Fief Tax (4)
"Saintess, no matter how I turn it over in my mind, this does not sit right with me."
Phai-ton carefully opened his mouth toward the Saintess as she emerged from the castle after checking on the condition of the Count's daughter.
The Saintess tilted her head and furrowed her brow.
"What do you mean?"
"I speak of Special Tax Collector Rohan Blackwood."
"Brother Rohan? Why so suddenly?"
"He is a man difficult to trust. There are far too many suspicious points about him."
"Hmm. Is that so?"
"Saintess, I beg you to heed my frank counsel. It is possible that he, too, is a contractor—just like Count Richmond."
"I did vaguely sense something of the sort during our conversation yesterday."
When the Saintess answered with a casual shrug of her shoulders, as if it were no great matter, Phai-ton nearly leapt out of his skin.
"Then all the more reason you must keep your distance from him!"
"Is there truly any need for that?"
"Saintess! Just what is the reason for your obsession with this Rohan fellow? Have you not seen with your own eyes how dangerous contractors are, right here in the Richmond fief?!"
"Though demons may sow chaos across the world with their cunning tongues, is it not humans who fall to their temptations and commit sin?"
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"That your logic—that all contractors are dangerous beings—goes too far, Commander. By that measure, humanity itself would be a dangerous existence."
At the Saintess's voice, colder than anything he was accustomed to hearing from her, Phai-ton sucked in a sharp breath.
Of course, even within the Temple, interpretations and opinions regarding demons differed from cleric to cleric.
Even so, the words the Saintess had just spoken were the sort of dangerous remark that left ample room for controversy.
"I am well aware that most of those who have contracted with demons thus far have brought great turmoil in their wake. But there have been others who did not, have there not?"
"Do you believe Rohan Blackwood belongs among the latter? How can you say such a thing after witnessing the words and deeds he has shown until now? That man does not even possess faith!"
"Haah. Commander Phai-ton, from where I stand, you are allowing private emotion to cloud your objective judgment."
"Kh—! Th-then at least tell me the reason. Why do you show such interest in him?"
Phai-ton thumped his chest as if choking on injustice and frustration.
The Saintess gazed quietly at him for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.
"I could not see the Star Track upon him."
"Th-that cannot be! Could you not have been mistaken?"
"I am certain. I could find not the faintest trace upon him."
"......!!"
Phai-ton could not contain his shock.
The Star Track—the Saintess's ability to perceive the destinies of others as faint traces left behind like falling stars.
It was a gift of the Goddess, bestowed only upon the Saintess chosen by Her.
Yet because she could see only the traces, the fates she could confirm remained extremely broad and abstract.
And yet that Track, which ought to be visible upon any living being, had not appeared at all.
By any common sense, it was impossible.
"Just what is that man's true nature? Is he some cursed creation?"
"That, I do not know either."
"This is no ordinary matter. We must inform the main Temple at once."
"Resolving what has happened here comes first."
"Ahem! Ahem! Forgive me. I spoke out of turn without realizing…."
Still reeling from the considerable shock, Phai-ton cleared his throat awkwardly.
In the meantime, the Saintess alone lifted her gaze to the sky with an utterly grave expression and sank into thought.
One whose Track cannot be seen is either a hero or a calamity who has stepped outside the order of the world—one for whom the Goddess has not fixed a destiny. Which of the two could he be…?
Rohan Blackwood was a person of interest who would absolutely have to be tracked and observed even after this affair was concluded.
I will not let him slip away.
The Saintess bit down hard on her lip and clenched both fists tight.
Their meeting was surely something the Goddess Herself had guided—part of Her design.
The moment this matter ended, she would follow Rohan to the capital.
"Commander, what of the reply from the main Temple?"
"It should arrive around tomorrow, but since the answer is already decided, it would be best to make preparations in advance."
"Yes. I was thinking the same. The Count's Track, which had already been tangled, has turned crimson."
"A crimson Track means…."
"Blood, war, and ruin."
Saintess and Phai-ton alike faced each other with solemn expressions and nodded.
"Holy Knight Phai-ton, prepare the Purification Work."
"All things according to the Goddess's will. I receive your command."
When a secret royal inspector comes to crush a corrupt county magistrate, what does he kick the door open and brandish?
A horse plaque? Wrong.
It is the measuring rod—the standard ruler used to check length and weight.
Why, of all the countless tools available, pull out a ruler?
The greatest reason is to confirm whether the magistrate has been playing games with the taxes.
In the same way, the tools required when conducting a tax audit in a place like this are none other than the imperial-certified scale and weights.
And these are essential items that tax collectors of the Treasury must always carry when departing on official travel, just in case of unforeseen circumstances.
"Secretariat Rhea, are the scale and weights prepared?"
"Yes sir! Preparation complete!"
The instant the words left my mouth, Rhea came running up lugging a box stamped with the imperial crest—nearly as large as her own body.
After confirming the scale and weights inside, I nodded with a crooked little smile.
I had thought I would never have use for these in my entire life, and yet a day like this had come.
Truly, life was something you never quite figured out no matter how long you lived it.
"Good. Then there's no need to delay—we head to the lord's castle at once."
"Please wait a moment! We still don't have the enforcement authorization—"
"Tsk tsk. Don't you know the concept of act first, report later?"
"Excuse me?!"
