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Vol 02 Chapter 43: Tax Collector

 

The new lord is a reasonable man.

That was the assessment of the new lord by the residents of the Aris territory.

There was no military conscription. If one performed labor, they were paid accordingly.

Taxes were surprisingly low. Moreover, those who couldn’t engage in farming properly, such as widows, were given a special job… paper making.

Furthermore, the statement made to the blacksmith, 「Yes, it’s not a tax. I won’t impose emergency taxes unless there’s a war or natural disaster that urgently requires supplies,」 quickly spread throughout the Aris territory.

King Ferme often requisitioned supplies, and Ragou Aris also imposed emergency taxes similarly. That was no longer the case.

The residents held strong expectations for Almus.

However, at the same time, some thought that he did strange things. For example, when he created the position known as tax collector.

The vassals of the new lord that came with him from the forest, became the new tax collectors. They were also called equites.

They were exceptionally skilled in martial arts, and in addition, all of them could read, write, and calculate. As soon as the new lord took office, he dispatched these tax collectors to all the villages.

They then surveyed all the farmlands in the village, recording their size and owners on paper. To the residents of the Aris territory, this was truly an incomprehensible act.

It made no sense.

Moreover, the tax collectors also said.

「Listen, from now on, we will come to collect the taxes. It’s not much different since we will only be receiving the taxes collected by the village head. Don’t worry… but we will not tolerate tax evasion or embezzlement.」

For the village heads, it saved them the trouble of transporting the taxes to the capital, so they accepted the change although they found it incomprehensible.

By June, when the time actually came to collect the taxes…

「Hey, the taxes are short. Is this really everything?」

Ron glared at the village head in front of him while asking. The village head, groveling, answered.

「Yes, it’s true. Do you have any proof that it’s short?」

「Yes. The expected harvest and the amount of tax collected here are vastly different. I haven’t heard any reports of a poor harvest this time.」

The expected harvest refers to the yield estimated based on the usual amount of harvest reported by the villagers, the size of the land, and this year’s weather conditions. Except for some minor differences, unless there is a significant natural disaster, the expected harvest should not greatly differ from the actual harvest.

This suggested the possibility of embezzlement by the village head.

「Alright. We’re going to check.」

Saying so, Ron and Soyon, ignoring the village head’s attempt to stop them, entered the village head’s house.

They carefully observed the head’s house. Possibly due to his status as village head, his house was not a pit dwelling. It had a proper floor.

They walked across the floor.

「Hmm?」

Ron noticed something odd. He tapped the floor with the hilt of his sword. For some reason, the sound was different at that spot.

The two exchanged looks. The village head’s face turned pale.

Ron raised his sword and slammed it down onto the floor. The sword pierced through. They inserted their hands into the crack and pulled it up together.

With a creaking noise, the floor was lifted. Beneath the floor was a large space. Hidden there was a significant amount of wheat.

「What is this?」

「Uh… this is, you see…」

The village head stammered. Ron, looking coldly at the wheat, said,

「Embezzlement, then. Embezzlement is a serious crime. If I remember correctly… it was five lashes, wasn’t it?」

Hearing Ron’s words, the village head collapsed to his knees. He bowed deeply.

「Please, I beg of you. Don’t tell the lord of this… I will give you a third… no, two-thirds of this wheat… so please…」

「Don’t you dare!!」

Ron drew his sword and swung it. Some of the hair of the village head fell to the ground, cut. The village head turned pale.

「Add to embezzlement bribery. That was also five lashes if I recall correctly.」

「Please, have mercy…」

「Say that to the lord.」

Ron and Soyon called the villagers to load the wheat onto a wagon and then left the scene.

「This makes twelve cases of bribery and embezzlement. Isn’t it too much?」

「Village heads embezzling taxes is very common. That’s why even with heavy taxation, King Ferme wasn’t able to collect enough to maintain the country.」

Iarl, who joined them on the way, answered Ron’s question. He was still learning to read, so he had an assistant with him. He had also finished collecting taxes and was on his way to report to Almus.

「But you know, Ron-kun, you were really cool.」

「Really? I practiced, you know. Since Leader is too kind, I thought we’d be the strict ones.」

Iarl watched the couple flirting shamelessly in front of him while cursing them with a half-smile.

