Riot Grasper

"- Dear Duran. Are you sure you have an escort...... no, are you glad I did?

"You can talk the way you normally do, Mr. Rahal. It's a long way to go to your destination, and with that changed attitude, you'll get tired. Because if the guards can't use their original power at the heart of the matter, that's the trouble."

Duran across the horse prompted him to take more shoulder strength out.

He is not a martial officer specializing in contention, but a civilian involved in internal affairs and diplomacy.

"Besides, I still don't remember being born enough to be targeted for my life. You won't be so nervous when it comes to escorts."

Though he says so himself, Duran is quite a good man, a type of person who hates the injustices that are common in nobles who have drowned in power and honestly do their job.

"That said, I can't believe I'm the only escort..."

It is the soldier on the horse - Rahal - who is raising his worrying voice.

Rahal, who was to be safely recruited as a soldier, was to be assigned to the platoon, but this time he was to be entrusted with escorts by nomination from Duran.

"That's okay. This isn't an official visit, so we can't imitate taking a large number of soldiers to escort them."

Apparently, the destination is a nobleman ruling a region in imperial territory.

Rahal hasn't reported any details, but if this means an informal visit, I'm worried about whether the guard's soldier may stick his neck in.

"And... Rahal, I was hoping to talk to you more. Look, remember what I said during the recruiting exam?

- I'm sure I'll see you again soon.

"Yeah. I remember, why were you so interested in me?

"Mm-hmm. Well, one thing I like purely. Because there are so many people around me who are full of work patterns and greed, I don't know if I've seen a pure young man who helps someone in need and feels like his heart has been washed."

"Young people... even Duran like that, aren't you still young"

"No, it's something I often work on my desk, so I'm a lot older at some point. And... the second reason I'm interested is because, Rahal, I just let you do a little research on your background."

Rahal was only slightly upset inside.

But I didn't do anything nasty.

I did not wish to be a soldier out of loyalty in defending my country, but I would be an extremely few, such as a soldier working from the bottom of my heart driven solely by patriotism.

Like Rahal, those with humane motives smile more.

Unfortunately, although I spent some time as a soldier, I still haven't been able to meet Alisha...

"Rahal, you didn't graduate from the Soldiers Academy, you're taking exams on recommendation, aren't you? That's also written by the owner of the prestigious Fulbright family...... Why did you want to go back to empire and be a soldier when you lived away from empire?

"It's..."

"No, you shouldn't. When you start to wonder, it's my bad habit to try to get a convincing answer. If you don't want to answer, you don't have to."

- Ask a question and then pull a step back.

It is the usual means used when trying to get information from the other person.

It is a preliminary discourse, but when executed with a soft voice and expression that releases vigilance, the effect is remarkable.

"Nothing, not enough to hide."

Rahal's. That doesn't mean you absolutely have to hide the information.

A pure motive to see if a good friend of mine is doing well, just to make sure of it.

Seems like he figured out who Duran was and decided it was okay to talk to him.

"- I see. Is that what you mean?"

"... Um, Master Duran? Aren't your faces laughing?

"Huh? No, that's not true. Just not in a weird way, Rahal, because you're so cute, it's kind of funny."

I guess this is what you say when your intelligent face breaks down.

"... excuse me. You're a little disturbed."

Just because he laughed, Rahal never felt particularly bad either.

Even myself, I wonder if I've become a soldier for that, because I'm a little frightened.

"Do you like that kid?

"Ha!? What did you say..."

Duran's questioning was too abrupt and off target.

"That's not it! If you're feeling well, so... or they're in the Emperor's side room... like or dislike..."

When he saw Rahal rushing back to say it, Duran nodded with the face that he saw something smiling.

"That's good. Young."

"And, by the way, what kind of visit is it going to be this time? It's informal, so I'd be happy to let you know as far as possible."

Having gotten uncomfortable, Rahal tries a forceful track fix to get off topic.

He seemed to know how to pull it off, and Duran immediately responded with a serious face.

"You know you need to pay a fixed amount of tax to the Imperial Capital each year for the local lords to continue to rule the land, right? For example, if cultivated land is flourishing, taxes are determined by crop yields, but not always by abundance each year."

Sometimes the sun continues to shine all the time or, conversely, the river floods without stopping the rain.

