Civilization for the Emperor (1)
One day, I was reincarnated as a commoner in an empire in another world.
But unlike ordinary(?) otherworld heroes, I neither defeated the Demon King nor said rude things to uncivilized otherworlders like, “Ah, you don't know? This is called soap. You can wash your hands clean with it.”
To begin with, defeating the Demon King was beyond me, and people in this world knew how to make soap too.
So my goal was to live an utterly ordinary life. There were fewer forms of entertainment than in the modern world, but life was tolerable enough, and as long as I wasn't conscripted as a combat soldier, there was little chance I'd have to do anything dangerous.
Fortunately, I had a fair amount of talent for magic, and I managed to get into the Imperial Magic Development Department, which was notoriously difficult to enter. It was a cushy post reserved for elites, with little actual work to do.
As a mage of commoner origin, I'd done very well for myself. At this rate, I could take it easy all the way into old age and enjoy life in another world…….
“There will likely be personnel cuts soon because of the budget reduction.”
“What? Then what happens?”
“What else? We have to cut unnecessary personnel, so it will be either dismissal or transfer.”
As if that sort of outcome could never be allowed, one day, news of restructuring struck like a bolt from the blue.
Truthfully, even if I were the emperor, I'd probably cut the budget of a department full of salary thieves like ours. We received plenty of funding for salaries and development costs, but everything we produced was unimpressive.
Whatever magic we created, it was either not much different from existing spells or only a sidegrade. Even when we came up with something novel, it was so cost-inefficient that it was impractical and often went unadopted.
The problem was that if restructuring happened, the first person to be cut would be me, the commoner.
Getting fired would be bad enough, but if I got transferred, they might send me somewhere like the Demon Realm or the northern front lines. Then my life plan of taking it easy until old age would go off the rails.
“Um, how can we get the budget back?”
“It is an imperial decree, so there is nothing you can do about it. But if you can show results that even His Majesty the Emperor would accept, it might be possible. Still, give up. It is already too late.”
Give up? I can't do that!
I have to show them some kind of result somehow. But how?
During my time in the Magic Development Department, I'd participated in several development projects and tried developing just about every kind of magic and magical product there was.
Looking back, the reason none of them had been recognized was ultimately because they hadn't caught the eye of the person evaluating them.
And the person who ultimately evaluated our developments was none other than the emperor of the Empire.
In that case, I'd have a better chance if I made something the emperor would want most.
“Something His Majesty wants, huh…….”
Emperor Kalbrant II was an extreme workaholic. He did nothing but work, as though he meant to dedicate his one and only life to the Empire.
“Then something that could help with his work… No, they've probably already made everything like that and put it into use.”
Everything the emperor needed for his work had probably already been made. In that case, I needed to change my perspective.
The emperor was addicted to work. Since he was someone who knew nothing but work, his life had to be terribly dull. So wouldn't a diversion, something he could devote his attention to besides work, be more likely to catch his interest?
After all, people say those who can't find enjoyment in anything else tend to become addicted to work.
“Then maybe I should try making a game…….”
What came to mind were the games I'd played back on Earth. If I recreated those games through magic and offered them to the emperor, I might be able to catch his interest.
But just because they were games, would the emperor like all of them? Even ordinary people had different tastes when it came to games.
I couldn't know for sure, but an emperor who seemed like the stern and solemn type probably wouldn't be interested in games that offered nothing but visceral fun. Even if he was, if he saw them as nothing more than ordinary toys, it was doubtful he'd restore the budget.
So it had to be fun while also possessing something that made it feel like more than just a game.
“Where would I find something like that…? Wait, there is one, isn't there?”
Then a particular game suddenly came to mind.
Among the games I used to play often back on Earth, there was one that fit exactly.
“Yeah, that should work.”
***
Back when I was on Earth, I was a simulation game fanatic.
I'd played almost every simulation game there was. Building cities, developing nations, commanding armies…….
Back then, I'd approached them purely as entertainment, but in truth, with just a little adaptation, all of those games could be put to practical use. Even the war games conducted by militaries were a kind of simulation.
There was probably something among them that would suit the emperor's tastes. But I couldn't make all of them right now.
I'd only have time to make one. So which one should it be?
“If I had to pick just one, it would have to be that one.”
A masterpiece of simulation gaming that almost everyone knew. The game nicknamed a time machine because once you started playing, you lost all track of time.
It was the ‘Civilization Development series.’
“An emperor who's a workaholic will definitely go crazy for it. It's exactly the kind of game someone like that would love.”
The Civilization Development series was so immersive that once you started, you could easily stay up all night playing it. An emperor who threw himself completely into his work couldn't possibly dislike it.
“Implementing it won't be hard, either. I can use illusion magic.”
All I had to do was use illusion magic to recreate the game from my memories exactly as it had been.
Whenever I played simulation games, I'd also carefully read the in-game encyclopedias, so if I used memory magic, I could reproduce the encyclopedia without missing a single letter.
