Chapter 13: He Won't Let That Happen
POV Connor
Right after my unnecessary announcement, the 4 of them quickly headed towards the cabin. Honestly I still find it difficult to consider this a cabin, for me cabins should only have one floor and one room that would be at the same time kitchen, living room, bedroom and possibly a clothes chest in some corner away from a small fireplace Where would an iron pot fit to make stews? But this place looked more like a small wooden mansion, we only called it a cabin because Master Diem said it was very similar to the cabin used as forest training posts by most cavalry orders, although he also thought it was several times better than those (according to him, even more so because he wouldn't have to share a room with 10 other men of different ages, all snoring and farting all night).
—Huh, Connor, you said this would just be a cabin on the side of a river, right? — Anna asked me, while the others surrounded, examined and were impressed by the cabin.
—Yes, that's what my master called it, even though at the time it only had one floor. Why?
—You know that my family can be considered a little rich, right?
—Well… yes. — 'Even if that would imply that more than half of the kingdom's nobles would be a little poor' — What does that have to do with it?
—Because of our "high status", we have already been invited to parties of several nobles, other merchants and family friends. And among them there were those who liked to hunt and had properties reserved just for hunting. You know that right?
—Yes? but sorry Anna, I don't think I'm following your reasoning.
—I'm almost there. On these properties they often have hunting cabins spread across the land, to replenish supplies, have helpers clean game and rest, much the same as here.
—Right and...? — My master had already told me this, when he accompanied some veterans of his old order in a request to deal with some beasts that were bothering some noble somewhere more in the center of the kingdom. There is!!. Wait, could it be...
— Hmm, I could be wrong but you are insinuating that this cabin is the same type that the nobles use! — I asked, half-expecting the answer, since the Ordeal's resources are already abundant and with such immediate effects and bridges, why wouldn't one of the only "normal" things be either. — My master had already told me this, when he accompanied some veterans of his old order in a request to deal with some beasts that were bothering some noble somewhere more in the center of the kingdom. There is!!. Wait, could it be...
—Well, yes and no. — Anna replied, leaving me slightly impressed. — To be more specific, it is comparable to the hunting cabins of some nobles, but only the cabins of the high nobility. The huts of the middle or lower nobility don't even come close to that. —Anna said.
—Huh!? Don't you think you're exaggerating a little? — I asked with a slight tremor, since using something compared to a low noble like baronet or even knights is one thing. It's quite another to use something comparable to a Marques or Duque.
'Please tell me you're exaggerating. Look, even Max, who was ready to enter the cabin, stopped when he heard what you just said.'
—No, definitely not. Even though it happened when I was very little—
—*Not that there's much difference from now*. Max muttered not very quietly since we all heard it. Which earned him a punch in the stomach from Cali.
'If you're going to vomit. Don't do it in a place that one of the nobility would use, for the love of all that is holy.' I pleaded in my mind, feeling a pit in my stomach forming, it was as bad a feeling as being stabbed by one of the green demons.
—It happened when I was very little. — 'Are you really going to go on from there?!' — My father had brought a set of fine clothes from the western continent, along with a pair of complementing jewelry, as a gift for the Marquise of Abnnog. Marques had already given up on getting this set, as the tailor who had made it could only make 10 pieces before he passed away and his jeweler brother, who had made the jewels specifically for the set, was incapacitated because of a group well known to bandits. Even my father couldn't believe he had gotten one of these sets, even though he had to use 1/7 of all the family and company torture. Thanks to this he managed to achieve strong contact between the high nobility and a rhetor almost 3 times the size of the investment. Marques even invited my father to several events, including hunting and took me a few times.
—I think you already understand what I mean. This "hut" is certainly on the same level as the main one that Marques used. — She said, giving the final hammer blow.
