Reincarnation of a Hunter

 “As expected, the tax collector was the one with the bad reputation.” “Yeah. And I know the investigation against me was in that safe.” “I don’t even know your name, what’s that worth…” “You talk too much.” 

A knife was pointed at Henry’s neck.

 

Scared and rattled, Henry opens his mouth to speak.

 “Oh my, I’ll die the moment I open that safe!” “Hahaha! I wonder if you can say that after being tortured—” —Clang! Clang! Clang! 

Instantly, one wall collapsed, filling the room with a thick cloud of dust.

 

The Tax Collector grunted. His head bled as he was hit by shrapnel.

 “Ugh, are the Knights here already?” 

Soon the dust cleared and everything became visible.

 

Unexpectedly, there was only one—a beast, standing by the collapsed wall.

 

The tax collector quickly drew his sword.

 

His men also came quickly and gathered around.

 “Who are you!” “Me? What did the chief say? Ahhh! Secretary of Defense, my name is Raul.” 

Raul raised his sledgehammer.

 

Its head suddenly glowed with a strong blue light.

 “Huh, What?” 

The tax collector and his men panicked.

 

The hammer has broken the wall, and now it’s aiming for the floor.

 “No—” —Slam! 

The floor crumbles, and the tax collector with his men hits the ground faster than a falling elevator.

 “Argh!” 

They were all screaming and helpless.

 

Some fell and broke their legs, others were crushed in the rocks.

 

But Raul didn’t stop, he raised the hammer again.

 “You dare to run. I will send you to the Lord.” “Oh, no!” 

If the knights who arrived late had not stopped them, they might all have died.

  

After capturing Henry and the tax collector.

 

I started interviewing administrative officials.

 

It was done like an interrogation, with mid-level managers and above being separated and then visited one by one.

 

As I walked into the room, I held out a blank sheet of paper.

 “Write down all the corruption you know on that paper.” “What?” “’Since I’m new, shouldn’t some of you blow the whistle by example? Just know that the more you write down, the more likely you will save your life.” 

In addition to intimidation, I stared at the Soul Reaper while playing with it.

 “Hick!” 

An official was expected to write down the irregularities he knew.

 

This was a kind of interrogation using the prisoner’s dilemma.

 

If they cover each other’s mistakes, no one can punish them, but if they’re pushed hard enough, they’d write down their coworkers’ faults for their benefit.

 

Eventually, statements against both them and their co-workers pour in.

 

After all the interviews are over.

 

I laid out the results they had written on a table and picked out the best ones.

 

‘The problem was the two permanent agents, the administrator, and the tax collector. Most of them are subsistence embezzlement. I’ll have to punish them with a warning and a pay cut.’

 

If we punished every single one, there wouldn’t be enough staff to work all at once.

 

The best option was to cut about three or four people, raise lower-level officials, and push them out.

 

I also wanted to make sure I had a good reason to replace them in the future.

 

Immediately, I sent word to summon the Knight Commander. The matter was important enough to mobilize the Knights.

 

As soon as Sir Axel entered the room, I gave my orders.

 “Sir Axel, we have concrete testimony. I want all the officials on this list to have their property seized, and their men brought in.” “Yes, my lord!” 

Axel replied firmly and set off at a fast pace.

 

‘I’ll go catch some fish while I wait.’

 

First, I decided to fish out the tax collector.

 

Reportedly, the plan was to break Henry out of prison, get him to open the vault, and run off with the money.

 

I doubt that was the whole story.

  

In the soldiers’ casualty ward

 

After the tax collector was treated for his injuries, he was strapped to a bed and monitored by soldiers.

 

I sat down next to the bed he was strapped to and spoke to him.

 “Name.” “I’m Jerome Gray.” “Who are you?” “You know, the tax collector.” 

‘Oh, I’ll never get it right. Leer Emotion.’

 

 ➺ Son of Quentin, knight of Carcassonne

 

Most knights’ sons tend more toward the knighthood. 

 

But this tax collector didn’t smell like an Auror.

 

I didn’t know what the story was, so I decided to peek with additional information.

 “Castiel Dupois.” “Uh, uh, how…” 

His eyes grew wide, and his lips twitched in shock at having his true name revealed.

 “Are you ready to answer now?” “Urgh!” —Crack! 

The sound of a tooth grinding. The trick was to hide the poison in the molar and then bite it off when the identity was discovered.

 

I quickly opened Castiel’s mouth to get the poison out.

 

But his face had already started to turn blue.

 

The poison reacted quickly to his lungs, filling his airway with water and suffocating him.

 “Ugh, uck.”  “Too late.” 

An incision of this size suggests a possible soldier.

 

He must have done it voluntarily to avoid revealing his origins. Unfortunately, by doing so, he confirmed,

‘I’m behind this.’

 

I asked the soldier guarding the tax collector.

 “Do you know a place named Carcassonne? “Yes, my lord. It’s the pass that crosses from the territory of Perrier into the territory of Toulouse. It is ruled by the Baron of Carcassonne, the vassal of the Count of Perrier.” 

The County of Perier borders the western part of the province of Marseille.

 

There’s no reason to send an officer from there, and it could be Toulouse, the neighboring fiefdom.

 

There are many variables. We still don’t know the specific circumstances behind this.

 

‘I need more information, and I’ll reserve judgment.’

  

This time, I decided to catch the Acting Administrator.

 

Carrying a bottle of wine, I visited the administrator at the prison.

 

He took a flask and went to the prison where the magistrate was being held.