The problem was… the game's development tech tree, stretching from the ancient era through the medieval, modern, and contemporary eras, included many things that didn't exist in this world.
Gunpowder, for example. Gunpowder technology, classified as Renaissance-era military tech, didn't exist in this world. In other words, it would be a product of imagination.
And it wasn't just gunpowder. There were cannons, tanks, steam engines, battleships, and plenty of other military technologies. Once things moved into politics and culture, there were also many ideologies considered dangerous in this world, such as democracy and communism.
“If I'm not careful, they might call it irreverent…….”
I hesitated. If I deliberately censored the game because I was afraid of being charged with lèse-majesté, it might stop being fun. If the emperor found it boring and went through with the budget cut, that would be a problem in its own right.
But if I didn't censor it, I was sure people would have something bad to say.
“Whatever. I'll just change a few sensitive parts and submit the rest mostly as-is.”
Since worrying about it wasn't producing a better solution, I decided to modify only a few sensitive details and reproduce the rest as it was.
***
“Ian made something again? Good grief, what odd thing has he done this time?”
Count Terren, head of the Magic Development Department, let out a small sigh.
Ian Maxwell was a commoner, but he was an extremely capable talent. He was someone the Empire absolutely needed, but he had a rather eccentric side.
He had a habit of occasionally researching or making incomprehensible things. Most people researched things like new offensive magic spells, but Ian had suddenly started going on about something called a ‘gun’ and then made a bizarre-looking magic wand.
Unlike the wands or staffs mages used, it was a heavy, rounded, cylindrical iron rod. A small iron ball was placed inside, then explosion magic was used to ‘fire’ it and launch the ball.
It was more powerful than expected. It could pierce a knight's armor. But the higher-ups' reaction was, “So what?” That was understandable. There were plenty of attack spells far more powerful than that.
Ian had still argued that mass-producing it would create a powerful military asset, but the cost of making just one was enough to arm dozens of soldiers and still have money left over. That was because the explosion magic used for firing consumed a great many magic stones.
Then Ian had gone on about how the problem was that there was no gunpowder or something of the sort, but nobody could make head or tail of what he was saying, so the proposal had simply been rejected.
After that, he had done a few more strange things. He seemed to have settled down lately, but apparently hearing about the budget cut had made him anxious again.
“Tsk, what a shame. He has such a bright future ahead of him. There is nothing I can do for him, but I suppose I can at least see what he made.”
The artifact Ian called a ‘game console’ had already been submitted. Judging by the illusion magic Terren could sense on it, it seemed to be a toy intended for nobles.
“It will be difficult to catch His Majesty's interest with a toy like this.”
Toys made with illusion magic were already used as luxury goods among nobles. There was no way the frugal emperor, who spent all his time attending to affairs of state, would like such a luxury.
“Still, one never knows. I should take a look.”
Muttering to himself, he activated the game console. An unbelievably intricate illusion appeared. Unlike ordinary illusions, which could only be viewed, this one could even be ‘controlled.’
“Remarkable. Ian certainly is skilled.”
If Ian used that skill somewhere more worthwhile, his advancement would be guaranteed. Terren could not understand why Ian refused to go to the battlefield, where everyone else was desperate to go so they could earn merit.
“Let me see… Start? Do I press this?”
Referring to the manual Ian had submitted with it, Terren started the ‘game.’ Dice games and card games existed in this world too, but the game Ian had created was completely different from those.
“It wants me to choose a nation and a leader? These are all real countries, aren't they?!”
Naturally, these were countries that had not existed in the ‘Civilization Development’ from Earth. Ian had localized them appropriately.
“Ahem! Still, featuring actual monarchs so freely is a bit much. Even so… our Empire and His Majesty seem to have the best traits.”
Once the department head understood the system that assigned separate traits to each nation and leader, he chose the Empire and His Majesty without hesitation. As a loyal subject of the Empire, it was only natural.
“Then next, I choose something called difficulty? Goodness, Emperor difficulty? I cannot choose something like that. I should play on Settler difficulty, which says it is the easiest.”
Fortunately(?) he chose the easiest difficulty.
Ironically, that was exactly why he couldn't put the game down.
“Ah, why are they declaring war on me now? I am a warmonger? The Pirian bastards deserve to be wiped out anyway!”
He continued playing in a frenzy. The game he had started in the morning did not end until evening.
“Ha ha! The Empire has unified the continent! Hm? Is it already this late?”
He was startled when he saw that it had already grown dark outside the window. Only then did he realize just how completely he had been absorbed in the game.
“This is no ordinary toy. It is a devil's game.”
A devil that devoured time itself. That made it all the more addictive.
“His Majesty is sure to like it as well. I can present it to him at once.”
Count Terren did not know exactly how much it would appeal to an emperor who spent every day consumed by work, but he felt quite certain.
Even the emperor would be powerless against this devil's game.