kscans

Chapter 74 - The Han Post Town

Despite a few minor... note, from Yuri’s perspective... incidents along the way, the carriage arrived safely at the post town of Han. The plan was to spend the night here, take care of End Village’s tax payment in the morning, and then head to the city of Laurenzen. And for Yuri, it was his first post town since being reborn into this world.

(Wow...)

Seeing a real, live, medieval European-style otherworld post town for the first time in his life sent Yuri’s spirits soaring. Even with his socially awkward tendencies, there was no problem with simply taking in the scenery.

And... watching this Yuri with some bewilderment were Old Man Audel and Dona. Hadn’t he said he traveled with his grandfather when he was young? For someone who had, he seemed to be frolicking as if he was seeing a post town for the very first time. The two tilted their heads inwardly in slight confusion but interpreted it favorably. Perhaps he never had the chance to look around leisurely as a child, or maybe he had simply forgotten. A small seed of doubt was plucked before it could sprout.

(Oops... maybe it’s not a good idea to be staring around so much.)

Belatedly realizing this, Yuri composed himself. But... unfortunately, he only looked like a child trying his best to act like a grown-up, which earned him smiles from the others. Incidentally, Yuri had a baby face even before his reincarnation and was always bothered by not being seen as his age. The humiliation of being mistaken for a middle schooler at twenty-six was still a trauma. It seemed this problem would follow him in his new life... but Yuri did not know that yet.



"Kudol-san, there was something I forgot to ask earlier... is now a good time?"

While they were all seated for dinner at the inn, Yuri waited for a pause in the conversation and posed his question to Kudol.

"Huh? Oh, what is it?"

"Does the Adventurer’s Guild issue something like a card to prove a guild member’s identity?"

In light novels, the existence of guild cards was standard, but this was a real otherworld. It would be a mistake to assume such things existed.

"Ah, the guild card, you mean."

...Or so he thought, but it seemed reality was surprisingly similar to the novels.

"In what cases would a guild card be needed for identification?"

"What cases... let’s see. First off, while post towns like this are an exception, when you enter a city like Laurenzen, you’re required to present a guild card as part of the procedure. If you don’t have one, you have to pay a security deposit."

"A security deposit?"

"It varies by city, but five silver coins is the going rate. If you don’t cause any trouble while you’re there, you get it back when you leave. If you do cause trouble, the deposit is confiscated and you’re kicked out of the city."

Yuri’s expression faltered at the mention of five silver coins, but Adon interjected.

"Ah, no need to worry. I will vouch for you, Yuri-kun. And for you two as well, of course."

"...And just like that, if a respectable resident of the city vouches for you, you don’t have to pay the deposit. For adventurers like us, we can’t provide that kind of guarantee."

"Besides... you have the corpses of four Greed Wolves, don’t you, Yuri-kun? Selling those would get you much more than five silver coins, you know?"

Yuri was shocked to hear that the pelts alone could fetch fifty silver coins, or one half-gold coin, per head. He now realized that must have been why Old Man Audel and Dona were acting so strangely when he showed them his home. To him, they were a necessity for survival, but society valued them differently.

"Since we’re on the topic of buying and selling pelts, it’s better to have a guild card for commercial transactions... or rather, in most cases, you can’t even have a conversation without one."

This was a bit of a problem. Would Yuri need a guild card to sell his crops? If so, which guild would it be? Was there an agriculture guild, or was it a merchant’s guild? He looked toward Old Man Audel with a questioning gaze.

"No? For farmers like us, it’s not unusual to not be in a guild. There are many tenant farmers, after all."

Yuri breathed a sigh of relief. So, he didn’t have to join. In contrast, Kudol and Adon, who had been thinking of using this as an opportunity to persuade Yuri to join a guild, secretly wore grim expressions.

In any case, the day ended with Yuri confirming the details about guild cards.



The next morning, while waiting for Adon, who had gone to pay End Village's taxes on their behalf, a government office for the lord's deputy was apparently located in this post town, a doubt suddenly struck Yuri.

Am I exempt from paying taxes?

"It’s probably fine, isn’t it? You haven’t heard anything about it, right?"

Seeing Kudol dismiss it so bothersomely, Yuri realized he had asked the wrong person.

"Kudol... could you try to be a little more considerate?"

"Huh? You say that, but I’ve never paid taxes in my life. What am I supposed to say?"

He had a point. A very valid point. Seeing their leader’s state, the party’s treasurer, Orban, let out a sigh and said,

"I believe... if the number of households is small, or if the village was established recently, it should be eligible for a tax exemption. I think your case applies to that, Yuri-kun."

I see, a tax exemption. I should confirm that with Adon later...

"Don’t. Just don’t. Why stir up trouble when things are settled? You’d just be waking a sleeping child."

"Kudol!"

...Yuri thought to himself, deeply moved, that the advice of his seniors was truly important.