WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Arsène
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More ◈
Chapter 88: Collection Knight
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If one were to name the strongest person in the Empire at present, everyone would naturally choose the Imperial Crown Prince.
For second place, they would naturally choose the Grand General.
Then who was third?
From there, it entered territory people did not know much about, so Imperial citizens gave widely varying answers.
Some named the commander of the Black Mane Knights, while others named the Commander of the Blue Flame Knights.
There were even those who claimed the former Northern Grand Duke, now dead, had been the third strongest.
But if the question was limited to knights, the answer came quickly.
“Tax Collector Knight.”
“Definitely the Tax Collector Knight.”
“It’s only natural that Imperial citizens don’t know much. You only meet him if you’re terrible at paying taxes.”
“If you live an upright life, you’ll never have reason to face the Tax Collector Knight... It’s only natural not to know. No, it’s better not to know.”
The Tax Collector Knight.
Third in the Empire’s military strength, acknowledged by all Imperial Knights.
There were many reasons knights, who were particular about martial rankings, recognized the Tax Collector Knight.
But the most notable was, naturally, his collection ability.
“The Empire has maintained its history for a long time and produced countless Swordmasters. But of course, even Swordmasters eventually reach retirement age.”
Swordmasters wielded Aura through the unity of body and mind, allowing them to ignore most minor ailments.
Mental illness was also rare among them, so most passed away peacefully in old age.
But there was no such thing as an absolute.
Very rarely, even Swordmasters suffered from mental illness.
They generally forgot to pay their taxes.
And when that happened, the Tax Collector Knight would visit them.
“Knights earn a lot in proportion to their responsibilities, and they spend a lot too, so they need to manage their taxes thoroughly.”
“Of course, they usually don’t pay them personally. They have their subordinates handle it...”
When the Tax Collector Knight paid a visit, most knights knew fear and barely overcame their mental illness long enough to pay their taxes.
“...Do you think anyone would stay beside a Swordmaster with dementia? Think about it. They keep blasting Aura from their hands and cutting down everything around them... Who would work under someone like that?”
“Once no one works for them... they stop paying taxes too.”
No one remained beside a Swordmaster with dementia.
Naturally, they could no longer pay their taxes, and collecting those taxes was also the Tax Collector Knight’s duty.
Collect taxes from a Swordmaster who forgot in real time whether they had swung their sword or not?
What if that Swordmaster with dementia considered the Tax Collector Knight an enemy and fought?
“You have no choice but to fight. No... subdue them.”
A Swordmaster who subdued Swordmasters, the Tax Collector Knight.
In general, subduing someone was only possible when there was an obvious difference in strength.
That was why knights assumed the Tax Collector Knight was no ordinary Swordmaster.
At a generous estimate, he was a Grandmaster. At the very least, he stood at the peak of Swordmasters.
That was the level of martial strength everyone believed the Tax Collector Knight possessed.
So knights always gave earnest advice to the squires who would succeed them.
“The wisest thing you can do in life is never meet the Tax Collector Knight.”
“Pay your taxes properly.”
If they wanted to live peacefully in the Empire, they needed to pay their taxes without fail.
+++++
The Empire’s public safety could be said to be of an extremely high standard.
There were no kidnappings on the streets, people could drink and walk home at night, and recently, streetlights had been going up all over the place along the routes used by the Mana Stone Train.
The days when the Empire’s nighttime streets felt dark and dreary could now be considered over.
The Empire was also pouring money into fostering talent without holding back. As more people became educated, cultural standards naturally rose, which in turn improved public safety in a continuing positive cycle.
“Ha. What a joke.”
After hearing such reports, Asher scoffed.
What was the point of good public safety when an outside force could take over the back alleys so easily?
To Asher, the Empire’s public safety was no more than gift wrapping that looked good on the outside.
Once you tore the wrapping open, the inside was rotten through. It was no different from any other country.
“Macelin seemed a little different, though.”
According to a woman he had met while traveling through the desert not long ago, if he came to Macelin, he would learn what true peace was.
Of course, Asher had been more interested in making that woman his wife than in anything like that.
“She was an arrogant woman. Telling me, Asher, that if I wanted to have her, I should conquer somewhere big...”
He had wanted to force her into submission on the spot.
But that would have been too boring.