"The amount of taxes you pay will of course vary depending on the crop yield, such as if it was a crop failure, but if that continues, the lord will be pursued for that status. You may be stripped of your title at the same time."

"... but if it's caused by climate change or something, we can't help it?

"Even so. But if this year was a bad year, we have to find out what caused it. If it is due to water shortages and river flooding, you can make an effort to become rich next year by implementing water remediation works. If the cost of construction is not enough, then we should show how many years from now it will be possible. Well, this is only an ideal theory, so it doesn't work that well..."

Duran stops the hot valve along the way and coughs it up really gently.

"In other words, a lord who is judged to be incompetent is deprived of that status in the worst case scenario."

"Uh... the way that story goes, what we're on our way now is to the lord who had the problem, so?

"I like young people who have a good guess. Lords basically take taxes from the people who live in their territory, but they can't squeeze them out indefinitely. Some power of decision has been given, but if it were to be an insane tax rate, the inhabitants would starve to death. Still...... what would you do if the lord were driven by the evil temptation to fatten his personal belly etc?

If we imitate the way we squeeze taxes, the lives of our inhabitants will cease to be made up. Even if we raise taxes halfway up, that would accumulate dissatisfaction.

That said, the answer is not twisted enough, which makes equipment costs such as water remediation as sharpening and making them your own as much as possible.

Shaken by the horse, Rahal remained silent for a while.

"... contradicting what I just said, it might not be too bad to squeeze taxes to their limits."

Duran is lecturing his students as if he were lecturing them.

For a moment, it might be suitable for such positions as well.

"No, because if you do that, the inhabitants..."

"It's inhumane, but I'm letting you work until you die. We are allowed to emigrate our citizens, so we are now replenishing the missing workforce from the outside. Many will raise their voices about wanting to migrate if they circulate information about lies such as cheap taxes and land and houses available for free. Of course, we need to block information from the inside out so that the truth doesn't leak outside our territory."

"Oh, ha... I kind of look scared of Master Duran"

"For example, it's a story. If it is an environment in which an information blockade is possible, it means that there are also such methods. If we don't assume a lot of things, we can't be agile when it actually happens."

"Ah... then how about a lord tying hands with a villain in the back or something?

"Yeah. It's a pretty good line, Mr. Rahal"

"I miss the bandits and make them attack villages in the realm. If you do too much, you don't have an ex or a child, so why don't you split the money from the act of looting in half?"

Hearing Rahal's answer, Duran whispered to me, "I may be careless..."

"Right. On the surface, if we show the moves to capture the bandits, excuses will stand for the inhabitants. Leaving your head alone in the wild and reassuring you with a performance that will occasionally capture the lower end, it will also be difficult to accumulate the grievances of the inhabitants"

After stating his rush and fear, Duran goes on to say the words.

"Actually, even in the territory we visit, they're getting more damage from the bandits. It's a party where nobles sit in rows, and the lords there have good feathers. Well, we've got all sorts of other suspicious information, so it's probably 'clams'. Nevertheless, Rahal, you may be right for your lord as soon as those thoughts come to mind."

Rahal laughs bitterly and deceives as he seems to recall that it is not the Lord's job to work evil wisdom...

"That said, lords are nobles with titles, so it's hard to contest them without only a lot of evidence. This visit... well, is it like an inspection without a punch? If you push too many people, you can't grab your tail when you're on guard."

"Ha ha... kind of makes me a little nervous when I hear that"

"... Well, I think it's time to get there"

- Arriving safely to his destination and just now greeting the lord, Duran offered to let him examine the mansion.

Naturally, he was a lord trying to turn it down, but as soon as Duran showed him some sort of warrant-like paper, he seemed reluctantly willing to investigate.

Duran's figure of checking huge amounts of paperwork at tremendous speeds was still like a machine.

What's more, I looked up the assets stored in the vault and the figures on the documents without a scratch, and I ended the whole series of tasks in a whole day, so all I can say is it's amazing.

On his return, the lord approached him with a gripping face and tried to make him hold a bag of gold coins in Duran's hand, but he forced it.

"I hate inferior types of people like you the most."

Rahal, next door, also chilled his liver as he smiled and vomited words that trampled on the dignity of his nobility.

"- Dear Duran. Whatever it takes, you should go a little further..."

