"moshi moshi! Your Majesty!"
"Hmm? Is that Holio? What's the matter?"
In Tom's workshop, Nero sat on a stool, waiting for Franky, Iceberg, and Tom to say their final goodbyes.
"It's like this, do you remember that set of lead flower vases in the treasury?"
"Every single one of my collectibles is dear to me; how could I forget!"
The appearance of those vases immediately came to Nero's mind. When she first bought them, she replaced all the vases in her house with these lead ones.
"They originated from Flevance, the only place in the world that sold them. Plus, I specially commissioned a master to make them, so they are rare treasures indeed!"
"Ahem, it's about this Flevance. Some time ago, a lead poisoning sickness outbreak occurred there. This material contains a faint toxicity."
"It's similar to silver; one would only get poisoned from long-term exposure to its dust or from using it as tableware for extended periods. This is a small secret of Flevance's royal family."
Nero said matter-of-factly; she had known these things for a long time.
"Ah?"
But Holio was genuinely bewildered by this. Flevance was currently under complete lockdown, and the World Government was promoting lead poisoning sickness as a fatal, contagious virus.
Based on his understanding of the World Government, there was likely something fishy about it, but hearing Nero's explanation, he instantly understood.
He had initially thought Flevance was unlucky to encounter the World Government, a living Yama, but he hadn't expected the royal family there to be just as bad.
They were all a bunch of pure beasts, truly evenly matched opponents, with brilliant strategists on both sides!
This was embarrassing; his own intelligence department knew less than his Majesty. Indeed, after Nicuss lifted the isolation policy, there were still many shortcomings.
"Um, haven't you read the newspapers recently? Flevance is currently under lockdown. The World Government's official statement is that lead poisoning sickness is highly contagious."
"Nani? So Flevance is going to be annihilated?"
Nero keenly sensed that the World Government was trying to silence them.
"Based on the current situation, most likely!" Holio nodded heavily, a country simply perishing like that.
"Hmm, so my vases are going to increase in value?"
"Yes, next, they should also…"
Holio blinked… increase in value?
"Your Majesty! A country is about to be destroyed!!! And you're still thinking about your broken vases?"
"They're not broken vases! They're my rare… super rare, high-class vases!"
Nero, halfway through her sentence, realized something and quickly corrected herself, adding "super."
"Besides, what does Flevance's destruction have to do with me? Am I supposed to go and support them?"
"Not exactly, ahem, mainly the Science Department also detected that lead poisoning sickness is not contagious, and Flevance is incredibly rich, so everyone is planning to go and make a fortune."
"…Is my country already that poor?"
Nero fell silent. This was a case of everyone being evil!
"Isn't it because you announced that you would acquire high-purity gold without limit? The gold currently accumulated in the city is already enough for you to build a Gold City."
"Hmm, then we can stop acquiring it. All that's left is to make it fly!"
Holio's breath hitched. When he spoke again, his tone was earnest: "…The country's income was in deficit again last year, Your Majesty! You need to pay attention to your spending!"
"Muhahaha! Holio, you're so funny. I am one of the Four Emperors! How could I lack money? Just the offerings from those rats must be an astronomical figure, right?"
Holio's earnestness was too absurd, and Nero burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.
Silence. On the other end of the den den mushi, there was a deathly silence. For a moment, only Nero's fading laughter remained in the room.
"…"
"…"
"Hmm, red bean paste? (Really?)"
"Hong dou ni!"
"…Hmm… Corruption?"
"No!"
"Every country always has one or two big corrupt officials. I order you to find him immediately!"
"…"
"It seems the fat cat is hiding very deep! No matter, when I return, I will definitely investigate to the bottom of this!"
"…It might be very difficult for Your Majesty to find the fat cat, but I have a copy here, your spending catalog from last year, plus the previous two years, which are about as thick as a dictionary."
"Urusai! Urusai! I am the Emperor! What's wrong with having a few hobbies? What if I spend more money? Isn't it appropriate to live a more luxurious life?"
Nero pounded the table, covering up her guilt: "I am the face of the country, of course, only good things can match me. Isn't it normal for good things to be a bit expensive?"
"Childbirth among women, Fishman Island, the sea train, and the underwater transparent tunnel, let's not even mention those!"
Holio's breathing on the other end became heavy: "Why did one of your paintings cost one billion Berries? And five hundred million for red wine? And what's with that three hundred million meal? Did you eat golden meat????"
"Hmm, there was indeed such a dish…" Nero mumbled softly.
"In short! Now I need to select people to go to Flevance, and I'm afraid I'll need to borrow Your Majesty's prestige."
Holio emphasized his tone again, speaking almost word by word.
"No problem! Hmm, we're all our own people, I'll lend you my name for free."
Nero gave an awkward laugh and took a sip of the tea on the table.
A cross mark appeared on the forehead of Nero's den den mushi, indicating that Holio on the other end was still a bit annoyed by her answer.
"I've already notified the finance department. Your Majesty, your daily pocket money will only be one hundred million Berries from now on…"
Nero instantly roared upon hearing this figure: "Nani? What can I do with that little Berries? Are you trying to starve me to death?"
"Anyone who can starve to death with one hundred million Berries a day should have died a long time ago!!!"
Holio also roared back defiantly, then harshly hung up the den den mushi.
"moshi moshi? Hmm! Hello? Bastard!!!"
Nero slammed her hands on the table, causing the teacup and teapot to be jolted off.
Behind the bedroom door, Tom, Iceberg, and Franky removed their ears from the door, looking at each other in silence.
After a while, Iceberg was the first to speak.
"Well, when we get to Nicuss, I will definitely work hard to build a good sea train for Lady Nero."
"…The Franky-Go series too." Franky followed up with a sentence.
"How about that, I told you Nicuss would be a good place," Tom also said dryly.
"…"
Oh my god! I never knew in my life that one hundred million could be equivalent to a day's spending. If you had shown your financial power earlier, I might not have been able to handle it.
Tom felt a pang in his heart. These two boys were really getting to enjoy the finer things.
Iceberg and Franky no longer felt any discomfort at this point.
Bad news: Overseas exchange, far from home.
Good news: All expenses covered, no budget limit.
First lesson in broadening horizons — "The Emperor's Pocket Money."
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