More importantly, she did not look like the kind of woman who would break even if he did.
“These bastards calling themselves the underworld, back alleys, and criminal organizations are all too tame. Why are they all paying taxes?”
Asher decided to think about the distant future later and focus on the situation at hand.
“This one pays taxes, that one pays taxes... Not long ago, a lord came to handle the taxes himself. I laughed so hard.”
The Empire’s back alleys were so tame that they felt completely unlike ordinary back alleys.
They had only enough trappings to look the part. At first, he honestly thought they were some kind of tourist attraction.
When people thought of illegal activity, they usually imagined secretly selling slaves or manufacturing and distributing drugs.
Yet none of the organizations Asher had taken over so far did any of that.
They only collected protection money and bought goods wholesale to resell them.
They were called gangsters, but they looked more like interest groups that aggressively conducted business and spoke loudly.
And they paid their taxes without fail.
“What was it again? What did they come tell me?”
“If an organization files its taxes directly, there are too many things that could be used against it... So the lord said they would handle the filing on their behalf.”
“No, they formed illegal organizations in the first place, and then the lord boldly marched into their headquarters. That makes no sense either.”
He had laughed so hard when he heard the lord would step in and handle the taxes for them.
He could not understand why they were considered illegal organizations at all.
“There are no tigers, no wolves. There aren’t any beasts in the dark, just cats and stray dogs at most. Is this really the level of the Empire?”
With even a little greed, I could seize a mountain of gold.
Why were only such small-minded people calling themselves illegal organizations?
Just look at that Bank fellow he had met before.
If he was going to monopolize food supplies, he should do it properly. Why compete on prices with nearby merchants?
He could just crush them all with force.
There were too many things Asher could not understand.
Even if it was the outskirts, shouldn’t they at least have the basics in place before calling themselves criminals?
“They’ve got no style at all, huh? I had such high expectations because it was the Empire, but it’s full of nothing but soft little pups.”
Asher decided to take over the Empire the same way he had swallowed other countries.
Normally, he would travel around causing trouble before leaving.
But now, he planned to settle in the Empire and properly expand his operation.
“Making drugs is easy. Sell drugs, take over the brothels, yeah? And paying taxes like idiots? Why would you pay them? Never pay.”
“Yes, sir!”
Now then, shall I have some real fun?
+++++
The Empire did not pursue one hundred percent pest control.
Just as it was impossible to completely eradicate every last pest, it knew it was absurd to wipe out every delinquent and thug calling themselves an illegal organization.
So it only kept the waters clean enough to turn a blind eye.
If they openly encroached on the legitimate world, they would be killed without hesitation. But if they played among themselves in the shadows, the Empire left them alone.
It would not forgive them for acting like tigers or wolves, but it tolerated them as long as they were no more than stray cats and wild dogs.
“It’s troublesome to corner them too much. They lose their minds and run wild.”
They gave them just enough room to breathe.
Just enough for their noses and mouths to barely rise above the water so they could breathe.
That was how the Empire maintained public safety.
But recently, an Imperial decree had been issued.
“A concentrated enforcement period? Hmm, traces of an outside group entering recently have been found, so we’re to manage things strictly.”
A petty criminal pretending to be a tiger had crawled into the Empire’s back alleys.
The order was to kill them on sight, regardless of the reason.
Even knights were said to be actively mobilized.
Those who realized how serious the situation was spread the news throughout the Empire.
“Why are you doing this? Why do I have to hide?”
“Lie low for a while. We’re doing this because we appreciate you protecting us merchants, yeah? Hide! The knights are coming!”
“You haven’t failed to pay taxes, right? Pay more just in case. I’ll file it for you, okay?”
Back-alley forces connected to lords or citizens heard the news quickly and took great care to keep their heads down.
But a new force that had only recently entered the Empire did not hear the news at all.
Then, about three weeks after the Imperial decree was issued...
“There is one place that has not paid taxes recently. Of course, they’re only one month behind... But taxes are overdue even after an Imperial decree was issued? Does that make any sense? During this period when the great Little Sun personally ordered us to focus! They haven’t paid taxes for an entire month!”
The Tax Collector Knight frowned at the far western edge of the Empire, marked red on the map.
“Contact the lord. We need to find out why they have not paid their taxes.”
Footnotes:
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