CH 347

“O, of- of course, no problem!”

“Wi, with, with pleasure!”

Alright, we got a good grip!

******

“That’s why this town is…”

“Un un!”

Super popular…

Sabine-chan, that is…

But why?!

Isn’t it natural that I would be more popular here, being seen as about 13 years old and playing as the older sister?

I mean, Sabine-chan… She just turned 12 years old, right?

She was 10 when I first met her and it’s been two years since then.

The height difference between me, which can be seen as a 13-year-old, and her, is hardly there anymore…

……Eh? What?

Does that mean I’ve already lost to Sabine-chan in terms of femininity?

Sabine-chan, a 12-year-old?

……I am 20 years old.

And these boys are about 15-16 years old.

Aah~!

Aaaaaah~!!

……Anyway, the information gathering is progressing smoothly.

Because of Sabine-chan…

And as a result, the information obtained are as follows:

Apparently, the lord here wasn’t a lousy lord to his subjects.

…But it’s not like he’s a “good lord” either…

He collects taxes at a standard rate and manages the territory in the normal way.

I don’t know about the upper class, but for the common folks, he’s a normal lord.

It seems that for the commoners, it’s an unexpected good fortune.

However, the infamous imperial invasion robbed the commoners of their fortunes.

Due to the fighting and looting, the crops, money, goods, and the people of the territory suffered great damage, and the management of the territory suddenly deteriorated.

There was some support from the government, but apparently not enough to make up for all they have lost.

So, the lord was busy with his activities in the royal capital asking for loans at low-interest rates from the state, other lords, and large merchants, also taking other measures, which made it difficult to devote time to domestic affairs… Thus, he puts a deputy in place.

…The deputy was the mistake…

“And so, the people, especially the farmers, are having a hard time…”

Eh? I have to ask about that in detail!

“What is the tax rate on farmers?” (Mitsuha)

“You see, they can’t afford to hire us young mercenaries to exterminate monsters like the mogera moles and the zumo worms, so they’re in a pickle……

Oh right, we’re volunteers, you know? We’re just getting pocket change to help the farmers, haha……” (Boy 1)

No, even if you act like that, Sabine-chan will find out…

And, evidently from this interaction, these two ignored all my words and only talked to Sabine-chan.

Right, the boys only talk to Sabine-chan…

……This is so annoying!

Anyway, when I talked to them, they’d stare at me like saying, “Maid, stay back!”.

And Sabine is aware of her mission, so she is smiling and continuing her information-gathering skills…… with a streak of blue veins on her temple.

Yes, Sabine-chan will never forgive those who make fun of or ignore me.

Right now, she’s carrying out a priority mission, so she’s just desperately enduring it.

Sabine-chan, who usually performs perfectly, has been unmasked to the extent that I could notice.

……In other words, that’s how furious she is.

The only ones who didn’t realize it were the two boys desperately trying to get closer to Sabine-chan.

Right now, the people in this restaurant, the other customers, and the store clerks. All of them have become aware of it.

Of course, there would be no one who wouldn’t get angry if their partner, who was traveling with them, was treated unfairly.

What the hell are these two thinking…?

“……So what’s the tax rate for farmers?” (Sabine)

“Yeah, 75%, apparently.” (Boy 2)

“”Wha-…””

As you can see, if Sabine-chan is the one who’s asking, they’ll immediately tell her.

And at that high rate, Sabine-chan and I are at a loss for words.

The farmer’s tax rate is 40% at the lowest and 60% at the highest.

40% is only possible if the territory has a very lucrative financial resource… owns a mine, is a commercial center in the surrounding area, or can grow spices… and if the lord is a good-natured person.

…Which is to say, very rarely.

And 60% is the limit of the tax rate that is still sustainable.

At 70%, this is a special measure for a single year only, when the crops were good but the territory desperately needed the money for other reasons. It is said that if this continues for more than two years, either the farmer or the lord’s family will perish.

……And yet, that’s 75%. Moreover, it’s continuous.

That’s insane.

“…Are they stupid?” (Sabine)

Sabine-chan says that but…

“No, probably not. They’re not stupid, but huge idiots!”

“Yeah, exactly!”

No, at such a high tax rate, there’s no way farmers can keep up much longer.

Besides, if that’s the tax rate on farmers, I can only imagine the toll tax, the sales tax, and so on.

If it’s for the restoration of the damage caused by the empire, then it’s counterproductive. That would only lead to the destruction of the territory.

…Are they really insane?

After that, we collected information from these boys, and after a while, they ran out of useful information.

After all, they are only 15-16 years old novice mercenaries. They don’t have that much information about politics.

Besides, the information is based on rumors and lacks credibility.

In those cases, we have to increase the amount of information, compare, and analyze.

So, I sent a signal to Sabine-chan.

The one that says, “They’re running dry, let’s move on”.

Receiving that signal, Sabine-chan looked relieved, wondering if she could finally finish her opponent.

…Well, it seems like she was holding back quite a bit…

And so…

“Thanks. Now then, we’ll take our leave.

I’ll pay for the meal…” (Sabine)

“Eh? No, we have many more interesting things to talk about. How about we change shops, we can go to a sweets shop or somewhere…” (Boy 1)

The boys panicked because Sabine-chan, who had been smiling, suddenly turned serious and cut off the conversation.

“But you two don’t like my Oneesama, do you? I don’t want to talk with someone who shows such blatant ill will towards my beloved Oneesama!” (Sabine)

“”Eh?!””

I have a “plain face” with a very ordinary appearance, whereas Sabine-chan is a “fluffy, proper young lady”. Therefore, the boys thought of me as her maid, so they treated me lightly.

They probably didn’t even think that I was her actual sister, but someone she held in high regard.

And then, we paid and left the store, leaving the two boys who dropped their shoulders in disappointment behind.

The other customers and the store clerks looked at the boys like they were fools for throwing away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by their own foolish actions.

Yes, indeed, if those boys had treated the two of us properly, there was a non-zero possibility that we would hire them for a few days, ask them to work as our escorts, or gather information. And, if they worked diligently, I might have given them various preferential treatment after that.

But that possibility is already gone.

Now, on to the next. Forward!

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