested my crest behind me.
" " "Ah, haaah!" " "
In that instant, every single person inside the shop dropped to their knees before me.
It was an application of Leviathan's power, fine-tuning the aura of intimidation so that rather than instilling mere terror, it directly imprinted the absolute reality into their minds: the person before me is the Emperor.
When I unleashed it, everyone prostrated themselves at once.
For the ordinary customers, that was all it did.
However, the men who had attacked me began to tremble violently where they knelt.
I eased the pressure slightly.
Then, letting out terrified shrieks of "Eeeek!", the men scrambled and crawled out the door as if freed from a binding spell.
Once they were gone, the teahouse fell dead silent.
"—Ah, Your Majesty!!"
The first to snap out of the trance was Alice, who had known me the longest and most deeply.
Even in her case, perhaps a trace of the aura lingered, as she used a different form of address than she had moments ago.
Alice rushed over to me and reached for my cheek, but stopped her hands midway, flustered.
"P-Please wait a moment, I will bring something to wipe it—"
"No, that's unnecessary."
Stopping Alice, I took a small vial out of my coat.
I dripped the liquid inside—a potion—onto my fingertip and applied it to the scratch on my cheek.
Instantly—
"Th-The wound is..."
Alice was stunned into silence.
Was this her first time seeing an actual potion?
"This is..."
"We made it ourselves. A mere scratch heals instantly, as you can see."
"Your Majesty made it?! Th-That is incredible..."
I smiled faintly and slipped the potion vial back into my coat.
The sight of the potion working, along with my explanation, reached the eyes and ears of every customer present. Still prostrated on the floor, the crowd erupted into fervent cheers.