Chapter Fourteen: They Robbed Me!

Berg had told him before that all white lettering was classified as the Mortal Tier. Above the Mortal Tier was the Transcendent Tier, at which point the writing above one’s head would turn emerald green.

Once someone reached this tier, regardless of their profession—even if they were merely a farmer—they could acquire all sorts of wondrous, almost unbelievable abilities. Moreover, those in the Transcendent Tier could conceal the blessings associated with their professions.

The Klei traveling merchant they had ambushed earlier, the one with no professional blessing above his head, must have been a Transcendent profession-holder.

Fortunately, he had been a merchant. If the man before them had been a knight with a Transcendent profession, Xia Mingyu had no doubt that he and Berg together would not have been able to withstand even a single sword stroke.

The tiers of one’s status and profession were separate. It was entirely possible for a person’s status blessing to be white while their professional blessing was green.

Berg had always hoped to raise his hunter’s blessing to the Transcendent Tier. Unfortunately, with no one to teach him and no knowledge of advancement, he had made no progress at all in the past three years.

“This chainmail looks truly impressive. If one fought in it and wore a helmet as well, one could probably take on ten men without much trouble.”

Xia Mingyu adjusted his straw hat and thought to himself.

At that moment, he wore a huge, round straw hat that had become almost comically oversized. Though unattractive, it concealed the label above his head quite well.

Without it, Xia Mingyu would never have risked exposing his identity before the nobles merely to come and watch.

In addition, he had draped a hempen robe over himself to conceal the modern clothes beneath it.

“Mayor of Fruit Basket Village, come and see me at once!” the knight shouted when it became clear that no more people were joining the crowd.

A moment later, Robert emerged from the throng in a sheepskin robe and slowly approached the knight.

“Respected Sir Knight Solin, I am Robert, the village headman. On behalf of all the villagers, I welcome you to our village.”

Robert bent at the waist and spoke deferentially.

“Is everyone here?” Solin asked coldly.

His expression was stern, and his voice sounded like cold iron striking against cold iron.

“My lord, every villager of Fruit Basket Village is present.”

Robert glanced around before bowing once more.

“By decree of my liege, your great lord, Viscount Hughes, the agricultural tax and hunting tax owed by your village this year come to a total of twenty-one silver sols and seventy-four copper sols. Have you prepared the full amount?”

“My lord, everything has been prepared,” Robert replied with a broad smile.

He gestured behind him, and a villager carrying a bulging money pouch came beneath the old oak tree.

“You there. Count it.”

Solin casually pointed to one of his attendants and gave the order.

The attendant dismounted, lowered his head, and carefully counted the coins inside the pouch.

The continual rasp of fingers against metal filled the air, while the villagers watched nervously.

After all, the result would determine their fate.

Would they be allowed to continue living peacefully as farmers, or would they be reduced to slaves, spending the rest of their lives slowly awaiting death amid endless humiliation and crushing labor...?

“Sir Solin, the count is complete. There are twenty-one silver sols and eighty copper sols in all.”

After a long while, the attendant raised his head, a trace of delight on his face.

“Well done. You have perfectly fulfilled your duties as subjects of the realm.”

At this, the tightly furrowed lines on Knight Solin’s brow eased slightly. He praised Robert in a tone of approval.

“It is our honor, my lord. May the gods bless the great Lord Hughes.”

Robert hurriedly bowed in response.

He had lost count of how many times he had bent his back that day.

“Very good. If only every village were as loyal as yours.”

Knight Solin gave a slight nod.

“I do not know what came over several villages this year. They failed to pay their taxes in full, forcing me to take them to the slave merchants myself.”

“The taxes imposed by my merciful liege are already the lowest in the entire Kingdom of Soxia, yet those serfs still cannot scrape together the money. They are truly witless, utterly wasting our lord’s kindness!”

Remembering that he had failed to complete his liege’s task, Knight Solin could not help complaining, his expression full of indignation.

“Yes, yes. Those people are truly ungrateful.”

Robert’s face remained wreathed in smiles, but inwardly he felt deep sympathy and sorrow for the villagers who were about to be sent to the city of slaves.

Had their village not encountered a noble and generous prince, they might well have met the same fate.

“Very well. I still have to collect taxes from the next village. Since you have paid in full, I will ask my liege to grant you a certain... spiritual commendation.”

After ordering his attendants to place the money pouch in the carriage, Knight Solin turned his horse and prepared to leave.

“Wait! Wait!”

Just as Knight Solin was about to depart with his attendants, a traveling merchant came galloping from the distance, shouting at the top of his lungs.

The sight made Xia Mingyu and Berg tense within the crowd.

The man was Mills, the Klei traveling merchant they had ambushed several days earlier.

“Merchant, what is the matter?”

Looking at Mills, who stood before him panting heavily, Knight Solin frowned slightly and questioned him while rubbing the hilt of the sword at his waist.

His time was precious. He did not wish to waste it on a merchant.

“I wish to lodge a complaint! The tax money these villagers paid was all stolen from me!”

Mills spoke furiously.

At this, Knight Solin’s gaze turned cold.

“That is enough! Merchant, this land falls under my liege’s rule. If you dare slander his subjects without cause, I will cut out your tongue!”

Solin drew the long sword at his waist. It was a fine-steel blade that gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, its sharp point aimed directly at the merchant’s head.

Mills went pale with fright. He knew that his opponent needed only a single stroke to cleave him in two, and that even the protection granted by his profession as a Liar Merchant would not be effective.

For a knight to kill him in defense of his subjects would unquestionably be considered righteous conduct.

For an instant, Mills was so terrified of death that he wanted to turn and flee. In the end, however, his longing for the money he had lost, together with the resentment burning in his heart, kept him rooted to the spot.

“K-Knight... Sir Knight, I am Mills, a traveling merchant. As you can see, this is my professional blessing.”

Mills swallowed and spoke in a trembling voice.

Beside the commoner’s label above his head, another label appeared—“Liar Merchant,” written in emerald-green letters.

Upon seeing the green label, Knight Solin’s attitude immediately softened. He even sheathed the sword he had drawn.

Although Mills was only a merchant, the fact that he had advanced to a Transcendent profession meant that he deserved the respect due to one of that rank.

This was an unspoken understanding and shared consensus among nearly all Transcendents.

“Mills, what evidence do you have that the tax money paid by these villagers consists of coins stolen from you?” Knight Solin asked coldly.