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Kaio POV
Huuuummmmmm, I still think she's exaggerating. Of course, even I agree that it is a very well made and very comfortable cabin, as I was inspired by North American lake houses which were generally very comfortable and looked great. But putting it on the same level as the huts used by high nobles... I really think it's a bit much. I even managed to gain a reasonable understanding of this world, the main one being expected, a world more or less in the middle ages, with magic (which they call Aeter and I simply call energy), monsters and groups made to control them and don't let them proliferate too much (from my point of view, the different orders act as if they were guilds, or clans, each independent of the other but with common objectives and frequent partnerships, even though it is quite common for fights, enmity and competition in general to occur. just as frequent.)
But still, to say that a hut in a dungeon would have the same status as some high noble's residence unless it was for storage would be a bit much. My knowledge of hunting is almost non-existent, but I know that generally even the nobles' cabins are very luxurious, with a main leisure area with a large fireplace, kitchen, several bedrooms usually also having smaller fireplaces, sometimes games rooms, internal bathrooms (since here the normal ones are external ones) and super decorated with hunting trophies.
Just because my cabin has a large leisure area with a fireplace, a fully equipped kitchen, several bedrooms, a games room, internal bathrooms and a small shower room, it's not that big of a deal..... Wait!!! !!
Sis: [=_=]
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POV Connor
Now what to do, everyone has been using the hut for a long time without being aware of its value, if any of the tax collectors found out they wouldn't be able to extort even more money from the villagers for some futile reason, just to be able to use the Ordeal hut without limits! !!!!
—I doubt that will happen, Connor. — Mav said, looking at me from the doorway.
'How could he know what I was thinking.'
—Because you are terrible at hiding your emotions, if you were to play cards you would lose your pants very quickly. — he said — I imagine you thought something along the lines of someone showing up and saying that you couldn't use the Ordeal anymore and that you should pay some special tax for having used it so far without counting the cabin, right? - he asked.
—Well yes... In part at least. - I said.
—Like I said, that's unlikely to happen. Do you know where we are in the kingdom? — Mav asked, looking into my eyes.
—There is? Right in the northwest, right? — I replied hesitantly.
—Okay, and do you remember who is responsible for this area? — he continued.
—Yeah... I think it was... Huh... Ah!!! — I remembered and understood what he was trying to say.
—Um, good it looks like you remembered. — Mav said smiling.
—Huh?!, What does the responsible nobleman have to do with Connor's village not going bad? Max asked.
—Haaaahhhhh, did I hit you so hard that it affected your brain?! *No wait, it might actually have happened* — Cali said in a tone of voice of both resignation, disappointment and a slight dose of genuine guilt, even though we all knew she was joking... At least I hope she was joking.
—I'll leave this comment for later, now you know that I'm not exactly the smartest—
—The green devils may be smarter than you. — Mav said straight and dry, like just citing a fact.
—NOT!! exactly the smartest, and often overlooked. But not an idiot, so could you please explain. — Max said, already exasperated.
—Calm down Max, it's very simple. This is an area under development that was given by the king to Viscount Nákali, considered a hero in the last war both for his combat capacity and his sense of justice, who together with the crown prince and the royal minister discovered and arrested several corrupt nobles and criminal organizations. He is also known for having an exceptional talent in choosing personnel regardless of their origin. That's why several of them are commoners, servants or even scribes who were freed by their talents. — Anna said all of this almost in one breath, you can see that she is definitely one of the Viscount's fans. — And because of that, there is practically no one in his state who would try to do something as shady as trying to take the Ordeal away from the villagers. Even more so because it is more beneficial with them here.
It's true, I was still thinking about the last noble in charge of the village, he was one of the corrupt nobles who extorted as much as possible from the people. To the point where my parents almost couldn't pay the fees without using me or one of my siblings as collateral. But thank the Gods, the Viscount appeared and got him out of control. Seeing how fragile people were after the regime (of a nobleman whose name no one even remembered, they only know that he ended up as a slave in one of the mines near the coast) he removed the demand for taxes for 2 years and when he was reestablished they were lowered from 85% to 30% of the production.
Really with him here, the chances of anything bad happening are very low. But I'm still worried if something goes wrong, as was the case with the expedition that a neighboring nobleman financed when he discovered the Ordeal.
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