Calix Castle’s First Outer Wall.
With the second outer wall not yet completed, the primary living area for players and citizens was still around the first outer wall.
Near the strategically placed gates in each direction were large plazas and central commercial districts. These areas housed inns and lodging clusters for both external visitors and long-term residents.
“Ugh, why do we have to go through this hassle?”
“We should just accept it as fate. Besides, this place is better than high-end lodgings in other territories, isn’t it?”
Early in the morning, 5th Circle Mage Regan and Ranger Shimar, members of the special investigation squad, were having a simple breakfast in the dining room of their inn.
Regan looked disgruntled, and Shimar, though not much different, was trying to comfort him.
“My apologies for bringing you to such a place instead of a more comfortable one…”
Saintess Kiera, who had just descended to the dining area, expressed regret. Her two comrades waved their hands in dismissal.
“It’s not your fault, Kiera.”
“This place is more than sufficient. It’s practically a hotel.”
Indeed, as Shimar noted, the dining room was far superior to any typical inn’s dining room. There were over 30 tables, more than ten servers, and plenty of space between tables to ensure a quiet, leisurely meal.
Moreover, the expansive garden view through the glass doors added to the luxurious atmosphere. Anywhere but the First Viscounty, it wouldn’t be out of place to call this a hotel.
‘There probably aren’t many upscale dining rooms like this even in the kingdom’s capital.’
This wasn’t even the aristocratic district but the shopping district frequented by outsiders and regular residents. Nevertheless, the dining room was almost full of patrons despite the prices not being cheap, indicating that the local populace was quite affluent.
Shimar savored a piece of juicy steak with his fork. Despite momentarily drifting into other thoughts, he wasn’t displeased with the place. However, ‘We were practically thrown out from an even more magnificent place.’
For the first three days after arriving at the First Viscounty and before meeting Viscount Raul, they stayed at a guest house provided by the viscounty. That place, ‘… I wouldn’t get such treatment even in a royal palace.’
They were almost akin to large, luxurious private suites, featuring personal baths with hot water and scents, a bar with an array of free wines, beers, and soft drinks, and fine dining course meals typically enjoyed by the nobility.
For the first time in his life, Shimar felt he might have made the right choice joining the Hero Party, at least in terms of material comfort.
But due to someone’s reckless mouth, they were effectively driven out. Although they weren’t explicitly told to leave, the scornful looks and gossip they received from passersby made it too uncomfortable to stay even in such a fine place.
Clatter.
“Damn it. This place is really a den of evil.”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
Corellius, appearing unexpectedly, dragged a chair noisily to the table and immediately began complaining.
“Everywhere in the world, people are burning due to monsters, and the powerless commoners are shedding blood because of the nobleland grabs. But look at this place! While people are dying for lack of a bowl of porridge, these folks are indulging in lavish meals from early morning. And look at their clothes! Are those the kind of clothes commoners should wear?”
While Corellius occasionally presented incomprehensible logic, today seemed more extreme. Shimar couldn’t understand why he was venting complaints about the local residents and outsiders, who were the primary patrons.
“What’s wrong is this city! People accustomed to such luxury will inevitably fall to decadence. Outsiders, who should be saving the continent, will be too comfortable and luxurious to lift their swords, and the residents will grow lazy and fat without working hard. This is all the fault of that lord Raul.”
“Yes, the lord is definitely hiding something. This city couldn’t be so prosperous without exploiting someone. We must uncover and correct this.”
Asher, the last party member, sided with Corellius. Shimar could only hold his head and try to forget the headache building up.
‘A stubborn Paladin who knows nothing about the ways of the world and a rookie commoner who suddenly received the blessing of a god. It’s a wonder that no problems have occurred so far.’
Even though they were in the same investigation team, their influence varied greatly. Normally, the saintess Kiera should have been the central figure of the investigation team, but she was too young and kind-hearted.
Thus, the older and higher-ranked Paladin Corellius took the lead of the party, and with even the most powerful Asher supporting him, there was no one to stop him.
Regan, the 5th circle mage, was completely indifferent to the party’s politics, and the ranger guide, Shimar, was ignored by Corellius.
‘It’s wrong for someone serving the gods to distinguish between statuses and professions…’
What was the church thinking by including such a person in the investigation team?
Although Shimar was dissatisfied, he had no choice but to keep it to himself.
“Alright, now that we’re all gathered, let’s discuss this properly. We need to find a way to liberate those strangers and uncover the corruption of that Viscount Raul.”
“First, shouldn’t we gather information? No matter how hard he tries to hide it, he can’t completely suppress the dissatisfaction of the residents.”
“That’s a good idea. Let’s collect the opinions of the residents who are being exploited by the baron and build public opinion.”
They were enthusiastically discussing between themselves. Shimar wasn’t the only one who was displeased with this.
“Sorry, but I’m sitting this one out. Even under normal circumstances, I wasn’t convinced, but this time, I just can’t agree. I’ll be researching until the next destination is decided, so don’t look for me until then.”
Slam.
The mage Regan stormed out.
