It's October, and the autumn wheat is beginning to sprout.

"I wonder if they'll be here soon.

Martha says. Jin overhears this.

"What do you mean, coming?"

The tax collector.

The tax collector?

Ah, so there are taxes in this world, Jin thinks. The word "tax collector" made him imagine a fat and greasy middle-aged man. Or else a skinny, money-obsessed middle-aged man.

Once, a tax collector came to Nido Orphanage where Jin was. Well, he didn't hide anything or evade taxes, so he left immediately.

"How much have they taken from us?"

Martha nodded her head,

"Well, last year, I think, with wheat ......".

From what Martha said, Jin understood that it was about 5 tons. If the consumption of this village is about 10 to 15 tons per year, the tax is 2 to 1 or 3 to 1. That might be a little light as a tax.

"Is there a fixed tax?"

I asked him,

"Yes, it seems to be based on the number of households.

It is said that this is because it takes too much time and effort to collect taxes by checking the yield of each harvest. In the Edo period, when land inspection was conducted, this method of tax collection was not implemented until after the Kyoho Reforms. This may be a good thing, since it is difficult for the government to make a budget if tax revenues change according to the harvest.

However, there were times when the government could not pay the tax due to bad harvests, and in such cases, the tax could be reduced by a tax exemption.

"We come here to find out if we can pay or not, and also to decide next year's tax.

"I see, and what about transporting them?"

The tax collector escorts them to the village of Toka. The tax collector will escort them to the village of Toka, where a government official will pick them up.

It seems that the tax collector does not come to this remote area to collect the tax.

"I see."

Jin decided to ask the question that had been on his mind for a long time.

"By the way, I've been wondering, isn't there any danger on the road that takes two or three days?　Beasts, bandits, etc.?"

"Thieves, huh? I've never heard of such things since I was born. I guess they don't make much money in the middle of nowhere, do they?

Well, that's true. ......

"And the beasts, well, there are beasts. The dangerous ones are the wolves. But these wolves are small, so there's no danger unless they attack in packs. Besides, they all wear bells to keep the beasts away.

I didn't know they had such a thing.

Jin wondered if it might be a magical tool. After all, Jin knew that it was a bell to ward off , not .

Well, as it turned out, the bell was a degraded version of the bell that repelled <>.

It was two days after that story.

"Ah, here we are at last!

A traveler came to the village of Kaina. She looks like a woman.

She wore a breastplate on her petite body, a short sword on her hip, and mounted on a horse, looking like a person of rank. Yes, she was the tax collector in charge of the village of Kaina.

As she walked her horse, she asked the villagers who were there.

"Excuse me, I have to ask you, are you sure this is the village of Kaina?

"Yes, it is.

The answer was Jin. He had just returned from collecting natural rubber sap.

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought I had come to the wrong village.

"Excuse me, who are you?　My name is Jin from this village.

Jin asked the woman on the horse, who was moved to tears.

"Oh, excuse me. My name is Licia, a tax collector who has been assigned to the village of Kaina this year.

Jin felt his image of a tax collector crumbling noisily in his mind, but he did not show it,

"Oh, that's very kind of you. You said, "Starting this year," didn't you? Then you must not be familiar with the land. Would you like me to show you the way to the village headman's house?

That would be very helpful. I'd be very grateful.

Jin asked with all his might. Laughing, he stands first and leads the way to the village headman's house. On the way, Licia asks me a question.

"Oh, um, how are the wheat crops doing this year?"

"Oh, you should ask the village headman you are going to see about that kind of thing.

"Yes, that's true."

Jin looked at the woman on the horse again. She is small and has a childish face. Light brown hair and eyes the same color as hers. She does not look mature enough to be an adult.

"Excuse me, Miss Licia, but how old are you?"

"Uh, um, I'm 15 years old!　Is that funny?"

Jin laughed,

"I don't know what you think is funny, but you just look so unfamiliar to me.

"Oh, yes, this was my first job in the service of the kingdom!

"Your first job in the service of the Kingdom. That must be nerve-wracking. But you should relax a little more.

Yes, thank you. ......

I bit.

Jin recalled a similar nervousness of a child at the orphanage who was preparing for the high school entrance examination.

"Wow, my family is the new nobility, so we're not used to this kind of thing."

"New nobility?　New nobility?

Jin was so unfamiliar with the word that he couldn't help but ask back.

"Don't you know about this?　Since the previous king had purged the nobility of bad nobles, wealthy commoners or soldiers who had made good deeds were made baronets or knights to fill the vacancies.

I've never heard of this before.

I've never heard of it before." "That's right.

I don't think it's right to talk about such things to a man I don't even know, but Jin, who has no intention of spreading the word, listens in silence. Perhaps because of this, Licia became less tense and her speech became less forceful.

"My father was made a knight (ritter) because of his merits during the border war with the southern countries. I, his daughter, am doing this job because I too could be made a knight ritter for my merits.

"Oh, it's a lot of work, isn't it?

He reminded Jin of the fact that power is a complicated thing.

"Oh, this is the village headman's house.

While they were talking, they arrived at the village headman's house in the small village.

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Jin.

"No, I'll leave you to it."

With these words, Jin returned to Martha's house, carrying a tub of natural rubber.

"I'm home.

"Welcome home, Jin-baby. Have you been gathering food again?

Hannah greeted him. She was looking forward to seeing the various things Jin would make with rubber. By the way, I put elastic in the pants too, so it's easier to wear.

"Oh, welcome back, Jin."

Martha also greeted him. Jin said to Martha,

"I just met the tax collector and he took me to the village headman's house.

Martha nodded her head,

Martha nodded her head and said, "What?　Martha said, "I'm sure he knows this village very well.

I thought she would say so. Jin thought that was what she would say,

He said, "Well, I heard that a new person had been appointed this year. The new person was a 15-year-old girl. She said she was a new noblewoman.

"Oh, I see. Well, that doesn't make any sense.

With a snap the hem of her jacket was pulled down and she looked at Hannah with a slightly bloated face,

"Is she a little bit of a virgin?"

"What?"

"Was she a human being, so you asked her to help?"

Jin was at a loss for an answer,

"No, she wasn't. It's true that she was cute, but ......!

Hannah pinched him.

"If someone is in trouble, you have to help them, don't you?　That's why."

"Yes, Hannah, if someone is in trouble, you have to help them, too," said Martha.

Martha also offered her help, so I immediately said, "I'll help you, too, Martha,

I'm only here because Martha helped me.

When I said this, Hannah finally agreed and let go of my hand.