“Please return your F-rank mercenary badge to me.”
“Here it is.”
Astan took the badge from inside his clothes and handed it over.
“Yes. Congratulations on your promotion.”
“Thank you.”
“Is there a particular request you are looking for……?”
“I'd like to visit Rabin Village first. I'll come back another time.”
“Yes, of course. Have a safe journey.”
Astan nodded and left the guild.
Then he climbed onto the freight wagon he had parked at the guild stable.
Now that he'd raised his mercenary rank, it was about time to go to Rabin Village.
A lord could not leave his territory neglected forever.
“Tonight…… I'd better rest at the inn.”
The sky was beginning to darken.
Astan pulled on the reins and left the stable.
He spent the night at the inn he had visited the day before yesterday.
As soon as morning came, he walked through the village streets and bought various clothes, daily necessities, and food.
He should prepare in advance.
He had no idea whether Rabin Village would have the clothes, supplies, and food he needed.
By the time he finished, the freight wagon was full.
“Let's go!”
Astan unfolded his map and drove the wagon across the plain.
At this pace, he would probably arrive around lunchtime.
I can have lunch in my new home.
-SKREEE!
He easily brought down the goblins he encountered on the way.
Two-star magic beasts were no longer a match for him.
An Intermediate-grade demon was comparable to a four-star magic beast in the first place.
It would be strange for him to struggle against a two-star one.
Rattle-rattle. Rattle-rattle. Rattle.
Astan gradually slowed the wagon.
He had finally reached Rabin Village.
“……A rural village really is a rural village.”
There were twenty to thirty wooden buildings.
The residents' clothes were quite shabby.
They looked more like people from a slum than villagers.
Astan sighed softly and drove the wagon toward them.
“……?”
A middle-aged man looked up at Astan.
“My name is Astan N. Payson…… I am the lord of this village.”
“Pardon……?”
“I would like to meet the village headman. Could you show me the way?”
“You are…… our lord……?”
The middle-aged man's eyes hardened fiercely.
He looked angry.
Astan understood his anger.
The moment he saw the villagers' condition, he had thought, 'Could it be……?'
'They must have been driven into poverty by the high taxes.'
In other words, as their lord, he was responsible for their poverty.
CRACK!
The man clenched his fist.
He must have wanted to swing it right then.
But he did not.
The reason was simple.
Astan was a noble.
Assaulting a noble could later bring trouble upon the man's family as well.
Holding back anger that seemed ready to burst, he bit hard on his lip.
“……This way.”
Astan followed him, pulling on the reins.
Soon, the largest two-story wooden house in the village came into view.
Of course, it was only large by Rabin Village standards.
In Cielo Village, it would have been an ordinary house.
Knock, knock, knock-
“Headman, our lord has arrived.”
As soon as Astan climbed down from the driver's seat, a white-haired old man came out of the house.
He looked at Astan with an impassive face.
“I am Astan N. Payson…… head of House Payson.”
Astan introduced himself with a confident expression, showing his noble's nameplate and the imperial notice.
The old man's expression did not change.
“Yes. I was told in advance that you had been demoted and were coming to Rabin Village. As you can see, our village can barely afford to pay any taxes. It is a very small village, with a population of about eighty-three.”
“That does not matter. More importantly, please gather all the villagers. I have something to say.”
“……Understood.”
A lord's orders were absolute in his territory.
The headman let his shoulders droop and asked the middle-aged man to do something.
About ten minutes later, the villagers began to gather, one by one, in front of the headman's house.
Astan climbed onto the driver's seat and looked down at them.
'It sounded like such a small number…….'
There are more of them than I expected.
Once nearly all the villagers had assembled, Astan let out a quiet breath.
“My name is Astan N. Payson, the ‘incompetent’ lord of Rabin Village.”
“……?”
At the word ‘incompetent,’ the headman and the villagers frowned.
What on earth was he going to say?
“When the former Count and Countess of Payson died, I was so shocked that I shut myself in my bedroom for a long time. I also drove away a loyal retainer, fell for sweet words, and left all my duties to a ‘treacherous flatterer.’”
Astan clenched his fist and met the villagers' eyes.
“The fault is mine, and I cannot make excuses to anyone. My incompetence brought my family to ruin and harmed all of you who live on its lands. I intend to set that wrong right, starting now.”
“H-how can you possibly set it right?! My family can barely eat even one meal a day! We are on the verge of death!”
Astan quietly closed his eyes at the voice of a young man who had found the courage to speak.
“The taxes collected from Rabin Village until now…… I will count them as advance payment for the next three years. I will not collect a single coin in taxes from any of you for those three years.”
“……?!”
Not a single coin in taxes for three years?
Did he truly mean it?
