Chapter 02
A carriage came to a halt in front of a luxurious mansion in the heart of the city.
A man dressed in an elegant outfit of black and gold gracefully stepped out of the carriage.
He was Lowfang, a tax collector of the Astar Empire.
Adjusting the brim of his well-groomed hat, he looked at the knights lined up in front of the mansion.
Their bodies were stiff, and their eyes were filled with fear.
Until recently, these knights had attempted to stop Lowfang on the orders of their own lord, Volder Maxwell.
Lowfang approached one of them and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Hahahaha! You’ve got a good face. How’s the place you injured back then? Recovered yet?”
“I-I’m fine, sir.”
“Good, good. Don’t go throwing your body around recklessly next time. After all, you all have to make a living, don’t you?”
“T-Thank you for your concern, sir.”
Tremble, tremble.
The man, whose face was drenched in sweat, couldn’t offer even the slightest objection.
After all, half of the knights under his command were still suffering in their sickbeds because of the injuries Lowfang had inflicted upon them.
Smiling, Lowfang climbed the steps and entered the mansion.
In the reception room, beneath an enormous chandelier, a middle-aged man with a protruding belly greeted him with an anxious expression.
“Volder Maxwell.”
Lowfang spoke.
“If you’re a noble of the Astar Empire, then it’s only natural that you abide by the laws of the Empire. If you refuse to pay your taxes, you should surrender your title and leave this country.”
Maxwell broke into a cold sweat and bit his lip.
“W-Why, I… I have the right to protect my own wealth! That’s enough, you ruffian! How can someone holding a mere government position dare threaten a lord? Do you have any idea how absurd that is?”
Lowfang sighed and tapped the table with his fingertips.
“Rights? Only those who fulfill their obligations have the right to claim them.”
Just as he was about to turn around, Maxwell shouted in a fit of rage.
“Captain of the Knights! Cut that bastard down immediately!”
The knight captain hesitated for a moment, but ultimately drew his sword in obedience to Maxwell’s command.
He lunged forward, aiming a surprise attack at Lowfang’s back.
However, Lowfang sidestepped as though he had anticipated the attack all along.
And then…
Slash!
A sword imbued with crimson aura flashed through the air, and the knight captain’s blade was severed cleanly in two.
“Stop wasting your time with this pointless nonsense and pay your taxes on time.”
Lowfang muttered with a frigid expression.
“You damn flies. Every last one of you.”
“AAARGH! Let go of me!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lowfang kicked the knight captain to the ground and hurled Maxwell’s corpulent body onto the desk with all his might.
CRASH!
“GAAARGH!”
The desk shattered, and Maxwell let out a scream.
Lowfang stroked his chin with a satisfied expression.
“Now then, I’ll extend your tax payment deadline. Have the money ready by tomorrow. If you’re late again, it’ll be your head that flies off next time.”
“B-By tomorrow, right? I understand! So please, just leave already!”
Maxwell nodded, his face deathly pale.
With his business concluded, Lowfang leisurely left the mansion.
“Who’s next?”
Since the matter was practically settled and done with by tomorrow, Lowfang examined his list of tax delinquents.
His next destination was the commercial city of Arvan.
The parchment scroll unfurled, revealing the names of numerous individuals, but…
I’ll skip the small fry.
As a first-class tax collector, Lowfang had no reason to concern himself with delinquent payments that amounted to little. Those were the responsibility of other tax collectors.
He had no choice but to pursue individuals with much larger outstanding debts.
The kind of tax evaders who resorted to every trick imaginable to avoid paying what they owed required someone of Lowfang’s caliber to deal with them.
This one should do.
Lowfang’s next target was the Thieves’ Guild, which operated freely throughout Arvan.
The Thieves’ Guild.
Under normal circumstances, it was an organization whose very existence should never have been recognized as legitimate.
But as a tax collector, Lowfang had no need to concern himself with the legality of the organization.
There was only one thing that mattered.
Taxes.
As Lowfang reviewed the information on the Thieves’ Guild, he came across a familiar name and chuckled.
「Ethan Fritz」
According to the information, he was only twenty years old, yet through a combination of one stroke of luck after another, he had somehow become the Guildmaster of the Thieves’ Guild.
“Damn brat. Barely old enough to shave, and already learning all the wrong things.”
He muttered under his breath.
Then, flicking the brim of his hat with a finger, he murmured,
“Maybe I’ll go teach him a little lesson.”
Night had fallen over Arvan, and the city seemed no different from usual. However, tension hung thick in the Thieves’ Guild’s headquarters.
News that Lowfang had thoroughly cleaned out Baron Volder Maxwell, who resided in a neighboring city, had left Ethan struggling to compose himself.
How could an ordinary thieves’ guild possibly stand a chance against a monster who had single-handedly crushed an entire order of knights?
No matter how thoroughly they prepared, it was clear from Lowfang’s past actions that he would simply smash everything in his path without discrimination.
“Dig up everything you can. Find out where the bastard has been, what he’s been doing, and even who he’s been associating with. I want every last detail.”
Ethan Fritz issued the order while twirling the dagger in his hand.
His subordinates hurried into action, scrambling to gather information on Lowfang’s whereabouts.
Lowfang.
Just hearing the man’s name filled Ethan with a sense of impending doom.
Until now, nobles and other organizations had routinely brushed aside their tax obligations. But that man was relentlessly pursuing tax collection without the slightest intention of backing down.
Still, Ethan was no pushover.
Sure, there was nothing particularly special about him, and he’d become the leader of the Thieves’ Guild through sheer dumb luck. But deep down, wasn’t he an indomitable Korean who had experienced every hardship imaginable in his previous life?
