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Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Kabur & Silavin
Peach and Wanri were attacking two lizard-like monsters in the meadow.
Kousuke, Mitsuki, and Nana were watching them from a distance.
Although they were standing by in case something happened, it was not a monster that Peach would have trouble dealing with.
Incidentally, Wanri was in a human form and was having trouble handling a weapon she was not accustomed to.
The monster the two were now facing was a blue lizard, a monster over five meters long.
It was a monster that was quick to strike, and even intermediate-level adventurers would have a hard time defeating it.
However, Peach, who stood opposite Wanri, followed up on Wanri having disoriented the monster and started toying with the blue lizard with her quickness.
Wanri also seemed to be getting more comfortable with her weapons compared to the first time she used it, and her attacks were becoming more and more precise.
“I wasn’t sure what was going to happen at first, but I think I can manage.”
They had been pressed by the blue lizard, with Peach guiding the enemy because of Wanri’s disorientation, but now they were pushing it completely.
“Yes, Peach seemed flustered by the follow-up, but she’s getting used to it.”
Mitsuki nodded at Kousuke’s observation.
Nana was at Kousuke’s feet, her belly showing and completely exposed, and she was being fluffed up.
Her wildness was completely gone.
“Oh, I think it’s about time they finish it off, right?”
Mitsuki said, and the next moment, Peach stabbed a dagger into the neck of the blue lizard.
At about the same time, Wanri also put an end to another blue lizard.
It was a good performance for a first fight.
The most important thing was that they were able to confirm the coordination between the two of them.
Perhaps sensing that the two of them had finished the job, Nana suddenly got up and started running towards the blue lizard.
“Hey, hey, look…!”
“Did she think she could take the credit?”
Mitsuki said with a giggle.
In the end, Nana was unable to take part in the process.
The meat of the blue lizard was edible, so it could be sold.
Nana stopped begging for meat when Kousuke said, “You’ll get fat.”
Kousuke was horrified by the looks from the women, but he managed to shrug it off.
After that, Kousuke and the others joined in the hunt, and they returned to the town of Eiren after hunting ten blue lizards.
On the way back, an event was waiting for them, as planned in a sense.
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In front of Kousuke and his friends, nearly ten men, including the man who had been involved with them yesterday, were waiting for them with a smirk on their faces.
Kousuke and his friends ignored them and tried to enter the town, but they were stopped by the man who took the trouble to go around them.
“Hey, wait a minute. You have to pay your taxes before entering the town.”
For a moment, Kousuke didn’t understand what was being said, and then he stopped.
“… Huh? Taxes?”
Kousuke, who had never heard of such a thing before, looked amused.
“You don’t even know that, do you? Adventurers have to pay a certain amount of money to the lord to operate in this town of Eiren.”
“I didn’t hear anything about that, though?
“Of course you didn’t. But this is common knowledge around here!”
While they were talking about this, another group of adventurers was passing through the town gates.
“It looks like the other adventurers are going through?”
“Yeah, those guys have already paid.”
Kousuke’s expression turned to one of disgust at this very fishy argument.
“I don’t trust them. What are those taxes anyway?”
“What? Taxes are taxes, right? Adventurers should just shut up and pay!”
Kousuke let out a sigh at the ridiculous story.
“I don’t owe a tax to someone who can’t even explain what it is. You can’t even prove that you are a real tax collector, can you? Who would be stupid enough to pay money to someone like that?”
The women nodded at Kousuke’s sane argument.
Seeing this, the surrounding men all tried to burst into laughter, but the man in the center stopped them.
He still grinned and spoke to them with room to spare.
“So you’re saying you want proof of this?”
“Of course. Just make sure you can explain what the taxes are for afterward.”
“…I’ll be back later to collect, so make sure you have it ready.”
Saying that, the man motioned for the people surrounding Kousuke and the others to let them through.
“Are you ok with this? It seems like they haven’t given up.”
Peach asked as she looked at the men still at the gate.
“Yeah. I’m sure they’ll come up with some more accusations. They are so persistent.”
“That’s right~”
“What accusation?”
Wanri asked with a curious look on her face.
“Well, I wonder? By the looks of him, he might really be collecting taxes.”
“Yes, I think so. He looked so used to it, and everyone around him looked at us like he was going to do it again.”
“They are doing it again?”
Kousuke chuckled at Wanri’s frown.
“People like that are persistent. I’m sure they’ll definitely do it again.”
“That’s true. Besides, it seemed like there was something going on with them.”
The man in the center, the one who had been involved yesterday, had a confident look on his face.
Or perhaps he really was playing the role of a tax collector.
After the exchange that had just taken place, there was no doubt that a troublesome event was surely waiting to happen, so Kousuke wondered what kind of response he could expect from the man next time.
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After settling the request at the public guild, Kousuke and the others went straight back to the inn.
The inn where Kousuke and the others were staying was a purveyor inn for adventurers, and adventurers were exchanging information on the first floor, which was also used as a dining room.
As Kousuke and the others were about to go down to the dining room to have dinner, the man came in again.
This time, however, a handsome man was accompanying them.
The group came straight to the table where Kousuke and the others were.
“Is it you? The one who refuses to pay what is owed?”
A beautiful man said to Kousuke as soon as he came in front of him.
Around him, the men in question were smirking and laughing.
“…. Who are you?”
“Excuse me. My name is Achilles, and I am the servant of Amidio-sama, the lord of this land.”
Achilles said, and produced a document from his pocket.
It seemed to be a document indicating that he was a tax collector.
There was no way Kousuke could tell whether it was genuine or not.
“So? Why is Achilles-san here?”
“Oh. You’ve heard from him, haven’t you? You told him that you would pay the appropriate taxes.”
“I told him indeed. However, what do you mean by “appropriate taxes” in the first place?”
If it was a tax that should be paid, Kousuke would not be reluctant to pay it.
He simply wanted to know exactly what he was paying it for.
There was another reason for Kousuke’s persistent insistence.
“What kind of things, you mean…. Yes, that’s right. Did you know that there is an activity tax?”
“Activity tax?”
“Yes, that’s right. An activity tax. It is a tax that allows adventurers to operate in the territory.”
As Achilles said this, the man behind him, who had been involved in the dispute, looked triumphant.
He must be completely convinced that this would allow him to get the tax from Kousuke.
“Is that established uniquely in this territory?”
“No. It is not only in this territory, but also elsewhere.”
What Achilles was saying was not a lie.
There were other neighboring territories besides the one Amidio ruled that had similar taxes.
And that was why some adventurers continued to pay it without questioning it.
They did not even know they were being cheated.
