Starting the Strategy from Frieren

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"W-what are you trying to do? Stop it—"

Frieren's head shook like a rattle drum.

"I absolutely don't want that! If you shove it in, I'll die, I'll really die!"

"So, will you continue to be a hindrance here, go back to your room to sleep, or come with me to distribute relief supplies outside? Being a hindrance earns you full punishment, sleeping gets you half punishment, and going out exempts you from punishment."

Simply saying this had no intimidation factor, but when paired with a snowball in hand and a gesture of stuffing it into the quilt, Frieren immediately gave in.

"I choose to go out."

If Dai Wangshu* longed to encounter a lilac-like girl, melancholy and sorrowful, in a rainy alley, then beside Ivan now was indeed a girl full of sorrow and hesitant in the snow.

Bravely facing the biting wind and snow, the shivering Frieren struggled to maintain a barrier, protecting the sled dogs as they advanced through the harsh environment.

The blizzard had been raging for half a month.

In such weather, ordinary people couldn't travel to transport goods. Only Ivan, proficient in spatial magic, and Frieren, with her abundant magical power, could deliver food and supplies to the villages.

The two took turns maintaining the barrier.

Of course, Ivan could have done it alone, as long as he used the Great Demon Charging Tool, there was no need to worry about magical energy.

But the thought of toiling tirelessly in the snowstorm while Frieren enjoyed a peaceful life by the castle fireplace filled him with immense displeasure.

To resist the darkness in his heart and avoid falling into the abyss of jealousy, Ivan gladly brought the reluctant Frieren along.

The effect was remarkable. Suffering alone and suffering together were completely different experiences.

Frieren: "Ivan, how many villages do we have left to deliver to?"

Ivan: "Almost done, just a few… ten more."

Frieren: "…This is definitely abuse, isn't it?"

Although Ivan remained optimistic most of the time, he couldn't help but sigh in the face of such a natural disaster. "It's a pity there's not enough time. If I had more time, I wouldn't have to worry about corruption and deliver to each household individually…"

Not long ago, when the snowstorm was still manageable, Ivan, who had firmly grasped the majority of force, bared his fangs and began cleaning up the bureaucracy!

Although, in theory, the taxes of Suiyecheng* all belonged to the lord, in practice, the lord couldn't personally go door-to-door collecting taxes with a bag—that would be too undignified. Hence, the profession of tax officials existed.

And where there were tax officials, there was room for corruption. Moreover, the old king was considered a wise ruler and often bypassed the lords to distribute relief grain to villages during famines. However, even if the lords were bypassed, the local village heads and tax officials were not.

Every time Ivan arrived at a new place, he would check the local account books. Comparing them with the general ledger and the king's relief grain ledger, it was easy to catch the corrupt. Minor corruption resulted in returning the ill-gotten gains, small corruption led to fines, moderate corruption sent them to mine, and major corruption meant execution and turning them into zombies to mine.

No one was imprisoned; the principle was to avoid waste. Ivan's methods caused a huge stir in Suiyecheng. Soon, Ivan seemed to transform into a fire god, wherever he went, fire dragons burned the warehouses, leaving the account books in ashes.

Thus, Ivan threw an extremely corrupt tax official into the fire, turning him into ashes as well, and posted a decree on the city gate's bulletin board:

From now on, tax officials are highly bound to the granaries and account books. If the granary catches fire, the tax official burns; if the account books turn to ashes, so does the tax official.

Unfortunately, the blizzard soon arrived, halting Ivan's efforts to clean up the tax officials and administrative personnel, and giving them ample time to alter the account books.

The blizzard exhausted both Frieren and Ivan, but once the snow stopped, Ivan immediately began inspecting the surrounding areas.

This time, there probably wouldn't be any heads rolling, as even the dumbest person would have had enough time to balance the accounts in a month.

"Lord, it's terrible! The granary is on fire again—"

"…"

Well, some people, even with a knife to their throat, refuse to believe it will cut.

"Call the chief tax official for me, and be quick."

…

In front of the raging fire, Ivan watched the tax official desperately directing people to put out the flames, sweat dripping from his forehead. Ivan couldn't help but think it was a pity such acting talent wasn't used on stage.

His gaze then turned to someone he had specifically brought along.

"Chief Tax Official, your subordinates are truly talented. Even directing firefighting efforts is so professional. Why not switch careers to become firefighters? We shouldn't waste such talent, don't you think?"

Frieren, peeking from behind, asked, "Do you need me to use water magic to put out the fire? I guarantee I'll be more efficient than him."

Ivan waved his hand. "No need. Even if we put out the fire now, the account books and relief grain inside are already ashes. After all, the fire started from there."

"Why? Is it because they fear punishment? But if you do something wrong, you should be punished. That's what Flamme taught me," Frieren said expressionlessly.

Yet, such sincere words often cut deeper than any blade.

The chief tax official's expression grew even uglier.

He reminded, "Viscount Ivan, every tax official has the important task of collecting taxes for you. They've been exceptionally busy recently. Although the negligence that caused the fire is despicable, I will ensure they compensate accordingly. However, considering their pitiable state, I hope you can be lenient. Otherwise, there will be no one to collect taxes for you."

This statement was both a concession and a threat. In a time when education was controlled by the nobility, literate individuals capable of becoming tax officials were exceedingly rare, and these officials were often connected to the nobility.

Previously, Ivan's actions hadn't affected the nobility, except for a minor inconvenience caused by a certain unfortunate fellow who had just become the Lady Tulip's lover but had his mistress driven away by Ivan. The rest of the nobility had remained observant.

Now, Ivan's actions were practically burning their eyebrows, and one by one, they began to act. Even the previously most obsequious chief tax official stepped forward.

"Overworked and exhausted recently, leading to accidental fires?" Ivan sneered. "How hardworking of him. Should we award him a 'Diligence Award'? Although his diligence was directed at balancing the accounts and, when that failed, burning the granary."

"Viscount Ivan, you have no evidence…"

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