I looked around the room and took a piece of paper and a pen.
I tore a piece of paper into the size of a rectangle, wrote 「1000」 on it, and handed it to Princess Iris.
「What’s this?」
Couldn’t we put a coat of arms here, like the one on this fan? With magic.」
「…… What do you mean?」
「That means it was issued by royalty. And we’ll use this as our new currency.」
The point is, it’s paper money, I said.
「……？」
「Only royalty can grant the crest, and if it is applied consciously, it will remain with it long after the person passes.」
「Hmm」
「In other words, this will be a currency that no one will be able to counterfeit and that will not be worth the risk.」
「Oh, I see.」
「You’re disrespectful! You bastard!」
One of the knights lined up against the wall, the one who introduced Princess Iris to me, yelled at me when I entered the room.
「Items with the royal coat of arms are used as bestowal gifts. It’s how we’ve maintained our authority since the founding of our country! You can’t just throw it around the country as money ……! Bastard, you have recived an item from her Highness Helene, you should be aware of the weight of it!」
It’s about the fan.
I’m certainly glad that Princess Helene gave it to me, but I don’t think it has anything to do with her crest.
I looked at the man, Knight.
He is a hard-headed man who seems to be very serious.
He’s angry, but he doesn’t mean to offend, he’s just stubborn.
…… That’s even more of a hassle, though.
I thought of a way to convince him.
「That’s fine.」
Princess Iris spoke up first.
「Your Highness?」
「Kakeru, you’ve taught me a good lesson. Hmm, why didn’t I think of that before?」
「Are you sure, Your Highness? You can’t do that. It would be a disgrace to the royal family──」
「The country will be stable.」
Iris said decisively.
「It’s impossible to counterfeit, it’s not that you can’t see the benefit of that, right?」
「B,but…」
「The money will be stable. Surplus silver and copper can be used as resources. And besides.」
Iris laughed.
Not exactly what I was expecting, but an excited smile.
This is pretty, beautiful.
「It will make business easier. One piece of paper is worth a thousand copper coins. It would be especially useful for peddlers. Until now, we’ve been carrying heavy currency and using bills that are only guaranteed by the merchant houses. With this, bill can be used with confidence that it has the backing of the country and business can be done with peace of mind.」
「……」
The knight fell silent.
He’ s just sincere, not stupid.
He immediately realized how great the benefits of what Princess Iris had just told him were.
But this also breaks the rules.
In the real world, all countries are fighting against counterfeiting of paper money, and that’s why they are packing them with anti-counterfeiting technology.
The higher the technology and trust, the more stable the value of the banknote.
「Isn’t that magic reserved for royalty?」
Ahh, yeah only royalty from the direct lineage.」
「Then it’s impossible to fake.」
「First of all, it’s completely impossible.」
Princess Iris asserts. It’s definately breaking the rules.
Uncounterfeitable paper money is a cheat.
Compared to that, my idea …… of an idea that came out of living in my previous world seemed unimportant.
That’s what I thought.
「Thank you, Kakeru.」
Princess Iris said. Then …… she smiled and chuckled.
「──！」
It was the smile I had been expecting.
Not「Fu……」or 「Ha」.
Her smile is soft and gentle, almost stealing my soul and spirit.
「You’ve taught me well. I’ll make sure to thank you for this.」
Definitely.
Princess Iris smiled and said those words over and over again.
☆
My home.
I was in a daze in the living room.
I sat down on the couch and remembered Princess Iris’ smile.
I remember, I ruminate, and I swoon.
I felt in a really, really good mood.
As I was ruminating on it, I heard a sound: Kaka, Kaka, Kaka.
It was the sound of a door knocker on the front door.
「I’m sorry, is anyone here?」
Along with the sound of the door knocker, I could hear a boy’s voice.
He was shouting through the door, but it was pretty quiet. If my hearing was not good enough, I would have missed it.
I got up and headed for the door. When I opened the door, I saw a boy standing there, dressed in a modest outfit.
「Is that you, Yuuki Kakeru-sama?」
「Aahh」
「The Master has a message for you. He has found the maid, and he said to come by the store anytime.」
「Master? Maid…… ah, Salamus-san?」
「Yes!」
「I understand. Thank you.」
When I walked into the Salamus Trading Company, I was greeted by Salamus-san, whose lower belly still prominently displayed.
「Nice to see you, welcome.」
His appearance hasn’t changed, but I wonder, is he in a better mood than ever?
He smiles so much, it’s a bit of a fixed dumb grin.
「Did something good happen?」
No, no, no. I’ve heard rumors that you’ve already solved the case. Well, the lack of copper coins is something we’ve been struggling with as well.」
「Oh, that’s what you mean.」
「I had predicted that you had some kind of important mission since you had Her Highness’ fan, but I didn’t expect the rumors to start so soon. I’m sure that’s what Yuuki-sama is all about.」
Salamus flattered me as much as he could.
It felt good, but a little weird.
「More importantly, I heard you found the maid.」
「Yes, I managed to lay my eyes on one.」
「Eyes?」
「You said you wanted a slave maid who could do the job, but I didn’t know what more you wanted, so I picked up three.」
「Three people.」
「All of them are able to work, all of them are slaves. All you have to do is choose.」
「I see.」
You’re asking me to choose between the three of them.
It’s certainly not a bad idea. I feel like I’ve made my choice if I have a choice rather than being forced to choose one person.
「Then I’ll have them enter the room one by one.」
「OK」
Nodding, Salamus clapped his hands.
The door opened quickly and the first person walked in.
She was a beautiful woman in her late twenties. She was calm and soothing.
She was the head maid at her previous place, but they made her stop because she was replaced.
She’ s a nice person, seems to do her job well.
The second person was a little younger, a woman of about twenty. This one was a cute and friendly girl who seemed to enjoy talking to me.
She said she had never worked before, but she was a very good cook and could do all the housework because she had been taught properly.
This one’s not so bad.
And the third one.
As soon as she opened the door and walked in.
「This girl!」
I quickly stood up.
「Yuuki-sama?」
「I want this girl! I want her.」
The moment I saw her, I knew she was the only one for me.
She’ s cute and beautiful.
Best of all.
「I’m a beastman. Are you sure you want to go to ……?」
That was the decisive factor.