Chapter 85: How to Spend Money

Chapter 85: How to Spend Money

Although she had been living as a woman for hundreds of years, the competitive spirit of a young man vying for power hadn’t extinguished upon entering this world.

In her mind, the Elven Race under her leadership should have been flourishing again, not deteriorating further.

Linis wasn’t surprised by Airael’s response.

Looking at Airael, she said, “Your Majesty, this requires you to have a good talk with Domiya. I think Domiya shouldn’t give you too much trouble.”

Airael frowned.

“Isn’t there any other way?”

“In that case, Your Majesty will need to increase investment in other areas, to reduce the proportion of military and scientific expenditures within the royal budget. However, this also means the royal treasury will need to allocate a large amount of gold each year. Even if the treasury has ample gold reserves, it shouldn’t be spent recklessly.”

“Building the kingdom shouldn’t count as reckless spending, right?” Airael chuckled. “And the gold spent will ultimately flow back to me.”

Upon hearing this, Linis remembered Airael’s previous words directed at the Elven Lords and couldn’t help but smile wryly, “That may be true. However, there’s one more thing for you to be aware of, Your Majesty. If you spend more, you need to closely monitor the flow of that money.”

Linis’s warning made Airael pause slightly, then she realized something and said, “Linis, my money isn’t easy to take. If I find someone misusing it, don’t blame me for being unkind.”

After saying this, Airael’s delicate face turned fierce.

She had taken many lives on her recent outing, especially participating in several major battles, accumulating a bit of battlefield prestige.

Seeing Airael like this, Linis nodded in satisfaction.

Letting Her Majesty venture out for training was indeed the right decision.

Having said what needed to be said, Linis took her leave.

Next, she had to hurry to execute the decisions discussed with Airael.

If this matter succeeded, the Elven Race would undoubtedly enter a period of development, and with Domiya’s technological support, Domiya felt filled with hope for the future of the Elven Race.

After Linis left, Airael became leisurely in the royal palace garden.

As a queen, she didn’t need to handle everything personally; she just needed to make decisions and pass them on to those who would execute them.

Clearly, Airael positioned herself as the decision-maker and leader.

She didn’t oversee the implementation of specific tasks; those could be wholly entrusted to others.

Not to mention, her current body didn’t allow for excessive fatigue.

After taking another bite of pastry, Airael shifted her gaze back to her small belly, smiling gently, naturally emanating a nurturing maternal glow.

As time passed, the life within her abdomen became more pronounced.

Airael felt her connection to it deepening more and more.

She was eagerly looking forward to the birth of her child.

“Sweet baby, Mommy really can’t wait for that day to come, though your father probably won’t be able to see it.”

After murmuring to herself, Airael’s expression turned somewhat complex.

……

The following morning, inspired by her conversation with Linis, Airael summoned her Minister of Finance Rugus as soon as she arrived at the palace.

Rugus hurried in, respectfully bowing to Airael.

“Good morning, Your esteemed Majesty!”

“Rugus, I hope my urgent summons didn’t interrupt your work.”

“No! My job is to serve Your Majesty. If you summon me, I will naturally come to see you.”

“Hmm.” Airael murmured softly, appearing somewhat pleased with Rugus’s response, then said, “I plan to increase investments in schools and infrastructure. What do you think?”

“All decisions will comply with Your Majesty’s wishes.”

“Tsk! I wanted to ask your opinion, not kick the ball back to me.”

Airael said, clearly unhappy.

Rugus immediately looked anxious: “Your Majesty, please don’t be angry. From my perspective, if we want to increase investment in schools and infrastructure, a slight increase is enough; there’s no need for a large amount.”

“Explain.”

“Schools are new institutions. It’s not good to invest too much before we see results. As for infrastructure, I believe there isn’t much that needs improvement in the capital.”

“So, does that mean there’s nowhere to spend money?”

“No! No!”

Rugus quickly shook his head: “There are plenty of places to spend money, it’s just a matter of whether it’s worthwhile.”

“I think schools are worth my investment; they serve a significant purpose. You shouldn’t approach this with a trial-and-error mindset; this is something we must pursue and do well. Do you understand?”

“I understand!”

Rugus bowed his head in response.

“Well then, go back and calculate how much additional spending is appropriate for schools. Starting a school will definitely come with many expenses; don’t be afraid to ask for more money as long as you ensure it’s spent wisely.”

Airael instructed.

“Understood!”

Rugus replied once more.

With Airael saying this, what else could he say?

Ultimately, he was just a worker; whatever Her Majesty instructed, he would follow.

“By the way, if the Life Temple needs funds, you can allocate some to them. Although they aren’t part of our government institutions, they carry significant responsibilities and helping them out wouldn’t hurt.”

Airael suddenly thought the Life Temple might be planning something big soon.

Plus, this was part of what she asked Linis to handle.

She couldn’t just let others do the work without providing them with benefits.

Thinking this way, Airael felt yesterday’s mention of money by Linis was likely related to this.

Of course, she was only guessing; she didn’t know the specifics and didn’t plan to ask.

Some matters were better left unspoken; it sufficed to be aware of them.

Even if there were indeed such a situation, she wouldn’t say much.

Linis was already taking great care of her.

Hearing that funds would be allocated to the Life Temple, Rugus paused slightly, then responded as usual, “Understood!”

After Rugus left, Airael’s thoughts became lively.

She realized she could not only send money to the Life Temple.

There were still many grassroots organizations within the Elven Race.

Of course, the Life Temple resembled a semi-official, semi-private organization.

And she could use money to draw those grassroots institutions closer.

After all, civilian power was also quite strong.

With plenty of gold in her treasury, she could afford to splurge for a long time.