Volume 6 Chapter 26 I Made A Friend Of The Heart
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The tailing skill is one of the skills that come from the searching skill.
I thought it was made for following people around towns. But it’s also good when hunting prey. In my mind, an arrow shows the locked target’s direction. As I get better, I can even tell how far away it is.
The bad part is the target might notice I’m locking on. But if someone tries to tail me, I can tell. If I have ways to fight it, it’s not a danger.
There is a tracking skill like the tailing skill. It’s older and simpler, a lower-level skill.
It does not show arrows. It just follows footprints and smells. It’s easy to learn but not used much now.
I thought the tracking skill was useless. But when Yakou mastered it, I changed my mind. She found me easily while I was hiding seriously — using only the tracking skill.
I felt my pride break.
For me, the tracking skill is more dangerous than the tailing skill.
The problem with the tracking skill is it cannot lock on. Because of this, I could not tell when Yakou was following me. If she had been an enemy, it would have been deadly.
Wolves seem to like the tracking skill naturally. Maybe spirits do too. Yakou looks like one of them. She said something wild.
She said after you get good enough at tracking, you can see the past of the person you’re tracking. You can faintly see the shape of the one who left footprints hours ago — like a ghost.
I had maxed out tracking at the Valley of Trials, but I never knew this. I thought it was just a basic skill.
The past vision from tracking has many limits. Illusions too old or too new are hard to see. I didn’t fully understand Yakou’s words, so I planned to test the skill myself.
* * *
So, I have been stalking Baron Toyata since yesterday to test tracking.
I set a meeting with Baron through Miss Floria. She replied that we would meet soon.
In this world, “soon” means anything from days to years when the other person is higher rank. It means they might meet if they want.
I could not accept that. When I went to the mansion, they said he was unavailable. They might think meeting easily makes them look weak. Waiting longer seems more prestigious. Maybe it is a power play.
I don’t have time for this silly custom. I decided to stalk all day and find a chance to get in.
Testing the past vision through tracking showed me things from a few hours to half a day ago clearly. Even with max skill, mastering it is hard.
Old skills are hard to get used to. New magic and skills are made to be easy for anyone.
But easy use costs more mana. Old skills are light and smooth. If used right, old skills might still be very useful.
I saw what past vision looks like. The ghostly image is like a person’s leftover thoughts. Baron is still alive, so is he a living spirit? Many human spirits swirl in the streets. The trick is how to find the right one.
It’s annoying that things aren’t automatic here. I must use brain and skill. I might find new ways to use old skills.
Baron Toyata is surprisingly active for a plump man. Before noon, he left in a carriage, ate a fancy lunch in the royal capital, went to the Merchant Guild, and stopped at a luxury grocery on his way back.
Two days aren’t enough to judge, but rumors say he loves good food.
Spying on someone’s life like this makes me feel like a detective or a stalker. Watching a rare animal gives me a strange pride. In Japan, this would be a crime.
Here, nobles spy on rivals all the time. They capture and torture spies as proof of power. Nobles here are not so different from gangsters.
* * *
I can’t keep wasting time on Baron. I will face him when he steps down from the carriage at home. It’s rude, but since we won’t be friends, I don’t care.
The Great Temple backs me, so I can be reckless. I won’t start fights, but if they do, I must hit twice as hard or be seen as weak.
It’s key to state our claims about the new village clearly with a third party. If it causes fights, so be it. Avoiding conflict now would be dumb. Once the village starts making money, they’ll try to steal it. Even an idiot knows that.
I need a trustworthy third party. Someone from the Temple can do it. As long as they don’t betray me.
Though I’m still learning the tracking skill, using it with Radar Scan near Baron’s mansion has shown me many things.
Baron spends wildly. Too many servants, strange amounts of food. He lives beyond his means.
Unlike Duke Mineley, who owns a mine, most nobles have little income. Taxes stay steady each year.
Commoners pay almost nothing but home taxes. Taxes here are low compared to Japan. The Middle Ages idea of a 50% tax is wrong. Thanks to wall barley, people survive without much work. High taxes make them run away.
Villagers’ taxes don’t change because they can’t calculate them. It also avoids paperwork.
Guild members pay tax from income, but the guild takes a cut. So lords get little. Salt monopolies and officials skimming money make it worse.
Is this old corruption really corruption? No one cares. The economy runs on favors. Maybe it’s better not to touch it.
People hate change here. They want taxes fixed forever. Building a new village means deciding taxes.
Cutting taxes is easy. Raising them is hard. Miss Floria warned me that low taxes first could cause trouble later.
The safest is matching neighbors’ taxes, but that’s boring.
Mr. Raoh got excited and made many plans that would cause big reforms. New settlers will worry. I’ll need to use both kindness and force to make them accept it.
Also, if I don’t check settlers well, they’ll say they were tricked. Rumors already spread that the new village has no taxes.
Maybe I should just remove taxes? The money from villagers is tiny anyway. Maybe charge only for using roads and services? I’ll ask Raoh next time.
* * *
Baron stayed long at the fancy food store. At sunset, he came back.
A two-horse carriage rattled on the stones. It fits his rank, like Miss Floria’s.
Even spendthrifts don’t spend on everything. Nobles usually waste money on carriages first.
One thing bugs me. A shabby old man waits in the gate’s shadow. He’s unarmed. Not an assassin. Could he be a beggar after Baron?
Character Notes:
• Yakou – A newly created kunoichi spirit with high specs from Mubiel. She pledges loyalty to the Narrator as her ‘Lord Shogun’ and seeks to punish villains.
• Miss Floria – Elegant, silver-haired noblewoman in her 40s, referred to as an ‘older sister’. Judge of the Supreme Court and Baroness. Former tutor of Princess Auroora. Initially stern but warms up, showing a playful side. Close with Ms. Nina (Princess Auroora’s doll copy), treating her like a sister. Trustworthy and explains legal matters clearly.
• Raoh – Pakkyamara. An infamous, scheming, but somewhat incompetent senior adventurer known for meddling with hero summoning rituals; often gets beaten up as a result. The one who want japanese food.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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