BXBX NOVEL Chapter 208 The Shadow Of Hope (3)
Standing before the hotel that we just found, I realized something about how repetitive my life has been for the last week. I have always wanted to travel when I was still on Earth and I managed to realize that desire upon coming to this world.
"Come to a new place, find a place to stay, do some shit and nope the fuck out. Not the kind of traveler I want to be but that still counts as a traveler," I mutter to myself.
"Is there something wrong?" Millonia asks, wondering why I haven't entered the hotel.
"Nah, I was just too preoccupied with how…dilapidated this hotel is."
Even though we are in a March, which is the territory that is ruled by a Marquess, the state of the city doesn't meet your expectation of how a city located in a March should look like. It looks no better than Scentillion City, which is among the less developed territories the Verniculos Kingdom has.
You may argue saying how hard life is living in a territory that has an eternal winter but this world is a Magic World. Winter has nothing to do with them; even if they live in the tundra, they will still feel warm.
What about food? You may ask. They have Low-Rank Wild Beasts lurking around. They can hunt them and eat them. What about the commodity? You may also ask. They have pine woods around them that can be used to make Mage staffs and many others. They shouldn't suffer from poverty.
"How many rooms do you want to order, sir?"
"Hm? Oh…just give me your biggest room." By the time I know it, I am already standing before the reception desk, ordering a room.
p
"Isn't that better?"
The receptionist got choked by her breath. She coughs a couple of times before giving me the key and says, "350 Peculia, sir."
1 Peculia is equal to 5 Silver coins. Instead of taking out so many Peculia, despite having a lot of them, I give the receptionist 70 Silver coins instead. That is a rather expensive price for a decrepit-looking hotel but, thankfully, we got meals covered. Plus, we can stay here for three days which, of course, we won't.
I take the key and head upstairs with the girls. Our room is on the top floor of the hotel. There is no other room on it but ours. Somehow, the situation is very familiar.
When we enter, I, who expected the worst, am astonished by how cozy the room looks. It still doesn't worth the money but the setup of the room makes me feel at home—simple and organized.
"Wow…so much for 70 Silver," Millonia remarks.
"This is a rip-off," Lunea mutters in dissatisfaction.
"Unbelievable…to think that a hotel dares to pull something like this…" Winerva, who seldom says anything, comments.
"Lunea aside, why are the two of you acting like privileged princesses?" I ask.
"No, no, no. no matter how you look at it, it doesn't worth the money! That's why we are complaining," Millonia retorts.
"Hey, why did you sound like I didn't know how to appreciate simplicity? I just don't like the fact that you have been scammed," Lunea reasons.
"I…I once paid cheaper and got better than this room. I just think it is unfair," Winerva explains.
I am not going to act like this is not a scam or this is worth the money—I know it is extremely overpriced—but I don't bother explaining the situation myself. I walk to the window and then motion for the girls to come closer.
When they see only people getting busy with whatever they are doing on the snowy street of the city, they look at me in bemusement. I tell them to wait and some people riding on horses stop before in the middle of the street before the hotel not long after.
Dressed in fancy, white-themed military clothes, none of the people wears an amicable look. They look like a pretentious group of bandits that comes to collect the monthly payment of the people whose village they are "protecting."
Thud!
One of the men got down from his horse. He takes out a scroll of paper, opens it and then reads the content inside it.
"A message from the Marquess! I, Elijah Crook, hereby declare the raise of the monthly tax; henceforth, you shall pay five percent more than you did last month."
The man looks around disdainfully and the people on the side of the road merely lower their heads. None of them fights back or even protests about the ridiculous raise in tax.
"Ah, no wonder this shitty room is expensive," Millonia mutters.
With how high the tax is, it is normal to expect good development. What happens, however, is the exact opposite. The city gets poorer each day, causing a lot of its citizens to leave it. on the other hand, the marquess keeps getting richer.
I don't know how important the people of this world view education but this Elijah Crook is one of the examples of why education is important. He only knows how to milk but doesn't know how to take care of the cow; one day, he will wonder why the cow dies.
"Line up, people! The tax is now 30% of your monthly income. Make sure to give us the right amount! We know how much you made this month, so don't try to lie!"
The mood that has been depressive turns even more depressive. As the people line up to pay their taxes, all of them frown deeply as if wondering if they will be able to survive this month with the money they will have after paying the tax.
Crack!
A middle-aged woman has just got slapped by the idiot who read the message from Elijah the imbecile. She is now on all fours, trying hard to stand up as blood trickles down her nose.
"Do you think I will believe your statement, you harlot? Do you think anyone will believe that you didn't make any money this month? Stop lying!"
The middle-aged woman can only weep silently and begs for mercy with a trembling voice. "Please, kind sir…. I really didn't make any money this month. I was living off of people's mercy. There is nothing I can give you."
"Tsk. Useless bitch." The idiot immediately kicks the middle-aged woman.
Bam!
The middle-aged woman is thrown 9 feet away from the line of people. She is crying but she can't make a sound because of the pain she is feeling.
I watch the entire scene with an amused smile on my face. 'Even without us doing anything, humans will find a way to make their kin suffer.'
The idiot tax collector then motions for some of the guys he brings with him to do something to the middle-aged woman; three men get down from their horses and then approach her. When they are on her side, they immediately rip her clothes off without hesitation.
Bang!
At the same time, someone from my group, Lunea slams the door as she gets out of the room.
"Should I stop her?" Millonia asks.
"No." I hold her back, eyes still focused on the scene unfolding outside. "Let us see how interesting the development she will realize is."
Millonia gazes at me in wonder but she doesn't say anything. She joins me in watching the scene and waits until Lunea intervenes. The moment we are waiting doesn't come long. When the middle-aged woman is about to be publicly violated, Lunea comes to stop it.
"Stop it, you birdbrains! What do you think you are doing!?"
She doesn't pull her hood down and says who she is—much to my satisfaction—but the three men immediately stop whatever they are about to do, showing just how much charisma she has. The tax collector is silenced too; he is looking at Lunea in shock, probably wondering if she is a Noble.
"And, who are you if I may ask, My Lady?" the tax collector asks politely. Even if Lunea dresses like your average Adventurer, he doesn't dare treat her carelessly due to her manner and speech.
"Hmph! A disgusting plebeian like you shan't be worthy of knowing my name," she scoffs. "Now, mongrels, unhand that woman!"
There is a couple of seconds of awkward silence after she said that. The three men look back and forth between their boss and the middle-aged but, eventually, they let go of the middle-aged woman, following their boss' command.
Approaching the middle-aged woman, Lunea covers her in a blanket as soon as she reached the middle-aged woman. She heals the woman's face as she comforts the woman.
"T-Thank you…."
"Shh…it's all right."
The ability to heal is rare. Seeing the scene before them makes the tax collector and his men worry, meanwhile, it excites the people. The latter feels like they are saved by the saint they have been waiting for. The former feels like today is finally the end for them.
The tax collector made a stupid decision. He instructs his men to kill Lunea, thinking that it will prevent words of their vile activity from reaching other people's ears.
Swish!
This is the moment when I decided to meddle. "Well, it is the end of the boring show. Let us start something more interesting, shall we?" As soon as my words end, the heads of the tax collectors' men fall to the ground.