Chapter 58

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Stop making me repeat myself. From now on, this land will be directly governed by the Fontana family."

It had been a while since the traveling merchant warned us. A tax collector from a noble family arrived in the village. You know, the kind of guy who collects taxes.

Basically, the village collects head taxes and land taxes in the form of wheat. However, unlike in my previous life, they don’t do detailed calculations for each person. The village chief collects the wheat that serves as taxes from the villagers and stores it in a warehouse, from which the tax collector comes to collect it. However, I pay in cash, not wheat. Therefore, the tax collector comes to my house separately after visiting the village chief.

This time was no different. Since the tax collection happens once a year, I have to keep a substantial amount of money stored away. Additionally, I have to entertain the tax collector who comes from the noble family, so I thoroughly cleaned my house and prepared food and drinks to wait for him. In the past, he would drink and eat casually before collecting the taxes and leaving. That’s all it was supposed to be.

However, the tax collector who arrived this time didn’t even drink the wine. Instead, he thrust a piece of parchment at me and announced the noble’s decree. I almost froze in shock for a moment, but quickly regained my composure and read the message on the parchment. It clearly stated the following:

- My land would be confiscated by the Fontana family.

- Everything and everyone on the land would become the property of the Fontana family.

- I would be placed under their protection.

The parchment bore the same seal as the permit I had received before, so it was unlikely to be a fake.

"Wait a moment. What does this mean? I can’t possibly accept such a sudden decision."

"Shut up. This is a final decision. If you resist, we will enforce it by force."

"Such... such a thing..."

"Besides, this decision is for your own good. There is a possibility that unsavory characters have infiltrated this area. It is a necessary measure to protect you, who can produce valuable servile beasts."

Could they be talking about someone like Gran, who moved here from another place? No, that’s not necessarily the case. The traveling merchant mentioned that he had heard some unpleasant rumors. Perhaps the atmosphere of suspicion had spread among the common people, regardless of the noble family. Or maybe they were just looking for an excuse to make a move.

Thoughts raced through my mind. What does it mean to protect me? It does make sense in a way. Servile beasts that can be ridden are considered strategic resources. If they were to be taken by someone else, it would be a significant loss for the noble who governs this land. Perhaps protecting the producer of these servile beasts is a common practice in other cases.

However, I find it hard to accept. If I were to be "protected" in such a way, what would happen to me? Perhaps I could still live a decent life, but I would probably not be allowed to leave the protected area at all.

If I were just an ignorant villager in a remote area, I might not have any complaints. But I am not. For some reason, I have memories of a life outside the village. Memories from my previous life. I want to eat better food and see different places freely. I don’t want to live like a livestock animal that only lays eggs.

Bang, thud, crash.

While I was lost in thought, staring at the parchment, a loud noise pulled me back to reality. It sounded like it came from outside the house. The noise came from the stable I built next to my house. Normally, the stable shouldn’t make such a loud noise, and I could hear someone shouting from there.

Damn it, what’s happening now? I cursed inwardly but rushed to the stable to see what was going on.

***

What is this? What’s happening?

When I arrived at the stable, I saw a soldier with a blood-dripping sword, my servile beast Valkyrie bleeding from the head, and Kyle lying on the blood-soaked floor.

"What are you doing! What did you do to Kyle?!"

"What, kid? Are you going to get in my way too? I was just trying to take that servile beast, but this brat got in my way."

"Don’t kid around. Do you even know what you’ve done?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Do you want to get hurt too?"

The soldier extended his blood-stained sword toward me. Seeing this, I snapped. I used a spell I had never used on anyone before. I almost unconsciously cast [Scatter Shot] at him.

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