Merchant Noble is out (2/2 chapters for today)
Third Town (2)
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Ragonne, having woken up, offered a deep apology to Arc, but since the cause of the problem was his sister, Arc could not scold her too harshly. After hastily finishing breakfast, the inspection began.
It seemed that the residents of this town did not harbor the same level of animosity towards their lord as the inhabitants of the Second City under Gruselb. The taxes were not as exorbitant here unlike the 70%. It appeared that this town was not subjected to such harsh taxation. Not feeling any imminent danger and not needing to stick to a fixed plan, Arc decided to have the Tadont couple act separately. He assigned Yuna to assist in creating an accurate map of the town.
Arc and Yanna, accompanied by Yulia, continued the inspection with Ragonne.
“How much tax did the previous lord impose on this town?” (Arc)
“About 30%. However, since the town where the governor resided was far away, there was no actual need to deliver the taxes.” (Ragonne)
“Is that so? That’s unexpected.” (Arc)
Arc tilted his head at Ragonne’s explanation. Although he had never met the previous governor directly, based on his harsh treatment of the Second City, it seemed he had been a person who heavily taxed the people to enrich himself. The idea that such a person had imposed a tax rate of only 30% on this town and, moreover, had not actually collected it, seemed almost like a different person had governed this place.
However, Ragonne’s account was likely true. Although there was a chance Ragonne might be lying, the attitudes of the townspeople towards their lord suggested that the tax burden was not as severe as it had been in the second town.
As Arc was processing this surprising revelation, Yanna interjected.
“What was the trade-off?” (Yanna)
“Huh?” (Ragonne)
“If you didn’t have to pay taxes, what did you have to give in return?” (Yanna)
“Well, that is…” (Ragonne)
“Was it something like last night?” (Yanna)
Ragonne hesitated, and Yanna’s tone grew more inquisitive. Ragonne looked down, which was effectively a confirmation of Yanna’s implication. The reason Ragonne had tried to use seduction on Arc was likely that this town had used such tactics in the past. It seemed that previous attempts at seduction had been successful, resulting in a lower tax rate. Ragonne had probably hoped to achieve the same result with Arc.
“So, you were paying taxes with your body, then.” (Yanna)
Yanna’s tone shifted from teasing to a colder, more disdainful one. Despite her own promiscuity with many women, she had a strong aversion to the use of women as mere tools.
“I was still young at the time, so it wasn’t me. Beautiful and attractive women from the town were chosen.” (Ragonne)
Seeing Yanna’s face darken and her eyebrows furrow, Ragonne hurriedly added this explanation.
“But it wasn’t necessarily a bad deal! When the governor left the region, he discarded his mistress, but being a mistress to the governor was like hitting the jackpot for a woman. So, it was always the women who volunteered, and no one was ever forcibly taken.” (Ragonne)
Ah, I see.
Yanna realized her misunderstanding and calmed her previously agitated emotions.
If the town’s women had willingly become mistresses to powerful men rather than being forced into a situation akin to sexual slavery, Yanna had no reason to be angry.
“I see. So, Ragonne also wanted to be Arc’s mistress, huh?” (Yanna)
“Ugh!” (Ragonne)
Unable to keep up with Yanna’s sudden teasing mode, Ragonne turned bright red.
“I-I was just doing it as the town mayor! It was unavoidable!” (Ragonne)
“Though, judging by last night, you seemed quite eager when you jumped into bed.” (Yanna)
“Ahhhhh, I can’t hear this, I can’t hear this!” (Ragonne)
Despite Ragonne’s desperate attempts to deflect, Yanna’s teasing grin proved quite effective, and Ragonne ended up shouting in frustration.
Watching the awkward exchange between them was Arc, who felt uncomfortable. He hoped that the conversation about Ragonne’s attempt to become a mistress would not continue in front of the person involved. To steer the discussion back to their main purpose, Arc decided to inquire about the town’s living conditions.
“So, if the tax burden wasn’t so high, then living conditions should be decent, right?” (Arc)
Despite the tax relief compared to the second town, Ragonne’s face darkened.
“No. The people are struggling with a meager harvest. Please take a look. This is the town’s farming area.” (Ragonne)
Arc and Yanna were somewhat taken aback by the farming area they were shown.
