"Taxes?

　In the audience hall, one of the reports I received from Mimis stuck with me.

　Lately, Mimis is starting to understand how to deal with me, and the way she reports is changing from before.
　Basically, I'll just give you an overview, detailing only what I've bitten into.

　Since I'm still biting on the word 'tax', I once again receive a document from another vassal and start explaining the details while looking through it.

It's a village called Silomero, but they've been slavishly dodging the payment of taxes lately,
Is there a reason for that?
The only thing I can think of that's really strong is that the mayor was replaced.
I see.

　Seeing that I said that and didn't go into it, Mimis said nothing and moved on to the next report.

　Taxes, huh?

　　　　　☆

　After the day's worth of office work was done, I went out into the streets of Pindos.
　As I walked through the busy streets of Pindos, I was thinking about Silomero in my head.

　The moment I heard about Mimis, I had a feeling I could use it for something.
　Speaking of prodigal lords, I know from past history that in many cases they have failed to collect taxes.

　My goal is to buy the hate there and get rid of the lords naturally.
　I was walking around wondering if I couldn't make good use of Silomero, who doesn't pay his taxes properly.

''........Is it safest to leave it alone?''

　Lords who can't even collect taxes, that's how they are branded as incompetent.
　Maybe they don't need to do anything in particular, just leave it alone.

''Are you an idiot!''

　There was a shout and the sound of something hitting him.

　All the passers-by were startled, but they all glanced in the direction of the voice, and all of them left quickly and without a care in the world.

　I wondered what was going on, and went in the opposite direction of the voice.
　Then I found a group of hoodlums - no, yakuza businessmen - in the back alley.

　There were five of them, and one of them was clearly a guy in the position of master or brother, or something like that.
　With an angry look on his face, he tensed up the side of the most timid-looking man of the five.

"What was that collection earlier, you are an amateur!
I'm sorry!　But I think it would be better...
'What?　But?　You're going to tell me I'm wrong about everything?
"--Hey!　I don't think so--

　Just as he was about to defend himself, the feeble-looking man was strung up by his master man again.
　The momentum of the tension caused him to stagger and bang his head against the wall.

　He cowered as he held back his collision.

You are such a useless bastard, aren't you? Come on, boys.
""Hey!"

　The master spat and left with the other henchmen.

　The feeble looking man left behind.
　The way he was left behind, practically given up on, abandoned. It feels like.

''Haha........Ora......it's still no good......''

　The frail-looking man slumped to the ground and looked dejected.
　He seemed to sense it too.

　I had a thought, so I approached the man and called out to him.

　　　　　☆

　We walked into a nearby restaurant and sat down facing each other.

Ah, um ... what do you want with me?
I have a favor to ask you. Oh, and before you do, my name is Hermes Cano. And your name is...
My name is Nassos... huh?　Cano, cano...?

　When he heard my name, the man who introduced himself as Nassos, heard my name and then scowled for a moment.

'Yeah!'

　I was so surprised that I flipped my chair over and rolled over and fell on my butt to the ground.

'Ka, ka, ka...'
"Kaka?
Are you saying that you're a lord, Lord Dass?
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah!
Don't be so surprised. You might as well sit down. I have a favor to ask you.
Ha, ha...

　Nassos pulls up a chair and sits back down with a sense of trepidation.
　He's frightened to hear that I'm a lord, and he's sitting uncomfortably with his hips only halfway to the chair.

　Oh well, more to the point, I'm talking to you.

"Check it out, you're a debt collector, aren't you?
Yes, yes.... but I can't get past my brother. My brother was already scolding me.
"Hmm.

　I guess that's what I witnessed.
　A gang of debt collectors, and they were out collecting, and this cowardly guy, Nassos, got his ass whipped for screwing up or something, I guess.

　That, too.

"I'm no good to you...
Is that so?
Yes, Das, that's what everyone always said about you...
I see.

　Apparently, it's a regular occurrence.

　It'll work.
　If we bring him in, we can make a mistake.

Hey, Nassos, you know what I'm going to ask you for?
For Ora?
Oh, yeah. There's a village called Shilomero, the taxes there are overdue, I need you to go and collect them.
What?
You come along, and I'll give you your fifty minutes, or maybe ten percent.
Yeah!

　Nassos is a huge surprise.

　It's not a funny story.
　There are still some aristocrats who outsource tax collection to merchants who don't work for them, or to collection experts.

　From what I've heard, there is a method of having a few people do the bidding and then letting them "pay (get) the most".

　That's what I'm trying to get Nassos to do.
　And if I'm not mistaken, he's going to fail.

　And if he fails, it's my fault for asking him to do it.

　The scale is right.
　One failure in the village's tax collection, Silomero, won't do enough damage to shake the Cano family itself.

　A failure there, a failure there, and my reputation will be tarnished there.

"But, sir...
You can do it.
What?

　I decided to press on.
　It's rare to see a guy fail as clearly as Nassos.
　I need to coax him into it.

Can you....can you do it?
Yeah, you can do it. I believe in you.
Do you believe you...?
I mean, I can see the potential for you to help.

　I didn't say - in a negative way.

　Nassos's eyes widened.
　One minute I was astonished, and the next minute I started shaking with a rut.

　And to top it all off, she started crying!

No one has ever told me that in my life.
Is that so?
My brother, Otou and Okafor have been telling me that I'm not good enough. That's you.....

　Nassos wiped the tears away with the back of his hand and stared at me with a look that said, "Kiss.

'I do!　I will risk my life for Lady Hermes, Das!
That's what I'm talking about!

　I thought in my mind that I had done a good job of getting him on board.
　By the way, I didn't tell them how to do it.
　I told him how to do something and he succeeded - that's what we've been doing.

　Nassos will take care of everything.
　I expected failure and was sure I could do it.

　　　　　☆

　Half a month later, in the audience hall.

'....Heh?

　I was appalled by Mimis' report.

"Mmm, I must say, it's a masterpiece. We never would have come up with it.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You can't praise me later-- no, no, no praise.

　I was confused.
　What did Mimis say when she walked into the audience room first thing in the morning during office hours?

Did you get your taxes from White Mero?
All in full.
Who?
A young man named Nassos. He says he was ordered to do it by his master?

　Isn't it?　I made a face at Mimis.

'That's true, but...'

　Huh?　What do you mean?
　Does that mean you've been getting your taxes right?

　You're not supposed to fail, Nassos.
　Did I do something wrong?

　As if to explain my confusion, Mimis said.

'Well, he may look like a timid young man at first glance, but that's the type of young man that grows with praise.
What?

　Will it grow?

I've heard that you've never received a single compliment in your life. I'm sure you feel indebted to the master who found you. That's why you're so desperate to do it.
....
That's good, master. I really wish you could enlighten me. How did you discover the secret of a man who had never been praised in his entire life, a man whose genius had been unknown to others?
No way.

　I was getting more and more pokey.

　Nassos's success had raised my reputation among my vassals for taking it up.
　Besides.

"The most important skill in a ruler's life.

　They've gone up where they shouldn't have given the most.