I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 295: Comparison and Incitement (9)

In the Ministry of Finance of the Toscana Empire, from the high-ranking officials to the lowly servant who brews coffee, everyone was working tirelessly, day and night.

Nicolo Federico, the Director of Budget Review, was one of them.

"When will the total tax collected from the serfs in the Imperial Direct Domain be ready? It's already been over a month since the tax collection finished!"

At his words, his subordinate lowered his head and apologized.

"My apologies, Director. We encountered a discrepancy while auditing the figures an hour ago. We are currently re-checking them."

"Hurry up! If we don't calculate the total tax amount and report it to His Majesty today, we’ll have to come in early and work until sunset for the next week. We might even have to work on Sundays, just going to mass and then getting back to work!"

Fabio would have laughed at this story.

At Rothschild Enterprises, when work piles up quickly, all the staff, regardless of rank, sleep in the duty room with three-tier wooden beds and then get up to handle nearly 18 to 20 hours of hard work.

Of course, even hearing such a story wouldn't comfort Nicolo, as the pain from a paper cut on my finger is far worse than losing a whole finger.

Nevertheless, Director Nicolo began to desperately try to escape from this hellish workload.

"I’ll get off work today, no matter what. It’s already been a week of early mornings and late evenings."

No matter the time or place, it’s human nature for workers to want to relax, eat something delicious, and rest once they finish their day.

But for the Ministry of Finance's Budget Review Office—or really, for all officials in the Ministry—it was a different story.

They cared about nothing, not even fine delicacies. All they wanted was to finish urgent tasks so they could get at least 8 hours, no, maybe 10 hours of sleep.

They were burning their bodies for their simple dreams.

"Director, the total tax collected from the serfs in the Imperial Direct Domain is ready. The head tax is 354,893 gold coins, and the land tax is 2,904,458 gold coins."

Upon hearing this, Nicolo let out a long sigh.

"The tax amount has decreased compared to last year. But this was expected, so it shouldn’t be a problem."

"It’s true the tax has decreased slightly from last year, but there’s the corporate tax left."

"That damn Rothschild, he claimed that if we collect corporate taxes, it would raise the budget significantly every year. If he’s wrong, I’ll never forgive him."

Nicolo was serious.

Along with other officials in the Ministry of Finance, he had been hit with the sudden bombshell of "corporate tax," which had been implemented just three months ago.

Of course, the newly created Ministry of Commerce had it much worse, but...

Just like how a bomb obliterates not just the person it hits but also those around them, even during their relatively slow periods, officials like Nicolo had been working so hard that they feared they might die of overwork.

Not only was it infuriating that people were manipulating His Majesty for their own gain, but it was also enraging that someone had pushed them into this work hell irresponsibly.

‘For the Empire, I will not let this slide.’

Then, a bureaucrat walked in holding the report on the total corporate tax, his face flushed with excitement.

"Director, Director! Our hard work has paid off!"

"Has the Empire’s budget increased?"

The bureaucrat, catching his breath, nodded, looking a bit too informal for an aristocrat, speaking almost a little recklessly.

"Compared to last year, the tax collected from the serfs decreased by about 340,000 gold coins. However, the corporate tax we collected this time amounts to 3,433,524 gold coins."

Nicolo and the surrounding officials froze at those words.

It was as if someone had activated the power to stop time.

In the frozen moment, only one person was allowed to move.

"Not only has the tax from the serfs decreased, but other taxes from the various mines, customs duties from ports, shield tax, and so on, all together, have increased the budget by nearly 34%."

At first glance, the number might seem small.

However, when considered as part of the national defense budget or the central government’s finances, 34% is an astronomical amount.

Moreover, for local lords who don’t receive shield taxes or other such taxes, this corporate tax will have an even greater significance.

This situation could truly be called a revolution in taxation.

"Deus, how could such a miracle happen?"

Nicolo, the Director of Budget Review, had the urge to grab the bureaucrat by the collar and shake him to check if what he was saying was true, or if he was dreaming.

But the bureaucrat had used his trump card in this situation.

"There may be slight discrepancies in the amount, but this is the undeniable truth. If I’m lying, I’ll spend the next month trying to have a child with my wife after work tonight."

Most married men, especially those who work at desks processing documents, find it hard to maintain their duty after their mid-thirties.

But for someone exhausted from working overtime and longing for sleep to suddenly say they’re going to have a child?

‘That’s 100% true.’

"Then, let’s report this to His Majesty right away. There’s still plenty of work left, but for today, we can start preparing to go home."

It was noon, just three hours after they’d arrived at work.

Once the report was submitted, Nicolo could finally go home and get some much-needed sleep.

Nicolo suppressed the urge to run to the palace and quickly reported the budget increase to the Emperor.

Hearing the increase, the Emperor was so delighted that he drank excessively, and he spent time with the Empress, who he had not seen much lately.

Afterward, the Emperor swore off alcohol for a while, claiming that alcohol was his enemy.

In dreams, one can experience things that would be impossible in reality.

The person who couldn’t walk in real life could freely walk in dreams, or the one who never had a girlfriend might find themselves in a relationship.

But what kind of scene is this?

"Professor, I have a question!"

At that, a red-skinned demon with two horns on its head responded.

"What don’t you understand?"

"How can the Rothschild Baron, who pretends to be so honest, get away with a 'no charge' or 'minor mistake' on manipulated books when undergoing an audit? This is too complicated."

Well, it’s simple—since I created the audit system.

I simply make backdoors, or loopholes, and then record the financial books accordingly.

For example, if there’s something in my asset list that must not be found, I make it appear as "owned by someone else" and make them look there.

If that’s too difficult, I might hide my assets in a corner of a mountain or behind wallpaper where no one can see, taking advantage of the lack of CCTV.

I could even omit asset listings from the books, or not record them at all.

‘It’s not that difficult.’

"When I was your age, Cordus, even if I was ignorant, I still managed to do the devil’s work without trouble. Nowadays, even demons are struggling with the job market, so they have to use their brains. Think about it a little more. What’s written in Chapter 1 of Satanic Studies 3?"

"Ah, it says that if you don’t get caught, it’s not a crime!"

"Well, the Rothschild Baron, or should I say, you, have hidden your evil deeds in such a creative way that you’ve sold out entire countries. If you want to get a good job, you need to learn from that creativity."

...Well, creativity aside, this isn’t really that difficult.

Why are demons fumbling around with such trivial things?

It’s ridiculous.

But I couldn’t do anything in the dream, and the lecture continued for a while.

"That’s all for today’s class. For next week, write a report on the Rothschild Baron’s sayings, no more than 10 pages."

As the class ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) ended, just as I felt I was about to wake up from the dream, the professor pointed at me from the back row and said:

"Wise Rothschild... sir?"

With those words, my body shot up.

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"I already have enough to do, what kind of nonsense is this?"

Chloe rubbed her eyes and sat up next to me.

"Did you have a bad dream, Master?"

Since I had been sleeping under the covers with her, I could tell that if I lifted the blanket just a little, things could get... dangerous.

"No, it’s just a ridiculous dream."

A dream about demons learning from me—what kind of nonsense is that?

Even if a person becomes wicked, how could they possibly defeat Satan?

And I never got involved in massacres or psychopathic murders.

In fact, I saved tens of thousands of people who were almost killed by a plague.

"Then I’m relieved."

I kissed Chloe on the lips and quickly got dressed.

It was time to wake up and have a productive conversation with my enemy, who I needed to visit early in the morning.