「By the way, aren’t we short on horses? We need them for a lot of things; cavalry, collecting taxes, tilling the land, and other things. Shouldn’t we buy more?」

「The lord is already considering buying horses. I heard he’s negotiating with a Kirisian merchant.」

「Is that so… But I wonder how we’ll manage the costs. Can we really buy enough horses with just the sales from paper?」

Currently, the Aris territory was mass-producing paper by gathering widows and children. However, there was a limit to the number of trees that could be turned into paper.

Whether that would be enough to acquire the horses, and whether it was possible to maintain that many horses, remained a question.

「After we move this to the mansion’s storehouse, next is the village to the north… It’s far, so we might need to stay overnight. Sigh…」

「Well, we’ll have some free time after we finish this. Let’s keep at it until then. The hardest part is for those two.」

In the former King Ferme’s palace. Now supposedly the love nest of Almus and Tetra, it had turned into a hell far from a love nest.

◇

「Damn… there is too much!! After all this time, we only have a quarter done…」

「…To be precise, a quarter of the current reports. Probably more will come.」

「I know… please, don’t say it…」

Creating a census and collecting taxes properly. That is the obvious thing to do.

I never realized this obvious task would be this hard…

At one point, I wondered why nobody had done this before, and the answer is before me, it’s not that no one thought of doing it, it’s that no one was able to do it.

「When Ron and the others return, we’ll need to ask for their help. We can’t handle this with just the two of us…」

「Agreed. I wish everyone would finish quickly…」

Everyone is currently working hard, collecting taxes throughout the Aris territory. They must be tired.

I truly feel sorry.

But you know,

We’re even more tired!!

「Sigh… Do we have to do this every season…? This is going to kill me.」

「It’s okay. Next year, we’ll have ten more people who can do this. Meaning, ten more tax collectors. That should make the work easier… hopefully.」

「But, you know, we’ll only have a hundred at most, right?」

There are a hundred children who came with me. So, the limit for bureaucrats at this moment is a hundred.

Currently, we have seventy people who can be used as bureaucrats, and we reached that number after recruiting even very young girls. At this rate even if we increase the number of bureaucrats by thirty more…

「We really need to focus on training personnel, huh?」

「Yes, we do. Let’s discuss it later.」

So, that means one more task has been added. Sigh… This is stressful.

「Hey… Can you come here for a bit?」

「Hm? Mm!」

I pressed my lips against Tetra’s, forcibly pushing her down.

「Shall we take a break?」

「Mm… Yes, only a little bit…」

Tetra closed her eyes. I reached my hand towards Tetra’s chest…

「Um, here are the additional reports…」

I made eye contact with Lulu. Lulu quickly looked away, silently placing the documents on the desk.

「Um… Maybe it’s better to choose a different place for this?」

Lulu said that and left.

This is awkward.

What to do.

「What shall we do?」

Tetra asked me, looking straight at me.

「Hmm, let’s save it for tonight. Kind of lost the mood anyway. And…」

We need to get through these additional documents quickly.

◇

Side Story: The Bra

「Hey, Tetra. Would you show me your chest?」

「Hm? You don’t need permission for that; they’re yours, so feel free to touch them whenever you want.」

She says such pleasing things… But this time, it’s not about touching them.

「What’s that?」

「Underwear. It’s handmade. I just want to check the size.」

I attached the handmade bra to Tetra’s chest.

The size is perfect. It’s thanks to my diligence in checking them every day.

「How does it feel?」

「…Strange. But not bad.」

「Good, that’s a relief.」

There are no undergarments in the Adernian Peninsula. They wear something like a waistcloth, but that can’t really be considered underwear.

Tetra’s breasts sway so much that I can’t concentrate.

Well, if it were someone else’s, it would be a feast for the eyes, but since it’s my wife’s… I have to protect them from indiscreet eyes. Well, fortunately? Tetra’s breasts are average in size.

「Wearing this will prevent your breasts from sagging.」

「Really? How many do you have?」

「Just one prototype for now… but if you want more, I can make them.」

「Then, I’ll need five… teach me how to make them. I’ll make them myself.」

I don’t really mind making them myself… It’s quite enjoyable to make them while imagining Tetra’s chest.

But refusing for that reason would make me a pervert.

 

AN: Neither of them knew that, decades later, bras would spread across the entire Adernian Peninsula.