 

Pouring the strong liquor into his mouth, he sprinkled some on his body so that the smell of alcohol-soaked into his clothes.

 

He even wobbled his feet a bit to look drunk.

 

Once inside the cell, Henry sat there as if in a daze.

 

‘This guy is not cooperating. How do I play him?’

 

It’s easy to extract information through torture or persuasion. But it’s hard to influence a person behind their back.

 

First, I used [

Lower-level Leer Emotions

] to access Henry’s information.

 

 ➺ Son of the late Zidane, a traveling merchant in the kingdom of France.

 

‘Why don’t we try this?’

 

I kicked the bars of his cage.

 —Bam! “Hick!” 

Henry looked terrified that his head would be blown off. It’s not hard to get people to talk when they’re intimidated.

 

First, I pretended to be drunk and stumbled in front of Henry.

 

Then, he smelled the alcohol all over me and frowned.

 “Show me your smile, you traitor.” “Oh, what do you mean traitor?  I wasn’t doing it for money… but for the land…” 

I looked straight at Henry, who didn’t know what to do.

 “Your father’s name was Zidane.” “ How do you do that?” 

Henry looked shocked because nobody but himself knew about it.

 

I started talking like I knew everything.

 “It must have been hard when your father died.”  “Plus, being on the streets, it must have been really hard.” “…You have no idea.” 

Caught him in a trap.

 “It must have been nice when they said they’d send you to be an administrator.” “They even gave me a surname, Brone, from the former Earl of the Great House. Cough. I thought I was a noble or something.” 

It was the only estate in the neighborhood to change hands since Henry’s arrival as administrator.

 

First, then, it’s obvious who’s behind Henri. And…

 “They must have promised a lot. Do this and do that.” “Whoa— they said they’d give me a job as a liaison, but what’s the point of that now?” 

And I’m going to make it work.

 “A promise made by a noble family is a heavy one.” “They are not promises to be kept by a man without a neck.” 

Now it’s time to set the bait.

 “Do you have any hidden wealth? If you do, bring it out, I’ll save your life, including your family.” “What?” “Instead of no.” “Oh, no, I don’t believe it.” 

Henry was no fool, and it’s no wonder he gets his head blown off when he’s caught.

 

And yet, I spared your life, you wouldn’t believe it.

 

But you already took the bait, Henry.

 “I like people like you who live in denial. At least you don’t give up, right?” “What’s that…” “Because I like you, I will especially forgive you. Go back and get the liaison position that the nobleman promised.” “Are you sure? You’re letting me live?” 

Hooked. Now we just need to put it in a bucket.

 “I’m in a good mood these days. The House of Westphalia is pushing me hard. The former Count of Westphalia is about to do something big, here in Marseille. Oh, it’s a secret, so keep your mouth shut, unless you want your head blown off.” —Bam! 

Kicking the bars again, he threatened.

 “Heh, sure, I’ll take it, but what’s the big deal?” “You don’t need to know. It’s classified.” 

Then, pretending to be drunk, I crouched on the floor to look Henry in the eye.

 “But you need to return the stolen money to save your life. Do you want to stay in prison?” “No, I’ll bring all the hidden money right away!” 

Fishing ended, I smirked at Henry.

 

I decided to throw the piece of dirt I caught and scooped up Henry.

  

Later that night.

 

Administrative officials and employees of the residence were working overtime to sort out the seized property of corrupt officials.

 

Among other things, their properties were found to contain a large amount of cash, such as gold and silver coins, as well as various luxuries, certificates of deposit, and bonds.

I asked the treasurer, who was sweating heavily and organizing things.

 “Treasurer, how does this amount compare to the estates’ budget?” “It’s almost half a year’s budget.” “You must have collected too much tax over budget.” “Yes, my lord.” 

‘We’ll make do with this money for now, and since we have a bit of breathing space, I’ll take care of the unpaid salaries and focus on clearing land and relocating people.’

 

As I was thinking, Knight Axel came up to report.

 

It’s like they’re trying to tell some secret or something.

 “Henri and his family have left for the uphill trek to the Rhône-Alpes. Shall I put a séance on him?” “No need. I have a pretty good idea.” 

As suspected, Henry was the one planted by the Rhône-Alpes.

 

The Rhône-Alpes borders the Northern Territory of Marseille.

 

It’s large and populous, and most of its inhabitants are wheat farmers or shepherds.

 

With its strong military presence, the situation resembles that of Westphalia.

 

The difference being that the Rhône-Alpes has no harbor. There are rivers, but the entire downstream reach of the river runs through pulleys, making it impassable.

 

So the Rhône-Alpes wanted to weaken the Marseille as much as possible so they could capture the harbor.

 

‘If they take Marseille port, their estates will develop faster.’

 

Just declaring war would not be approved by the royal family, so they’d have to come up with a plan.

 

One of them was Henry, and now we need to dismantle the other schemes piece by piece.

 “Is Henry the one planted in the Rhône-Alpes after all?” 

Knight Axel remains silent when asked about it; he doesn’t know any better.

 “Don’t tell anyone what you have just told me. And warn the soldier guarding Henry.” “I see, but will Henry be punished at all?” 

It’s clear that Axel has a grudge against Henry, as well as the others.

 “Not yet. I’ll give you a chance to get even.” “I’d love to have that opportunity.” “I promise.” 

Henry has a lot on his plate right now. The throat-slitting part could wait.

 

‘Well, I’ve thrown the dirt out of it.’

 

It’s unclear whether Henry could do the job.