At the sight of me clicking my tongue while shrugging on my coat, Rhea's mouth fell wide open.
I merely shrugged my shoulders under her stare that seemed to ask whether I had lost my mind.
Well, "act first, report later"—as if this were some battlefield. Even though the words had come out of my own mouth, it was complete and utter nonsense that didn't even sound like language.
"Tax Collector, a reply from the capital should arrive in just a few days. Authorization might not even be granted, so please, let's just wait a little."
"Hah. And here we are in a situation where every hour counts."
"I know. I saw the state of this place with my own two eyes. But this really doesn't feel right."
"That is not a matter for you to judge—it is a matter for me to judge. I clearly said I would take full responsibility. Why so many worries?"
"Because I am the Tax Collector's only aide!"
When I laid on the shameless sarcasm with a face of pure iron, Rhea shot up from her seat with tears welling and bellowed at the top of her lungs.
Huh? Did I go too far?
Ah, wait. That's not it.
No—what the hell did this woman eat wrong this morning?
How dare a newbie raise her decibels at me?
You brat! You'll get crushed to death under the leftover civil-service seniority I've been chewing on!
Ha! This is driving me insane.
The Treasury is running just fine. Just fine.
But when Rhea came at me like that, I found myself at a loss for words.
A fresh shock I hadn't felt in a long while, you could say.
Looks like she's not destined for the long, thin career path either.
Yet the emotion that rose next was pity.
With a personality like that, making a living as a civil servant would be hard enough—what was she going to do after I quit?
As if working under me weren't already enough to make her the ugly duckling of the entire Treasury.
Aigoo. Your fate's a rough one too.
"Uh, a-anyway, the date the Tax Collector notified the Count of still has several days left, doesn't it?"
Whether she sensed my concern for my junior or not—
Rhea, who had been the one shouting, now flustered and stammering, clung to me.
"I'll work really, really hard, so please! At this rate you'll get dragged before the disciplinary committee again! Just a few days! Please hold out for just a few days!"
She was a human leech and no mistake.
Her earnestness was so touching that for a fleeting moment I considered putting it off a few days.
Not a chance in hell.
This, too, was all part of my grand design.
I firmly shook my head.
Sorry, Rhea. Let me live a little too!
"4th Grade Senior Secretariat Rhea. Straighten your attire, take the scale and weights, and come outside. From this moment, the tax audit begins."
Behind me as I headed out first came the sound of Rhea's sniffling, but I bit my lip hard and pretended not to hear as I walked on.
Anyone watching would think a pair of lovers were breaking up.
"Turn back. His Lordship has forbidden the two of you entry."
Sure enough, the moment Rhea and I arrived at the lord's castle—
the guards came pouring out exactly as expected and blocked the gate.
Their uniformly pale, emotionless faces still gave me a slight chill, but—
I twisted my expression into a scowl and raised my voice at them.
"I am Special Tax Collector Rohan Blackwood, 1st Grade Management Officer of the Treasury. From this moment I will conduct a tax audit upon the Richmond fief. Open the gates at once and unlock the warehouses."
"Our apologies. We follow only His Lordship's orders."
"Obstructing the rightful execution of official duties is punishable under Imperial law. If you do not wish to suffer an ugly fate, step aside at once."
"Our apologies. We cannot."
And while I was locked in a war of words with the guards—
Count Richmond, having heard the news and come running, thrust his face over the palisade.
"A tax audit?! Do you truly mean to see this through to the end with me?! You madman who wants to die!"
He screeched at the top of his lungs as if ready to hurl fireballs at me that very instant.
"Ah. Perfect timing. Kindly open the gate for us."
"Shut your mouth!"
"Is there something weighing on your conscience? Why refuse a tax audit?"
"Wh-what?! You're the one springing a tax audit out of nowhere! The permit—where is your permit?!"
"First, open the gate, if you would."
"Ha! I knew it! You orc-toenail scum! You mean to conduct a tax audit without a permit? How dare you try to bluff your way through?! And you call yourself a civil servant after that?!"
"Now, now. This is becoming difficult."
I scowled fiercely and took a step forward.
At that, Count Richmond, veins bulging in his neck, bellowed at the garrison.
"Stop him! No matter what happens, do not let that bastard set foot inside!"
At the same time, as if they had been waiting for the cue, archers appeared atop the palisade, and the men before the gate drew their shields.
Now!
At last the moment had come.
Seizing the chance, I kicked off the ground, leapt up, and hurled my entire body straight into the shield right in front of me.
—THUD!!
"Guhhk!!"
The instant my body high-fived the shield—
I timed it perfectly, let out a scream, and toppled straight backward.
"Wha—?! Has that bastard lost his mind?"
Count Richmond's face was a portrait of pure panic.
Sensing that the plan had landed exactly as intended, I went one better and rolled across the ground with every ounce of strength I had.
"Gyaaaah!"
"T-Tax Collectoooor!!"
Startled Rhea came scrambling over in a panic, threw her arms around me where I lay sprawled on the ground, and wailed.
"D-don't make me laugh! This cheap little sleight of hand—!"
Count Richmond dithered like a dog desperate to take a dump, then bolted from the spot in a flurry.
Peering through half-lidded eyes to confirm it, I allowed myself a small smile.
Sorry. No hard feelings.