"Your Majesty's wish is indeed also my long-cherished desire, but now..."
Candice hadn't been this happy for a long time. She was certainly delighted if her dream in her homeland could be realized in the Elasia Empire.
But her instinctive calmness prevented her from being immersed in wild joy.
She knew that Elasia had no money now, the treasury was virtually empty.
And even the powerful Iron Empire's finances were in a tight state.
And that extremely cautious Imperial Sister would never provide financial support to Elasia under any circumstances.
"Of course, I also know there's no money, but you can just proceed with the work, and you can leave the money issue to me."
This statement instead caused Candice to misunderstand.
"Your Majesty, I must remind you, I've already made those corrupt officials disgorge as much money as possible, and while the amount is indeed substantial, the enormous expenditure required to maintain the empire's operation is beyond your imagination."
Candice said seriously.
Before the coup, Elasia's financial chain was already on the verge of collapse.
Faced with the already chaotic Elasia, Candice had been struggling this week, and had only just managed to pay the salaries of basic officials that had been delayed for two years.
She knew that changing Elasia, fighting against the Undead Calamity, helping humanity survive a once-in-ten-thousand-years disaster—all these major tasks required money.
Small matters cost small money, but big matters require big money.
Not to mention anything else, the basic officials of Elasia couldn't even get their basic salaries before.
And without a salary, there was no food to eat.
People who can't eat would do anything.
Stealing, robbing, and cheating were just small tricks; people truly driven by hunger would even resort to cannibalism.
In comparison, corruption could even be said to be humane.
So the first step in governing Elasia was to quickly pay out salaries.
And paying salaries required money.
One person's salary wasn't much, but the salaries for an entire country were no small matter.
Especially in Elasia's current financial situation.
Candice had nearly used up all the confiscated money just to pay out salaries.
Now, Elasia truly had no money.
But after hearing Candice's words, Elashia didn't give up.
In the game, even in the route where Elashia acted fastest, building a magic academy would be a matter for a year later.
But now, she wanted to build it today!
The common currency on the Abyss Marsh continent was gold, silver, and copper coins.
The raw materials for these couldn't be obtained in a short time.
But Elashia had the system!
As long as she did something that could change humanity's fate, through the system's rewards, Elashia could obtain an endless stream of gold.
Moreover, unlike in the game, Elashia planned to directly convert the royal garden into a magic academy. Compared to building a giant academy from scratch, this would save a considerable amount of money.
"It's fine, I'll figure out the money issue, you just focus on the actual construction."
Elashia gave Candice a mysterious smile.
"It's just about 100,000 gold coins, right? I certainly know how much money it will cost."
Candice looked at Elashia in shock.
This was exactly her estimate when she was in the Iron Empire.
"Don't worry, I'll get the money."
Elashia's smile appeared extremely natural.
The usually concerning Elashia now seemed completely trustworthy to Candice.
But Candice still seemed very doubtful.
Sigh, after all, she was Candice, whose caution was despised by players who wanted to "do good deeds."
[System Task Issued]
[Task One: "No money? That's simple, we can find ways to rob!" Order the army to disguise as bandits and attack, robbing passing pedestrians and caravans. Task Reward: 100,000 gold coins]
[Task Two: "No money? That's simple, we can go out and 'sell' ourselves" Take Candice to do things that can "make quick money." Task Reward: 10 kilograms of gold]
[Task Three: "A daughter asking her mother for money is reasonable, right?" Ask Candice to request money from the Iron Empress. Task Reward: Sword of Heaven]
[Task Four: "Alright~ I have a secret I can't tell~" Tell Candice you can find ways to get money, but can't tell her the specific method. Task Reward: Skill: Disguise (Can transform into the appearance you want for two hours, but can't deviate too much from your original appearance)]
Goodness.
The first option immediately made Elashia's vision go dark.
I'm not the "Ying" Empress.
Even if I were, she robbed others, not her own people!
Option two was even more outrageous. Elashia could see at a glance that the system's "make quick money" wasn't a good thing.
Even if Elashia really wanted to do it, Candice would never agree!
She would probably be severely educated by Candice again.
Option three seemed normal, but Elashia couldn't do it either.
First, the time to reveal to Candice that she knew about her own origins hadn't come yet. Rashly disclosing such an important matter might arouse Candice's suspicion.
Moreover, Elashia knew that the powerful Iron Empire's economic situation was actually very tight now, even more so than Elasia's.
In order to respond promptly to the outbreak of the Undead Calamity, the Iron Empress had expanded the already astonishingly numerous Iron Legion to a full 200,000 people.
The Elasia Imperial Guard, with average equipment and training intensity, only had 30,000 people, and even so, the maintenance cost of the Imperial Guard had always been a major problem for the Elasia Empire.
Not to mention the well-equipped and well-trained Iron Legion.
In the game, the paper combat effectiveness of one Iron Legion soldier was greater than the sum of five Elasia Imperial Guard soldiers.
The maintenance cost of such a massive, top-tier equipped and trained super legion was truly an astronomical figure.
And to achieve the quality the Iron Empress wanted, the army needed at least five years of training.
Now it was the third year since the Iron Empire's rapid military expansion.
If this army was truly trained properly, it would be humanity's greatest pillar.
Even if Elashia herself starved to death, with her country destroyed, she absolutely would not ask her biological mother for a single coin.
And she definitely wouldn't give in.
Although the reward for option four was somewhat awkward, and the method a bit embarrassing, it was the only feasible plan that wouldn't lead to serious consequences.
Combining this with the fact that the current Candice cared about her much more than in the game, option four actually seemed viable.
If that was the case, then Elashia had no choice but to take advantage of being a sixteen-year-old girl.
"Alright, I have a secret I can't tell~ Trust me."
Elashia used her two slender, white-jade-like small hands to hold Candice's hand, and looked at Candice's emerald eyes with her own moist large eyes.