“If I can just buy some time, there should be a way to get out of this…”
“B-Boss. I think you should take a look outside. Right now.”
Just then, strange movements were detected throughout the city.
“…What is it?”
Ethan peered outside through the window.
At the eastern harbor, smuggling ships had been firmly secured, and soldiers were boarding them in formation, searching every inch of their cargo.
From an abandoned warehouse in the west came a series of eerie sounds.
Creak. Creeeeak.
The broken door swayed in the wind, producing an ominous noise.
And all around the Guild’s headquarters, soldiers were taking up positions, blocking every possible escape route.
“W-What the hell?! When did they get here?!”
Ethan sprang to his feet and shouted.
He had never imagined that they would surround the place so quickly and so thoroughly.
But he swiftly regained his composure.
They must have come here to collect taxes. If that’s the case… I need to buy some time.
He had to find an escape route.
Ethan gestured to one of his subordinates and ordered him to open the door.
However…
BANG!!
“AAARGH!”
The subordinate was sent flying along with the door itself the moment he grabbed the handle.
He spun backward and slammed into the wall, in a scene so ridiculous it would have been comical under different circumstances.
Meanwhile, as pale smoke rose outside the doorway, a man calmly removed his hat.
It was Lowfang.
With a faint smile and an almost courteous demeanor, he greeted them.
“No need to bother introducing myself. You parasites. If you’re going to cling to others for a living, you should at least pay your taxes on time.”
His calm yet intimidating voice filled the room.
He strolled over and sat down in a chair, his movements natural and unhurried.
Ethan swallowed a faint scream and hurriedly surveyed his surroundings.
Outside the door, the footsteps of soldiers were drawing closer.
There was no escape now.
He slowly sat down opposite Lowfang, forcing the corners of his mouth upward.
“…I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding. Why don’t we talk this over? Hey, someone, bring us some tea!”
Lowfang’s expression remained unchanged. He simply gazed at Ethan, waiting for him to continue.
A moment later, Lowfang crossed one leg over the other and leaned back comfortably against the chair.
Then he took a sip of the tea brought to him by a member of the Thieves’ Guild.
“That’s good tea.”
“It’s the perfect season for it, so the aroma of the tea leaves is at its peak. We’ll also be bringing out some freshly baked madeleines shortly, so please take your time and enjoy yourself.”
“I’ll pass on the sweets. Now, shall we get down to business and discuss your taxes?”
He lightly tapped the ledger in his hand and looked at Ethan.
“According to the records we’ve compiled, the total amount of unpaid taxes owed by your guild comes to 420 gold coins.”
Ethan gave a dismissive chuckle and shook his head.
He signaled to a subordinate beside him, who promptly brought over a ledger.
Opening the thick book, Ethan pointed at the figures with his finger and spoke.
“As you can see, our Thieves’ Guild maintains perfectly proper accounting records. Business hasn’t been easy, either. In fact, we’re struggling under a mountain of debt.”
Lowfang raised an eyebrow and curled his lips with apparent interest.
He glanced over the ledger, nodded, and brought a hand to his chin.
“You’ve got a decent head on your shoulders. You’re not quite what the rumors made you out to be.”
“Hahaha! I’m actually quite intelligent.”
But then Lowfang abruptly snapped the ledger shut.
The meaning behind that small gesture was unmistakable.
Don’t give me that bullshit.
Ethan realized in an instant that Lowfang lacked sufficient grounds to justify the 420-gold tax bill.
In that case, the best course of action was to change tactics.
Ethan immediately raised both hands, looking as though he had been gravely wronged.
“I had absolutely no intention of evading my taxes. If there’s anything I accidentally overlooked, I’ll acknowledge it, so please consider adjusting the amount.”
Look at this bastard.
Lowfang clicked his tongue inwardly.
He was privately annoyed that things weren’t going the way he wanted, but his expression remained relaxed.
“Fine. 400 gold.”
He stated the amount curtly.
“100 gold!”
Ethan immediately countered, slashing the figure down.
“350 gold.”
“150 gold! That’s the absolute most we can pay! We have to make a living, too! If you strip us of everything when we’re already struggling, we’ll starve to death!”
As the fierce battle of wits continued, the negotiations approached their climax.
“Hmmm.”
Just then, the door opened, and one of Lowfang’s subordinates entered carrying a stack of documents.
He approached Lowfang quietly and handed them over.
Lowfang accepted the documents and slowly scanned through them. Then the corners of his mouth curled upward into a sly smile.
“How could someone so cunning make such a careless mistake?”
The documents in his hand contained a list of the Thieves’ Guild’s secret accounts held under borrowed names, which had been obtained from a bank in Arvan.
The amounts in the accounts weren’t particularly large, but the fact that there were several of them was the problem.
Ethan’s expression stiffened.
This was unfair.
He hadn’t created those accounts.
They were emergency funds that Ethan had secretly set aside during his previous life, before he had possessed this body. He had simply forgotten about them over time.
Ugh. What an idiot. Who creates an account and then forgets about it?
Because of that, when he had possessed this body, he hadn’t had the time to recall any information about those accounts.
But the bigger problem was that Lowfang had managed to uncover them.
Lowfang wore a triumphant smile, thoroughly pleased with his apparent victory.
“Looks like you’ve been quietly making preparations behind my back. Go ahead and do whatever you want.”
Flinch!
Everyone trembled at Lowfang’s confidence.
The subordinates standing nearby grew tense, anxiously watching the situation unfold.
Ethan slowly shifted his gaze around the room and exchanged quick glances with his subordinates.
Then he made his decision.
“RUN!”
The moment those words left his mouth, the thieves scattered in every direction and attempted to flee.