Without taxes, the lord would have no choice but to starve.
How could a boy of only twelve make a living?
“Are you worried I will starve? No, perhaps you hope I will. If I die, House Payson will naturally disappear, and Rabin Village will pass into imperial hands.”
The villagers flinched.
'……Is that really what you were thinking?'
I'd better keep watch day and night.
Astan cleared his throat softly, took out his mercenary badge, and held it up.
“I am a B-rank mercenary.”
“……Pardon?”
Astan did not stop at the headman's startled question.
“I can currently wield the Sword Aura of a high-level Expert, and I have also learned second-circle magic…… So, contrary to your concerns, I can make a decent living.”
“Wh…… what do you mean……?”
Astan grinned at the headman's question and tapped the freight wagon twice with his foot.
“Can you not see this wagon?”
“Well…….”
“I was driven out without a coin, so I had to work as a mercenary and earn money in Cielo Village. In short, I can feed myself even without taxes.”
The headman and the villagers looked at Astan with suspicion.
What kind of bullshit was he spouting?
A twelve-year-old boy could wield the Sword Aura of a high-level Expert and use second-circle magic?
And what was that B-rank mercenary badge supposed to be?
'Could it be forged……?'
Astan sighed softly at their suspicion and made five fireballs hover in the air.
FWOOSH!
“Gasp……!”
“If you doubt me that much, come to my mansion and kill me. If you can.”
The villagers murmured in shock.
What lord in the world would tell his subjects to try to kill him?
Even the headman was left speechless by Astan's confidence.
“But…… you do not have to pay taxes for three years anyway, do you? Then would it not be all right to wait and see? If Rabin Village passes into imperial hands, you will have to pay taxes again.”
He had a point.
Their lives would improve greatly if they paid no taxes for three years.
Of course, even if the village passed into imperial hands, the tax rate would be much lower than before.
'Three years, at least…….'
'If the lord really is a magic swordsman…… we cannot overpower him.'
'He isn't buying time to build up his strength, is he?'
While the headman and villagers were lost in thought,
“Headman.”
The headman flinched at Astan's call and turned his head.
“Please show me to the mansion where I will be staying.”
“Ah, understood.”
“Climb up beside me.”
Astan reached out and pulled the headman onto the driver's seat.
The Payson family mansion they visited together was…… terribly shabby.
Could it even be called a mansion?
The building stood on a plot of about 330 square meters.
It had two stories.
Yes, its size was not bad.
Only its exterior was terribly worn down.
“A merchant came to Rabin Village long ago and built this mansion. He built it for his retirement…… but after living here for a few years, he sold it cheaply to House Payson so he could live with his children. It has not been properly maintained, and he took all the furniture inside with him, too…….”
“…….”
It is literally just a shell.
“Still, it was built sturdily, so there is no danger of it collapsing right away.”
“Right away…….”
Astan sighed softly.
“Headman, does this village have a noticeboard?”
“Yes, of course.”
It was a board for sharing news of all kinds in the village.
The headman was responsible for maintaining it.
“I should post a notice about hiring first.”
“Pardon? Hiring……?”
“To clean and maintain a mansion this size, I will need at least five…… no, about eight servants. Please post a notice offering 200,000 wid a month.”
A wage of 200,000 wid would probably be reasonable in a rural village like Rabin.
“Eight people at 200,000 wid each…… You would have to pay 1,800,000 wid a month.”
“I can afford that much, so please write and post the notice.”
Incidentally, posting a notice also cost 5,000 wid.
The headman was not a volunteer, after all.
Astan handed him five 1,000-wid bills from inside his clothes.
“I will have to stay in Cielo Village until I find servants. And…….”
What to do with the food was another problem.
Should he take it back to Cielo Village and eat it there?
He could not cook for himself at the inn.
In that case…….
“I have no choice.”
Astan gathered the villagers again and gave them the food in the freight wagon for free.
'I'd only lose money trying to sell it back…….'
It would be better to share it with the villagers and ease their resentment, even a little.
Their reactions varied.
Some rejoiced at the plentiful meal they would enjoy for the first time in a long while.
Some tilted their heads, unable to understand their lord's intentions.
Others hardened their gazes and insisted they would not be won over by food.
Fine. It did not matter how they reacted.
For now, he needed to get rid of the food.
“I will return in two weeks. You can tell me about the hiring then.”
“Understood.”
The headman bowed as he saw Astan off.
'If I leave now…… I should arrive by evening.'
Astan pulled on the reins and sighed softly.
It was a sigh of relief.
When he had faced the villagers, his legs had trembled so badly he thought he would collapse.
When had he ever asserted himself before so many people?
“Still, their reaction wasn't bad.”
It seemed he did not have to worry about being assassinated right away.