Even the inexperienced duo could tell that the land was barren. Having just seen the fertile soil of the second town, they could clearly see the differences. The color of the soil itself was different. Additionally, the crops were sparse and undernourished. The meal served last night, which could not be described as tasty, came back to Arc’s mind. It seemed that the produce here was lacking in both quality and quantity.
Having completed the external inspection, Arc’s group returned to the town hall to review the details of the town.
“Here is the town hall. Please, come in.” (Ragonne)
“Are there any administrative documents available?” (Arc)
“Administrative documents?” (Ragonne)
“Yes, documents summarizing the town’s population and crop production.” (Arc)
“Please wait a moment.” (Ragonne)
Ragonne entered another room and rummaged through the shelves, returning a while later with a handful of documents. She made several trips to bring all the documents. By the time she brought everything, the large desk was piled high with stacks of papers.
“My father was strict about record-keeping, so everything was properly documented.” (Ragonne)
“Thank you. I’ll review these.” (Yanna)
Yanna began examining the documents at incredible speed. This kind of task was her specialty. Arc focused on organizing the papers to make them easier for her to read.
“The population is 5,000, but the average age is quite young.” (Yanna)
Yanna said this while skimming through the documents, presumably the population statistics.
“Yyes, it’s definitely a town with many young people.” (Ragonne)
“Let me rephrase that. There are almost no elderly people.” (Yanna)
Yanna said this as she handed a bundle of documents to Arc. Upon checking, Arc saw that the ages of the residents were noted next to their names. Indeed, there were very few people over the age of 40, and almost none were 60 or older.
“Everyone dies before reaching 60. My father also retired from being the mayor due to poor health.” (Ragonne)
“That sounds like there might be an underlying cause.” (Arc)
Yanna continued to read through the documents with a glass of water in hand. Arc organized the documents she had finished reading and prepared the remaining ones for her. Occasionally, Yanna asked Ragonne questions about things that piqued her interest. As expected from a town mayor, Ragonne provided precise answers, which allowed Yanna to work through the documents efficiently.
A few hours later, the pile of documents that had once filled the desk was neatly organized. Yanna, having finished reading all the documents, sat contentedly on the sofa. Arc hadn’t been able to thoroughly review the contents of the documents, but if Yanna wasn’t complaining, there likely weren’t any major issues. Thus, Arc didn’t see a need to review them himself.
Thanks to Yanna, the work was completed faster than expected. Just as Arc was contemplating having an early lunch, Yuna suddenly entered.
“…Arc-sama.” (Yuna)
“Yuna? What’s wrong?” (Arc)
“Tadont-san is calling for you. He’s in the fields at the edge of the village.” (Yuna)
Arc and his party quickly made their way to the outskirts of the village where Tadont and his wife were surrounded by curious townspeople observing the measuring process.
“Arc-sama, I’m sorry to call for you.” (Tadont)
“It’s no trouble. What’s the matter?” (Arc)
“Actually, it’s my wife who needs to speak with you.” (Tadont)
Arc turned his attention to Tadont’s wife, who had been playing a behind-the-scenes role in the map-making process. It seemed she had discovered something.
“I’ve been studying the geology to make the map, and this soil contains a lot of minerals like iron and copper.”
Tadont’s wife said, as she picked up some soil and rubbed it between her fingers. Black powder-like residue clung to her hands. This appeared to be iron sand.
“The taste of the meal served at last night’s welcome dinner… it was lackluster because of this soil, wasn’t it?” (Wife)
Tadont’s wife spoke quietly to Arc, mindful of Ragonne standing behind him. Fortunately, it seemed Ragonne hadn’t heard the comment about the subpar meal.
“This land is hopelessly unsuitable for farming.” (Wife)
“Really?” (Ragonne))
Ragonne, who had been standing behind, reacted to the straightforward statement made by Tadont’s wife.
“Madam, if someone were to consume crops from this land over a long period, what would happen?” (Yanna)
“A small amount is not a problem. However, minerals like these are toxic to the human body. There is no doubt that it would lead to health issues.” (Wife)
Yanna, who had interjected with a raised hand, nodded in agreement with Tadont’s wife’s response. She then connected this information with the earlier facts.
“So, the short lifespan of the residents here is due to the soil, then.” (Yanna)
Unable to follow the conversation, Ragonne stared at Yanna in bewilderment.
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