“How insolent! Abandoning the sacred mission of the investigation team like that. This is why we shouldn’t have included an unbeliever!”
The relationship between the priests and mages was never good. The divine power used by priests and the magical power used by mages often conflicted with each other.
Corellius was vehemently badmouthing the departed Regan.
“I’m sorry, but I also disagree. Isn’t our true goal to seek help from the strangers? I think it’s more important to stay true to our original purpose and head to the barrier.”
Bang.
“Are you serious? Are you saying we should ignore the injustice unfolding right in front of us? No matter how important our other mission is, this isn’t right! Think about the greater good, Priest Kiera.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what injustice you’re talking about anymore. I don’t even understand what this ‘greater good’ you mention is anymore. I will proceed with our original plan to meet the strangers. Do as you please, sir Corellius.”
As Kiera drew a line and stood up, Shimar, who was observing, followed her lead.
“I must escort Priest Kiera, so I’ll be leaving as well.”
As the party members left, Corellius’s face turned red with anger.
“Fine, do you think I can’t do it without you? Asher, let’s go!”
“Yes, sir Corellius.”
The two left the restaurant and went out into the street.
“Where to?”
Asher asked.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve done this kind of thing. First, we need to visit the marketplace and gather the reputation.”
“Ah! As expected of Sir Corellius.”
They headed to a clothing shop in the marketplace. As official members of the investigation team, they wore the uniforms provided by the church. The shop owner greeted them with a deep bow.
“Oh, welcome, priests. How can I assist you today?”
They pretended to look at the clothes while chatting about trivial matters. Once they felt a bit familiar, they brought up the main topic.
“Hm? What kind of person is the lord? Oh, isn’t he a truly god-sent blessing? The greatest fortune of my life was meeting the lord!”
The shop owner went on to praise Raul enthusiastically. He originally ran a small fabric shop in a tiny village, which was destroyed in the gate incident, forcing him to flee with nothing but his life.
He barely managed to reach Nam Fortress, but it too was on the verge of falling to monsters when Raul and the First Knights appeared.
After saving the fortress, Raul not only provided him with relief supplies to survive but also helped him relocate to Calix Fortress to open a shop again.
“Can you believe it? I fled with nothing but my family, and now I’m running a shop in such a thriving market.”
“Debt? Slavery? What are you talking about? I can repay the shop loan within 20 years as I like. I only need to repay the construction cost without any interest.”
As it became clear they wouldn’t get the answer they wanted, Corellius asked another question.
“Are there any concerns? For example, about taxes…”
“How did you know? I’m really worried about taxes! How can this be?”
Suddenly, Corellius and Asher’s eyes lit up.
‘Got him. He’s definitely exploiting the residents!’
“What do you mean by ‘only’ 10% tax? There are no other taxes like head tax, residence tax, or citizen tax, just 10% of the earnings? How is our lord running his business? Everyone is worried he might go bankrupt. That’s why merchants are gathering funds…”
On the Connect Continent, standard taxes were around 40-50%, and some places even extorted up to 80%.
But 10%? It seemed unbelievable.
“No, no way! Even in a pioneer village without a lord, they collect 30% as a resident tax…”
Asher, who had been listening, shouted with his mouth wide open, and the shop owner responded in agreement.
“Right? It’s absolutely unbelievable, isn’t it? We’re all so frustrated because of this. No matter how divine the lord is, if he only thinks about the residents, it could cause big problems. Please, if you ever meet the lord, could you perhaps give him some advice?”
Of course, Raul had his reasons for collecting such low taxes. Firstly, it was to restore the economy of the residents who had settled there with nothing. It was also a policy aim to attract and settle immigrants.
And the real taxes weren’t direct but indirect, through value-added tax (VAT). The primary trade target in the fiefdom was the strangers, the players.
It was less noticeable and more effective to collect a portion of the taxes from the goods they purchased rather than the residents’ incomes. Unaware of this, the residents of the Connect world saw Raul as a remarkable saint.
Naturally, Corellius and Asher didn’t believe the words of the store owner. They thought that maybe the shopkeepers had been pre-educated by the lord, so they started inspecting every corner of the marketplace.
Weapons shop, grocery store, potion shop, inn, restaurant, bar, even the night streets.
‘Could it be true…?’
‘This is unbelievable…’
Not a single person spoke ill of the lord. It wasn’t just because of the low taxes, but most residents living there had been saved and favored by Raul. And the evidence was in their now dirty clothes.
Initially, they were welcomed since they were priests from the church, but the merchants were no fools.
The moment they realized these priests were trying to find faults in Raul.
“Get out!”
“Don’t ever come back!”
“Goodness, how could someone do such a disgraceful thing in God’s name!”
Not only were they kicked out of stores, but in some severe cases, they were also pelted with filth. At this point, even Asher started to realize they might have misunderstood something.
“Um, could it be that we’ve been mistaken?”
“No! They are all lying to protect the lord. Didn’t they say it themselves? They were favored by the lord! Let’s go! At this point, we need to try something else.”
As Asher watched the fuming Corellius storm off, his eyes began to waver slightly.
(To be continued)