Cass is a squad rater for Twilour City.
In Aaron Landis, whether it is the city guards guarding the city or the legions fighting on the battlefield, the most basic is the squad. A squad is equipped with about a dozen to twenty soldiers. The captain of the squad is called the squad rate. .
In Twilour City, a team leader like him can be said to be unknown, and he has to nod and bow to his boss every day.
However, because of his nepotism, he hugged the thigh of the chief guard of the city gate, and he did not need to work hard to guard the city gate or patrol the streets every day. The Lord of the City is a very strict person, and he is also very strict with his subordinates. It is forbidden for soldiers to harass the people at will. There is absolutely no oil and water in doing these things.
And now, the chief guard of the city gate has handed over the taxation of some surrounding villages and towns to him.
This is a lot of oil and water, especially when these soldiers have to be men with their tails between their tails in the city. When they go out of the city to small villages and towns, they can be presumptuous. After all, the power to collect taxes is in his hands, so he doesn't dare to say much about these scumbags.
Due to the slight movement a while ago, the area of Tverul was lightly damaged, so the tax situation for the past two months was not very good. Cass's thigh city gate guard is not in a good mood. Recently, he has been urging Cass to collect the taxes in the lot he is responsible for as soon as possible.
Of course, the instructions of the thighs must be done with all their heart, and the Cass team led their own team to collect taxes in the villages and towns he was in charge of without saying a word.
As for the tax collection, it mainly depends on Cass' mood.
If you are in a good mood, you will only be charged a little more than the prescribed tax for liquor. If you are in a bad mood, you will be charged twice as much.
Of course, the extra part is naturally self-enriching. Anyway, as long as the tax paid is paid in full, his thighs will not worry about other things.
After all, this is also a commonly known convention.
Let's just say that the small village where Cass is currently collecting taxes, originally saw that there was nothing to be collected from the poor, and planned to charge less, but the people here were ignorant and angered him.
Didn't it just look at the little girl who was serving him tea, who was very watery, and touched it, but she screamed and poured hot water on herself.
Row!
Disobedient, right
I was too lazy to do much work, but as soon as the anger came up, Cass bluntly doubled the tax.
The village chief said tremblingly that the village was too poor, and that he had suffered a disaster not long ago. He really couldn’t pay that much. He begged him to reduce or exempt a little tax, but he was too lazy to say anything. After selling it for tax credit, the girl who just splashed him with water was naturally the first to bear the brunt.
This time, the entire village was disturbed. The families of the girls who were arrested were desperately begging, holding their children tightly and refusing to let go. Many people knelt on the ground and begged the soldiers.
Some soldiers looked at Cass with unbearable expressions on their faces, and were severely reprimanded by Cass, so they had to harden their hearts to forcibly drag the girls away.
In the midst of the chaos, Cass, who was standing with his arms in his arms, sneered and looked at the lowly commoners who were kneeling and begging for mercy, completely unaware that the young men in the village had a hostile expression on their faces. Stare at him.
The nearby villages are close to the mountains, and many people make a living by hunting. Compared with other towns on the flat land, their folk customs are more sturdy and their bodies are stronger. If they can live on, even if they barely make ends meet, these men will be honest. However, they suffered a disaster a while ago. It was when life was difficult. These soldiers did not care about their lives and wanted to force their relatives. Sold out, they are already on the verge of breaking out.
The cries grew louder and louder. An old woman who was holding her daughter tightly was kicked away by the soldiers and fell to the ground. Her arms were slashed with blood by stones, and the young girl who was dragged away was also mournful. crying.
In the crowd, a sturdy man dressed as a hunter couldn't hide the anger in his eyes. He took a step forward and touched the hunting bow behind him.
At this moment, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came, breaking the noise here.
Everyone looked over there subconsciously, and saw a blond boy trotting over from the road.
Running here to see them, the young man stopped his horse and looked at them.
"What are you doing?"
The young man looked at them with a curious expression, as if he had never seen this scene before, so he felt it was rare.
Cass, who originally wanted to warn the passerby not to meddle in his own business, immediately stopped caring when he heard the boy's curious tone that seemed to be watching a play.
Although this young man is good-looking, no matter how good-looking he is, he is still a man, and he has no interest in it. And looking at the young man's appearance, he was raised quite delicately, and the family should have some background.
"These guys don't pay taxes." He responded casually, "It's just a bunch of scumbags, you'd better leave it alone."
Cass just doesn't want to be too busy, but if this young man is really bloody and wants to meddle in his own business, he won't back down.
And looking at the attire of this young man, he doesn't seem to be very powerful. It is estimated that he has a little money at home. If the other party dares to do it, he will directly arrest this ignorant child and knock it hard. A fortune in the kid's house.
"Is that so?"
The young man showed a sudden realization, then shook his head and sighed.
"The state has stipulated taxes. Since you are protected by the state, you must pay taxes according to the rules. How can you do things like tax resistance? This is against the law of the country."
He seemed angry, and rebuked him in a high-pitched tone. The tone of the aristocrat is very much like why not eat minced meat, and there is a hint of arrogance.
Then, he looked at Cass.
