The next day, as the morning sunlight illuminated the bustling streets of the city, Kirito leisurely strolled along. Beneath the daylight and his ordinary cover, his identity was that of the adopted son of a well-known merchant, with a relatively well-off and wealthy family background in the region.
He leisurely returned to his family’s grand estate. The moment he set foot at the intricately carved main gate, the servants standing on either side immediately bowed respectfully:
"The young master has returned."
Kirito gave a gentle nod, intending to step inside, when suddenly from inside the courtyard, his adoptive father—a middle-aged man with a rather short stature and a plump build—hurriedly ran out, rushing to grab his wrist:
"Hey son! Where have you been since morning? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!"
Kirito stopped in surprise, dazed as he let his father pull him straight into the house, asking:
"What’s the rush, Dad? Did something happen?"
Without answering immediately, his father pulled Kirito straight into the private parlor, then took a neatly folded letter from inside his tunic, handing it to him with a beaming expression:
"Here, take a look! It’s a huge surprise."
Kirito took the letter, casting his gaze toward the corner of the paper. Immediately, his eyes flickered slightly as he recognized the familiar imprint—the exclusive official seal of Hian Castle.
He quickly opened the letter to read. The content inside spoke of the deep friendship between the lord of Hian Castle and his adoptive father, who were long-time close confidants. Wishing to repay past kindness, the castle lord offered to bestow upon the family a minor official post within the city. However, because his adoptive father was a merchant who loved freedom and disliked being bound by the court, the castle lord decided to arrange for Kirito—his adopted son—to receive the minor official post governing the southern district of the city.
His adoptive father excitedly slapped his thigh, laughing loudly:
"Kirito, what do you think? That Hian castle lord is my close friend! Thanks to his grace, my son is about to step into the ranks of officialdom, haha! The work isn’t heavy at all; you just sit there, leisurely managing things and collecting your salary, haha!"
Kirito frowned slightly. As a Shinobi who operated exclusively in the shadows, his schedule was extremely busy and he constantly faced sudden life-or-death situations. If he now took on an official title in name, it would likely tie his hands and feet, proving inconvenient for future operations.
He pondered as he looked at his adoptive father, probing with a question:
"Dad, what specifically does this official job entail?"
His father stroked his chin, laughing heartily as he replied:
"Ah, it’s being a tax collector! Once you hold the tax post in that region, from now on our family will be completely exempt, with no need to pay a single coin of tax, haha!"
Hearing this, Kirito’s mood began to settle. He calculated mentally that tax collection wasn’t actually overly complicated. He could entirely delegate all the hard labor underneath to the clerks and subordinates to handle, while he himself only needed to stand in the background playing the role of checking account books, gathering revenues, and conducting periodic supervision. Everything seemed extremely simple and leisurely.
"Alright, if it’s just collecting taxes in the south of Hian Castle, this job sounds quite agreeable. I’ll take the post." Kirito nodded in agreement.
Hearing his son accept, his adoptive father became even more overjoyed, his hearty laughter echoing throughout the parlor:
"Haha, excellent! It’s settled then! Let me quickly write a reply letter to send to him right away."
Kirito leisurely sat sipping a cup of warm tea in the parlor, enjoying a peaceful morning after a string of busy days filled with bloody assassinations. Right as the sun climbed to its peak, casting brilliant rays through the window, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed outside. His adoptive father hurried in once again, holding a new letter in his hand with a beaming face, grinning from ear to ear:
"Kirito! That old man just sent his reply letter back to me, haha!"
He excitedly pulled up a chair to sit opposite Kirito, pouring a cup of tea for himself to quench his thirst before continuing:
"All the paperwork and official appointment documents have been completely sorted out by him. Starting tomorrow morning, the mansion’s carriage will come right to the gate to pick you up to take office in the south."
Kirito calmly nodded, setting his teacup down on the table:
"Good, it seems everything is proceeding quite smoothly and easily."