"Did you mean earlier?

"He was staring at us like he was gonna kill us."

Duran was slight, but so much so that when he followed the mansion, he was wary that even an arrow might stab him in the back.

"Well, you don't have to worry so much. I'm just so tired today, let's say we stay overnight at the City Inn before we leave"

- The next day.

Was it around half a day after I left the city?

The streets lean against the woods with poor prospects, with disturbing air.

And soon a voice sounded calling them to a halt.

"... I'm sorry, but you're going to die here."

Aren't the disfigured men surrounding Rahal and Duran in large numbers?

By the way, the dirty clothes that are torn, the sheathless sword that is strapped to the waist, have a sticky red and black stain.

Anyway, it's like a bunch of bandits.

Two or three of us can even deal with Rahal, but that's just how we can't deal with this number.

"Dear Duran... What is this..."

"Yeah. Eighty-nine out of ten, it must be the Lord's instructions. If you kill us here, we will not be reported to the Imperial Capital. Even if we are to be investigated again, by then we will be able to hide evidence of wrongdoing… something that a foolish lord is likely to think about"

"Hey...... I know that and why are you so calm!?"

"Yesterday's investigation has not grasped any evidence that the lord was consorting with a burglar. It's obvious from the paperwork that you're illegally funded from somewhere. The most efficient way to wash out a guilty plea is to ask directly from the person."

"No way......"

Duran stepped forward without being frightened and asked the burglars.

"Who is the greatest of you? I'd like to talk to you for a moment."

"Hey, there's nothing to talk about. They're telling me to punish you especially hard. I'm going to hurt you till you crush your cheeky face, and I'm going to make your dog eat your neck."

"I see, that's a little scary. No, it was... it was worth the trouble."

"Huh...? I don't care what you say."

- It was then.

"Bye!

"Hih, no, no, no, my arm!

There was such a scream from behind a bunch of bandits.

The sun is blocked by the woods, and even though it's just dim, the shadows dressed in black outfits are moving violently around.

In such a sudden raid, Rahal managed to tailor a raw man wielding his sword, screaming like crazy, without being able to make a controlled move on the bandits, who could also be the U.N. crowd.

... Eventually when the field was quiet, it was already a sea of blood.

Some wild thieves are wounded and groaning, but many have stopped moving breathlessly.

There is one black shadow that walks through a scene with such a mixture of organs and a bloody, indescribable stench on his nose without even caring.

There seemed to be a few people dressed in black, but one of them dragged the man he thought was the head of the bandits.

He was raving about hurting Duran, etc., but now he had lost his mind in a guttering way.

What a surprise is that it was a girl as old as Rahal who dragged the man.

He seemed to cover his face with a mask, but he seemed to be missing about half of it during the battle, with a blood-coated face peeking.

"Oh, thank God. Just me. Then it was very impossible to deal with everyone. Uh..."

"……… disturbing"

Things haven't swallowed up well yet, but Rahal's words, which he tried to thank for being helped, were blocked by a word from the girl.

The girl tries to throw her head off to the ground, and the group in black disappears without sound.

It was Duran, who was next door, who brought Lahar back to reality, which had been taken in disquiet.

"Those are people from the Imperial Secret Service. Unlike regular soldiers like you, Rahal, you're supposedly often on special assignments."

"Really...?! Dear Duran, this must have been the plan from the beginning!?"

Like a child found flirting, Duran lowered his head with a pepper.

"I'm sorry to keep quiet. It was just in case, because I didn't think things would carry this much as expected. You see, to trick the enemy, you start with the allies, right?

If there was only one escort, you must have thought it would be easy to let the bandits you're nostalgic at attack you.

It means Duran is better at one or two than that lord.

"Thanks to you, this is how we were able to capture the head of the bandit, and if we let him spit information out of this guy, it's a setback. Besides, I'm not lying that I liked you, Rahal. When you return to Empire City, we will treat you to delicious food and alcohol."

"Ha ha..."

It's a complicated mood, Rahal, but for one thing, it seems to have accomplished an important task.

If you are born and become a close guard, it may not be impossible to meet Alisha either.

"Even if..."

That faceless face of a girl painted with blood.

Those eyes that did not dwell in the light as if claiming that living was not fun left an indescribable impression on Rahal's mind.