"They resisted taxes because you didn't do well and punish them properly. You are also responsible."
The young man spoke with an obvious domineering tone, and this tone seemed to be accustomed to.
Caston, who was suddenly scolded by a kid like this, was not happy, and he was about to scold him back when he opened his mouth.
However, before he opened his mouth, the boy on the horse seemed to raise his hand casually, pulling a strand of blond hair on his forehead behind his ear.
Cass stared suddenly.
When the boy pulled the blond hair that was hanging in front of his ears behind his ears, the bright sunlight illuminated the long golden hair, and the reflected light reflected the emerald green on the boy's earlobe, which was very delicate and conspicuous.
Malachite... earrings
Cass was stunned for a moment.
But his brain was spinning fast.
Although this blond boy was dressed in ordinary clothes, the tone of voice, the style of his body... Most importantly, the earrings carved from malachite...
This is definitely not an ordinary person!
Definitely an aristocrat!
And it's not just an ordinary little aristocrat.
You must know that even if ordinary nobles can get hold of such a precious gemstone as malachite, they would not dare to wear it casually—
The Aaronandeans have almost always etched in their hearts the appearance of precious stones that symbolize several major gods.
Even if he couldn't wear it, he had been fantasizing about it since he was a child, so Cass recognized it at a glance.
Thinking of the arrogant look of this young man who seemed to want to hide but obviously cultivated since childhood, and the attitude of condescending and scolding others, Cass secretly guessed in his heart.
This seemingly ordinary-looking boy was probably the playful young son of some great aristocratic family who deliberately dressed up like this and ran out.
After all, those young aristocratic children read a lot of adventure novels, and they fantasized about going out for adventure or something.
Thinking of this, Caston became nervous.
He thought carefully about whether he had been rude just now, and what was wrong with answering the boy's words.
At this moment, the young man glanced scornfully at the circle of civilians and spoke again.
"As a citizen of Aaron Landis, but resisting taxes, this kind of behavior is really shameful. You arrest them all for me, put them in jail, and I will tell Uncle Carnille..."
As if realizing that he had missed his mouth, the young man coughed, as if he was covering up something.
"...the City Lord of Tverul will be told their guilt and punished severely."
Canille... Uncle
The team rate was stunned.
Canillele, this is the name of the Lord of the City of Tverul!
How could this young man call out his name, and call it so intimately
this this this-
and many more.
What did this noble young master say
Are you going to tell the Lord of the City about this
Cass was heartbroken.
no!
His boss, the city gate guard, turned a blind eye and didn't care about the people below him making money, but the city lord is an upright person, and he treats people with integrity and strictness. Once the city lord knows about this, he will send someone to investigate. …
"No, wait, this young master, it's not like this, it's not like this."
Cass's cold sweat has subsided, and he hurried forward to explain to the boy.
But his use of the honorary title made the boy stare unhappily.
"Don't yell, I'm not a young master, just a bard!"
Bah, how can a bard have your style.
Cass sneered in his heart, and the boy denied it so firmly, which made him believe that this is the playful young master of some noble family.
He leaned over and smiled.
"Yes, yes, this... bard, in fact, these idiots... no, these commoners have paid most of it, and there is only a little left to collect, I'm just frightening them and asking them to collect the tax money. That's it."
He was terribly annoyed.
Originally, I wanted to teach this group of bad people a good lesson, but now I am unlucky to encounter such an ignorant noble child.
"Actually, because of the recent earthquake near here, their family has suffered disasters, and it's not easy." He smiled and said to the young man, "Look, we have to catch all such a little thing, and we have to be alerted. Lord City Lord, is it too much?"
"Affected?"
The boy blinked and thought about it.
He said, "Okay, although it's against the law to not pay taxes, but since it's been hit, it's excusable."
"Yeah, yeah, it's a disaster." Cass said quickly, "I just frightened them, they have made up the rest of the tax, and when you came, I was about to let them go."
"Is that so..."
The young man nodded slightly.
Cass smiled at the boy flatteringly and relaxed.
After this relaxation, the tense and stiff brain began to turn again.
Suddenly he felt something was wrong.
Even if a noble young master goes out to play in disguise, it is impossible for the elders to rest assured that such an innocent young master who has never seen anything in the world will go on the road alone.
Not a single servant, that's impossible.
Cass thought so in his heart, his thoughts turned, and his eyes darkened. While looking up at the earrings on the boy's ears, he raised his hand to grab the reins of the horse the boy was riding.
He opened his mouth to try a few more words, and suddenly, a cold wind rushed in.
I saw a sharp arrow shot from a distance, and inserted exactly between Cass' outstretched hand and the rein that was about to touch.
The tip of the arrow even cut through Cass' fingertips, and with a puff, it plunged into the tree behind him.
As soon as Cass turned his head, he was in a cold sweat. He saw that most of the sharp arrow had gone into the hard tree trunk, showing the terrifying strength.
If the arrow was aimed at his head, he would be dead now.
He turned around again, and saw a young man dressed as a bard galloping from a distance.
The young man was still holding a bow in his hand, and it was obvious that the terrifying arrow just now was shot by the young man.