His adoptive father burst into hearty laughter, slapping his thigh with a smack as he instructed:
"Indeed! Oh, I forgot to tell you, tomorrow’s carriage ride won’t just be you alone; you’ll be traveling with two other officials. They are the ones who directly hold and command the troops in the southern district of the city."
He lowered his voice, adopting an instructional tone of experience:
"Remember to skillfully strike up a conversation and build a really good relationship with them. Tax collection sometimes encounters villagers resisting or rebelling, and at times like those, having their troops intervene will make resolving things much easier."
Kirito leisurely took another sip of tea, his sharp gaze briefly flashing with confidence:
"You can rest assured about that, I know how to handle it myself."
Seeing his son appearing composed and thorough, his father became even more pleased, laughing loudly:
"Very good! Speaking of which, I already had people pack up the entire estate and move house straight to the southern district of the city since early this morning. Over there, the land is vast and populated; with you acting as the tax official, our family can do massive business to our heart’s content, without having to worry about paying a single coin of tax to the court."
Hearing those words, Kirito, who was holding a sip of tea in his mouth, suddenly jolted, coughing violently and spitting the entire mouthful of tea out onto the table. He widened his eyes as he stared at his adoptive father with an utterly incredulous expression:
"What? It’s only been a single morning and you’ve already finished moving everything?!"
His adoptive father burst out laughing heartily, waving his sleeve with a smug look:
"Hahaha! You silly boy, in this era, when you have money in hand, what on earth isn’t done swiftly? Toss out some grease money and the servants and laborers move faster than lightning!"
The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the rows of houses, Kirito was properly dressed and waiting right in front of the main gate of the new estate.
Before long, a carriage that was exceedingly large, intricately carved, and exuded luxury and splendor slowly approached, stopping neatly right in front of his door. The carriage driver was a sturdy middle-aged man who, upon spotting Kirito, hurriedly bowed respectfully:
"Greetings, Lord Kirito, the carriage has arrived. Please step inside."
Kirito gave a light nod, taking firm steps closer as the hem of his robe brushed lightly to the rhythm of his movement. He reached out to lift the thick, heavy silk curtain, stepping fully into the spacious and airy carriage interior.
The moment he stepped inside, Kirito’s gaze immediately brushed against two figures sitting and waiting.
The man sitting on the left possessed a neatly trimmed long chinstrap beard, sharp eyes, and an imposing demeanor emanating from his sitting posture. Just by glancing at his aura and the calluses on his hands, Kirito instantly recognized him as a samurai with exceptionally high martial prowess. After all, the person entrusted with the heavy responsibility of commanding Hian Castle’s entire force of soldiers and samurai was definitely no ordinary fellow. Recently, Hian Castle continuously expanded its territorial control, and the vast majority of that monumental credit was thanks to the battle talents of military generals like him.
Sitting right beside that samurai was an exquisite woman. She wore flowing, silky long hair of a unique pale red hue, accented by an intricately detailed jeweled hairpin. She wore a noble dark purple kimono, but the design was exceptionally bold and seductive: the front lapels parted deeply and hung loosely, fully exposing her smooth, milk-white bare shoulders and her full, deeply cleft cleavage in a provocative manner. Below, the high-slit skirt revealed fair, plump thighs full of the vitality of youth as she sat cross-legged in a wildly seductive posture.
Kirito inwardly evaluated that powerful women of this era were extremely fond of wearing front-slit kimonos to display their skin; this was truly a tremendously seductive and intoxicating fashion trend.
Recalling his gaze, Kirito calmly sat down on the opposite seat, greeting in a warm, low voice:
"Hello, I am Kirito, the newly appointed tax official of the city’s southern district."
Hearing the voice, the long-bearded man immediately looked up, smiling friendly as he nodded in return:
"Pleased to meet you. I am Kazaha, the one who directly holds and controls all the samurai forces of this southern district. Very glad to accompany you."
Right afterward, the woman beside him also slowly looked up. She looked at Kirito with an amorous gaze, the corners of her lips curving upward into an extremely seductive and soft smile:
"And I am Yukino, Kazaha’s wife. Very glad to..."