Chapter 128 (1/2)
Volume 2
The Simple Job of Only Perishing to the Hero Volume 4 Chapter 9
– 107.167.229.84
「A shining future……huh.」
「It doesn’t match at all.」
Calling to mind the face of the village chief that resembled a bear, Teg made a displeased-looking face.
*Kotsun* Ria hit Teg’s head.
After saying “bad” and rebuking Teg, who was sending her a protesting gaze, Ria turned to Al.
「Still, Al-san, you’re somehow pretty cool.」
「Eh? I am?」
「Yes. You somehow feel like……a knight-sama.」
「You’re talking about that dream that you had some time ago, aren’t you.」
Hearing Teg’s words that he spoke from the side, Al went “hou” and held an interest in it.
Slipping through the side from Ria, who flusteredly tried to cover his mouth, Teg talked about Ria’s dream.
The dream of the knight of justice, that defeats the bad feudal lord.
Hearing that, Al made a troubled-looking smile.
「I see, a knight-sama of justice……huh. But still, haha. In that case, that means I would end up having to defeat the feudal lord of this place.」
「Isn’t that fine? Al-san, you defeat him and become the feudal lord-sama.」
Ria said “that’s no good” and rebuked Teg who went and said that.
「There’s no telling who is listening and from where. Besides, the age where the person who defeats the feudal lord becomes the feudal lord has long since ended.」
「Is that true?」
「Yeah, the bad guys are judged by the law. That is the current age.」
Teg made an expression that said that he was unconvinced.
In that case, why wasn’t the bad feudal lord being judged?
When Teg spoke that out loud, Al made a complicated face which scratching his head.
「U, uーn. That’s the complicated part. When the bad guy is on the side carrying out the law, it won’t be applied correctly. That is why there are investigators meant to prevent that, but as you can see, this is the current state of things.」
Investigators were people that were dispatched from the country’s capital city and would do investigations to see if the feudal lords were doing anything bad.
However, if the feudal lord was still a bad person despite that person being here, that investigator might also be a bad person……that is what Ria thought.
「Al-san.」
「Nn?」
Al took his gaze off from Teg, who found the talk difficult and was brooding over it, and looked at Ria’s face.
From Al’s perspective, Ria looked much smarter than Teg.
The fact that he thought “furthermore, if she has this cuteness to her at this age, she’ll be very popular in the future……” was kept a secret.
「Will we……will this village, be fine like this?」
「What do you mean by that?」
Al replied to Ria’s words sounding gentle.
If he were say his answer, it was no good like this.
The village’s current state was too unstable.
Even if the foundation for their livelihood was sufficiently established, on official documents, this village was still a pioneer village. In other words, it meant that it was in a dangerous situation where it was more autonomous and sought more self-responsibility than normal villages in various aspects.
In the case of pioneer villages, if, for example, they were attacked by monsters or bandits, their degree of priority as a problem to be dealt with by the feudal lord was low. In exchange for that sort of treatment, they were tax-free.
However, this village was still being treated as a pioneer village──the feudal lord was still not bearing the duty of protecting them──and yet the tax collector was coming. Normally, this was impossible.
If investigators were to do a proper job, they should find irregularities in the tax records. For there to not be any particular censures despite that, it must be that it is being very skillfully hidden, or the investigator is also in on it.
If done poorly, there was even the possibility that this village would end up not even existing on the documents.
Al didn’t know how much Ria understood about the situation when she said that.
That is why he was thinking about how he should answer her, but Ria then said this.
「The fact that we aren’t recognized as an official village means that we aren’t official population of the fief, doesn’t it. In that case, I wondering if it would be best if we migrated somewhere else……」
「O, oi, Ria……」
Teg looked at Ria with a surprised look.
On the other hand, Al also felt surprise towards Ria in another way.
She was certainly correct.
In its current state, if they wanted to improve their own situation with their positions as villagers, there was no other choice but to do that.
They would have to escape from the current feudal lord’s range of control, and migrate to a place under a different, better feudal lord. If they were to create another pioneer village there, then they would surely be recognized as an official village this time.
As a matter of fact, there existed quite a number of pioneer villages placed in the same situation in just this territory alone.
Having learned of this, Al intended on bringing evidence of this to the royal capital, and thoroughly clamping down on the feudal lord of this place.
──Al’s real name was Alford.
He was the first prince of the St. Altlis Kingdom, and in order to learn of the state of the country that he would eventually be governing over, he was in the middle of travelling incognito through it. For that reason, the kingdom’s spies were actually secretly guarding him.
Having learned that such misgovernment was happening within this territory that he had first visited on his journey, Alford felt intense anger.
A majority of the people of the pioneer villages of this territory had given up saying that they had no other choice.
He was thinking that he would already have no choice but to report the situation to his father the King, and have the feudal lord punished.
That is why the existence of Ria who was thinking about how to change the situation on her own was something surprising to Alford, and was also something that made him happy.
「That’s right……Ria, what you said is correct.」
「Eh, ehh!?」
After reining in Teg who was pretty much saying “what are you saying”, Al continued on.
「But you know, I think it would be better if you wait just a bit longer.」