Episode 58 The Rogue of Alfredo
The 80th floor of Alfredo.
It's not a prime location, but it's a busy town where the mansions of
wealthy people stand side by side, and where major business associations
have their offices.
There was shouting in an office in the corner of one of the buildings,
which was one of the higher floors of the 80-story building and housed many
major business associations.
"Why is the tax collection amount so low?!"
Lorea was pounding on her desk and taking it out on the men in her
crew.
She had a very irritated look on her face, and her pointed lips were even
more pointed and her brow wrinkled.
By the way she looked and the expression on her face, anyone who saw her
for the first time would have easily guessed that she was a twitchy
person.
She is the one who proposed to the Mage Association to collect taxes
between the elevators connecting Renril and Alfredo.
This business was conceived in anticipation of the fact that there were
many children of wealthy families in Alfredo and many poor ones in
Renril.
In the past, there had been a more even mix of rich and poor, nobility and
low class, but as the years went by, Alfurdo was dominated by the nobility
and wealthy, while Renril was dominated by the commoners and poor.
(The nobles have a dull sense of money, while the commoners and slaves are
more obedient to rules.)
Thus, just as she wanted, even after the imposition of the tax, the nobles
continued to buy goods at wildly inflated prices with a dull sense of money,
while the commoners acted in accordance with the rules.
The aristocrats began to settle in Alfredo, and the commoners were forced
to increase their income to live in Alfredo.
The residents of each tier were divided according to wealth and status
rather than talent, which was convenient for the association that wanted to
admit as many of the noble class as possible to the academy.
The merchants' association operated by Lorea was entrusted by the Mage
Association to collect the cargo taxes.
As a contractor for the association, Lorea acted as the tax collector for
the cargo.
She will pay half of the amount of taxes collected to the association.
With this agreement, the deal with the association was concluded.
In this way, Lorea succeeded in obtaining a stable income without any
effort, but recently, this source of income was being threatened.
The amount of goods being transported from Renril to Alfredo was visibly
decreasing.
"Why is the volume of cargo decreasing so much? The population of Alfredo
is growing every year. It doesn't make sense."
"It seems that some of the students are selling their products at low
prices."
One of Lorea's men said.
"Students? Who? Who is it?"
"It seems that a student named Theo Garfield is the mastermind behind
it."
"Theo......"
"It seems he's transporting goods through channels we don't know about.
Based on the volume of traffic, I'd say he's using an elevator......."
"Damn it. I thought we had completely controlled the distribution in Renril
and Alfredo. I had no idea there was still room to lay down
elevators......."
"What should we do? How can this be reported to the top......"
With the backing of the guild Anxiety Sellers - Ancier-Marche, Lorea's
merchant association had taken on this business on an exclusive basis, but
they had to pay a certain amount of money every month as a protection
fee.
"Anyway, we can do something if we shut down this Theo guy, right? Then you
guys go and find out who this Theo guy is. Then we'll talk."
Lorea lit a cigarette and tried to calm her frustration.
"We've already looked into Theo Garfield's background."
The stocky man stepped forward to report. He was a quick and witty man,
despite his large frame. He was a well-liked leader among Lorea's men.
"He seems to be of commoner class and from a poor merchant family. He is a
first year student at the academy. He has recently moved his residence from
Renril to the 67th floor of Alfredo, 28th Street......."
"You son of a bitch!
Lorea suddenly exploded into a tantrum and threw an ashtray at the man in
charge.
"You know that much about him, so what the hell are you waiting for? It's
not like he's a nobleman or anything!"
The man in charge frowned for a moment in pain, but quickly regained his
poker face.
It's not possible to work here if you're upset about every little thing.
It's part of his paycheck to deal with Lorea's tantrums. In a corner of his
mind, he thought that he would have to go to the office next door to
apologize for his master's loudness later.
“Please calm down. Theo is a student at the academy, although he is a
commoner. He is protected by the Mage Association. If we were to kill him
carelessly, the association would search for the culprit and we would be
rounded up.”
"What? Then we'll just sit here and let it happen!"
"Why don't you call Theo here first? If we can talk it out, that would be
the best thing."
"Then get Theo in here as soon as you can. Now go!"
When Lorea started yelling, her minions rushed out of the office.
“I can't use any of them, they're all so useless. Oh, my God. How can
things go so wrong?”
Lorea tapped her fingers irritably on the desk and lit a second
cigarette.
Her finances were getting tighter and tighter.
At first, this business model seemed to be going well, but the tax
collection was so harsh that many business owners were going bankrupt or
fleeing at night, and many failed to recover their overdue taxes.
Even the merchant associations that were still going strong were laying out
excuses and delaying the payment of taxes to her. They seemed to be
expecting her to lose her head and close her business.
At this rate, they would not be able to pay their dues to
Ancier-Marche.
They assisted Lorea's work with fraud, extortion, and murder, but if they
can't pay, this time the point of threats will be directed at Lorea.
In addition, the loan of the mansion of the 80th level that was purchased
the other day remains, and the payment was demanded by the mage
association.
(This is all very frustrating. It's not easy to squeeze them. Those
pathetic small businessmen. They're always going bankrupt with this much tax
collection. The big merchants also used a lot of tricks to get me to buy
their expensive products, and now they're doing this to me. They've been
after me all along. In addition, the cost of living is going up....... This
is my fault, but...... I didn't think that the amount of the loan would go
up as well. It's hard to make a living when you're being squeezed more and
more from the top. In addition, a new elevator has been installed? That's
enough.)
“Damn it!”
Lorea slammed the desk again.
(I thought that if I could be on the side of the oppressors, I would be
able to live comfortably and sleep with my head held high. But the seeds of
anxiety just won't go away. Just when you think you've squashed one, there's
another one, like a weed in a field that grows no matter how much you pluck
it. There is nothing in life that goes as you wish. I hope things go
smoothly for once in a while.)
Next time: Episode 59, "Two Businesses Starting to Take a Turn"
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