"You arrogant guy!"
As soon as the black-haired youth arrived, he scolded Cass.
"How dare you approach—"
He seemed to want to say a name, but swallowed half of it.
He said, "Humble fellow! Step back at once!"
The young man's eyes seemed to grow on the top of his head, looking down at them condescendingly, with a cocky look.
However, as soon as he turned his head and saw the young man, his arrogant attitude softened immediately, showing a pleasing smile.
"Little master, you have agreed to wait for me, how can you go first?"
He said nervously, "It's fortunate that you're all right. If there is an emergency, how would you tell me to...?"
When he saw Shulos suddenly come out, a trace of surprise flashed in Garlan's eyes.
When Shulos said this, he immediately reacted and put on an impatient expression.
"It's alright, it's alright, talking about it every day, like an old man, it's annoying."
He pointed at Cass and said, "This guy is not bad. I think he is very loyal to his duties, and he is also Carnille... The city lord's subordinate, why are you scaring him?"
The black-haired youth who was smiling at the boy turned back to his arrogant attitude when his eyes fell on Cass.
However, Cass didn't dare to say anything at all.
There was some doubts just now, but when he saw that this young man with amazing archery skills turned out to be this young man's servant, he immediately had no doubts.
He stood there with low eyebrows pleasing to the eye, looking very honest.
The young man glanced at him, seemed impatient to talk to Cass, and threw a dozen Aaron silver coins to him.
"Okay, it's none of your business here. This is the medical bill for my injury to you. Let's go."
Cass caught the silver coin and was elated. He also had money, talked to a nobleman, and was praised by the other party. He was in a great mood. He completely forgot about the group of villagers. He nodded and bowed, and took the group of soldiers with him. They are gone.
Halfway through the road, he secretly looked back again.
He saw that someone in the group of civilians seemed to come up to talk to the blond boy, but the boy didn't even look at the group of civilians, he held his head proudly, turned his horse's head and walked away on his own.
The black-haired youth followed closely behind the boy, ignoring the group of civilians.
Seeing this, Cass no longer doubted, and took the soldiers on the road back to the city.
A man stepped forward and supported the old man.
The old man was the commoner who wanted to talk to Garlan just now, but was ignored. The man glanced angrily at the two who had already left on horseback, his face full of anger.
"These are all the same, they don't take us seriously at all, so does that noble young master—"
"Shut up, what do you know?"
the old man shouted.
He remembered the deep look that the blond boy had taken before he left, a pair of eyes as clean as a sunny sky.
He sighed: "That young master is saving us..."
"Huh? Save us? Just like him?"
"You can't see it, so the leader of the team didn't see it either."
"But if he wants to help us, can't he just order the group of soldiers to stop?"
"Idiot, if he did that, he could have saved us at the time, but the anger of the leader of the team would be on us, and as soon as he left, we would suffer in the end."
After the old man finished speaking, he looked up at the back of the blond boy who was about to disappear in the distance, and murmured, "I don't know which noble young master it is. He has a good heart and is so smart... The gods will surely bless him."
At this moment, the two people who have left are talking while riding forward.
"I said you, the arrogant and self-righteous young master, performed well~"
"The appearance of your dog's legs is also very good."
"Hahahaha, after all, acting is more or less my job—but, that's just acting, and it's completely different from my nature."
Shulos carefully stated his personality.
"… I thought you were leaving."
"Well, let's put it this way, I was watching from behind. If you had rushed up with your sword, I would have turned around and ran away from you, so as not to be implicated."
Shuloston paused and pouted.
"But it's really not worth it. The silver coins you gave me are gone, and more are added. Hey~ I can't eat the big meal."
"I'll pay you back."
Suddenly remembering something, Garlan sighed.
"But then, we can't go into the city."
As soon as you enter the city, if you collide with that group of soldiers, you will be exposed.
"There's no other way. Let's go directly to Mount Tverul, and go directly to other cities when we're done. Then, you can treat me to another meal."
"Okay~"
Garland laughed, smiling happily.
"Hey, it's a pity that the beauties of Tverul City won't be able to appreciate the beauty of Aaron Landis's most handsome bard."
Shu Luos raised his hand and stroked the black hair that fell on his cheeks, and said regretfully.
"...you'll be happy with yourself."
Just in the dialogue between you and me, two horses galloped in the wind.
By the time night fell, the two had already set foot in the area of Tverul Mountain.
It is indeed a famous scenic spot, with lush woods, greenery everywhere, and clear mountain springs flowing through it. When the night wind blew, the dense canopy made a rustling sound.
Even in the dark, the scenery is very beautiful.
When Garlan was riding his horse on the mountain trail, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye.
He turned his head and saw that there was a dense forest, and there was nothing quietly under the bright moonlight.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing that he slowed down, Shulos asked.
"I seem to see a white shadow in the woods over there..."
Shulos looked over.
"Nothing at all?"
The bard is so confident in his vision that he can see everything clearly, even in the dark.
At this moment he looked into the woods, but there was nothing there but trees.
"Well, that's probably my fault."
Garland looked back.
It's probably just white light refracted by moonlight.
he thinks.