Chapter – 24
Iola’s smiling face was calmer than ever before. He pressed a variety of emotions into that smile and gazed at Viretta with quiet intensity.
Viretta, however, was not intimidated by the look in his eyes, which seemed to regard an inept person with merciful pity.
“Taxes are something the collector must prove. If you can find me and calculate my exact earnings, I will pay you—but if not, it’s out of the question. No weakling loses to greedy pigs who bloat themselves with ambition beyond their abilities.”
Her words were bold and defiant, but the gist was clear: she intended to evade taxes.
Iola muttered bitterly.
“Filian’s tax law has evolved into a fierce battleground between Medleridge and the collectors.”
“That’s thanks to my grandfather and father.”
“You’re mistaken.”
Iola said it bluntly.
Even being mildly reprimanded twice by the kind and gentle Iola left Viretta feeling slightly intimidated. She began to offer explanations to appear favorable to her beloved fiancé.
“As a taxpayer, I hope you understand that just because something is called a tax doesn’t mean it must be paid silently. For example, if someone you meet on the street demands a toll and forcibly takes your belongings, wouldn’t we call them a robber?”
Viretta pointed to the ordinary-looking men in the street—rough, axe- and sword-wielding men with fierce expressions swarming about.
“For instance, if those men came up to us and demanded a seat fee, wouldn’t it feel more like extortion than a legitimate tax?”
“Judging by appearance alone is rude—”
“Who gave you permission to sell here? You can’t just set up without paying!”
“To operate here, you have to pay the seat fee.”
“—but at least half of your answer is correct.”
Iola’s valid point was nullified by the burly men demanding a seat fee.
Still smiling kindly, he asked,
“Excuse me, are you tax collectors or thieves?”
“Can’t you see? This is our territory! If you want to pass through, you pay tolls, seat fees, and consumption taxes, got it?”
An axe wielded by one of the men plunged into the ground next to a vendor’s stall. Viretta and Iola turned to look at each other calmly, unshaken.
“See? Despite their rough looks, they claim to be tax collectors.”
“Are you blind? They’re obviously robbers!”
A thin man next to the burly one slammed down a stall, shouting.
Viretta clapped her hands with delight.
“Exactly! Just as I thought! They seemed like thieves trying to take the common people’s money. How much is the seat fee? We only plan to sell large-horned beef here.”
“What the… these guys have no fear? Are they crazy?”
Iola, smiling brightly, and Viretta, thinking of them as tax collectors, alongside Lanken quietly handling matters behind them—it all felt strangely surreal.
Iola’s calm and composed demeanor seemed utterly unfamiliar to them. The burly men, meanwhile, looked flustered.
“It seems they see us as petty thugs trying to extort a seat fee. My brother once led a mercenary band before going bankrupt; he’s no ordinary man.”
“If you value your life, put down your weapons and lay out everything you’ve got. I’ll take only half gently. That will let you leave this village safely.”
The thin man, trying to play the instigator role, kicked a pot next to the stall.
“Or maybe you need to get beaten in front of a woman to get it through your head?”
Three of the thieves were in front of them. One wielded an axe, another a sword.
Their claim of “our territory” wasn’t false—the market offered no one to intervene. Only the three outsiders were at the mercy of the thieves’ blades.
Lanken quietly moved behind Viretta, stepping away from the overturned pot.
“Do you use that sword on your waist?”
The thieves had not perceived either Lanken, delicate in appearance, or Iola, neat and gentle-looking, as threatening.
Iola gripped the hilt of his sword with his thumb and smiled.
“I’m from Najin, the mercenary city. All men in Najin are raised to be mercenaries.”
“From Najin…!”
“I’m the one who went abroad to study, choosing scholarship over becoming a mercenary in that city.”
“Ah… huh?”
The ambiguity of his skill left everyone in a swamp of doubt. Viretta and Lanken, who had never seen Iola’s abilities, tilted their heads in curiosity.
“Therefore, I do not wish to engage in armed conflict. Do you understand?”
“Hah, what a coward. You’re not even a man. Then put your weapons down.”
“Yes. I prefer not to fight you if possible.”
Yet nothing happened.
Iola’s sword remained securely at his waist. Seeing he had no intention of laying it down, Viretta and Lanken also refrained from unloading their belongings as the thieves demanded.
A quiet moment passed.
“…What are you doing without putting down your weapon?”
“Ah, pardon me. You misunderstood. My sword is not a weapon. It’s a tool for hunting and for self-defense.”
“Does that make sense?!”
“Of course. While you could kill someone with a kitchen knife or pot, you wouldn’t call them weapons, would you? A sword is merely a blade, and if the owner uses it as armor, it becomes armor. I have no intention of cutting anyone with this sword. It is merely a defensive tool and a useful implement.”
“Stop spouting nonsense! Armor from a sword and weapon from a pot—ridiculous!”
Iola began to explain patiently. Viretta and Lanken quickly realized that this face was capable of delivering an “educational lecture” lasting over an hour.
He treated the armed thieves not as threats but as attentive students. He spread his hands and began a speech.
“For example, we are all human. Yet Viretta here has chosen to be a brave and heroic individual despite limited ability, while you have become garbage thieves, worse than dogs.”
Viretta intentionally omitted the part about “limited ability” from her perception. A mishearing, surely—she reminded herself.
But “garbage thieves worse than dogs” was not omitted, and neither were the thieves oblivious to it.
“What?! You little—are you done talking?!”
When the thief shouted in outrage, Iola replied gently.
“Did you not understand? Don’t worry, I’ll repeat. We are all human, but…”
“Why are you rambling again?! What did you just say to us? Garbage worse than…?!”
“I said you are garbage thieves. Please concentrate when others speak. As adults, you should know how to focus.”
“That’s not what I asked! Why are you so polite and annoying?!”
“C-calm down! Iola is a foreigner and not fluent in our language. Right, Iola? It’s rude to be so blunt with strangers. Calling someone a thief was excessive.”
As the thieves clenched their fists, ready to swing, Viretta stepped between them. With her left arm blocking Iola’s chest, she shook her head with a regretful expression.
“Women really know what’s what!”
Indeed, Iola had overstepped. Calling the thief “garbage thieves worse than dogs” at first meeting…
“You should have said, ‘garbage thieves worse than dogs, sir.’ Omitting the honorific was enough to provoke anger.”
When meeting someone for the first time, using proper titles is important.
“What nonsense is this?! Are you insane? Do you want to die?!”
Viretta had suspected the woman might be a thief when she applauded earlier; there was something unusual about her. But to insult them outright? The thieves gritted their teeth. Lanken, who had been silent, intervened.
“Alright! Get a hold of yourselves! Sorry, our lady and master are very naïve about worldly matters! To call someone a thief right to their face… listen carefully! These people here!”
The thieves finally straightened up, relieved to find someone who could communicate with them. Lanken raised his voice, extending five fingers toward the thieves.
“You should call them ‘garbage thieves worse than dogs, sir!’ How hard is it to attach the honorific at first meeting? Right, sir?”
“Why are you pretending to be polite while messing with people?!”
The axe, wider than his face, sank deep into the gravelly ground.
