Having finished everything he needed to do in the village, Rest decided to return to the royal capital the next day.
The results had been more than satisfactory.
By coming to this fishing village, he felt as though he had come to understand the true nature of the queen dowager — Sanada Shoko.
She had led her grandson Rodele Aiwood astray and scattered countless sparks of trouble throughout the country, but at the very least, to Rest, she didn't feel like a stranger.
He didn't want to call her a simple villain.
Many people had suffered because of her, but Rest, at least, could call her a friend and mourn her passing.
This fishing village had been a lovely place, too. Maybe next time he'd bring Viola, Primula, and Yuri along.
They'd probably end up treating him like a god again, but it was sure to be a fun trip.
He could already see a future where they'd go charging into the hot springs and leave him flustered, but even that would surely become a fond memory to reminisce about.
And so, Rest left the fishing village with all manner of thoughts swirling in his heart.
"My lord! My lord! Please, come quickly!"
—That, however, is not quite how things went.
On the morning of his departure, someone had come to the inn to seek Rest out first thing at dawn.
It was the same young girl who had been the first to ask Rest for help.
"What is it... first thing in the morning..."
Rest rubbed his sleepy eyes as he responded to the girl.
"Um, a scary person came to the village! They're shouting at the village chief, and everyone's all worried!"
"A scary person..."
"What happened?"
Did she overhear the commotion? Celestine showed up as well.
Unlike Rest, she had already finished her morning preparations and was dressed in neat attire.
"Is there some kind of dispute?"
"Let's go have a look."
Rest took Celestine along and headed toward the fishing village's square.
When they arrived at the square, a man was there shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Enough already! I told you to pay up quickly!"
"No, you see, that money was a donation, so..."
At the center of the commotion was the fishing village's chief. And standing with him... was a man dressed in rather fine clothes.
He was a middle-aged man of stout build with a beard.
Soldiers who appeared to be bodyguards flanked him, so it was easy to guess that he was probably a noble.
"Wait, could that be..."
"If I'm not mistaken... isn't he the lord who governs this land?"
This village was part of a certain baron's territory, and naturally, there was a lord in charge.
That lord had reportedly done nothing and merely watched from the sidelines, even when the village suffered damage from monsters.
"I know perfectly well that this village earned a huge sum of money from monster materials! So pay your taxes already!"
"No, but... those monsters weren't caught by us. They weren't caught through fishing, so taxes shouldn't apply..."
"They were caught from the sea, so of course you owe me! Now come on, hand over the money!"
"Ugh... so that's what this is about..."
It didn't seem like a very pleasant conversation.
The man who appeared to be the lord had his sights set on the sea serpent's sale proceeds, which Rest had donated toward the village's reconstruction.
In this fishing village, the money earned from selling fish was apparently subject to taxation.
The village head was arguing that since it was a donation, it shouldn't be taxed, while the lord insisted they pay up regardless.
"So, um... Lady Celestine, what's the usual protocol in a situation like this?"
"Taxes on peasants are generally levied on the harvest of crops like wheat. However, in villages where fishing is a major industry, an exception is made allowing taxes on fish sales. That said... the sea serpent wasn't caught by the villagers—it was caught by Lord Rest. So normally, no tax would apply."
Celestine answered Rest's question.
"Even so, if the villagers who received the sea serpent sold it directly to a merchant, there could be grounds to impose a tax. However... to avoid such complications, the sale should have been made in my name. Since the donation was made for the purpose of reconstruction support, there is no room for taxation."
"So it's not gray—it's completely black."
If the taxation were in accordance with the law, even someone of Rest's standing as a count would have no right to intervene.
But... if the law was being violated, that was a different matter entirely.
Leaving villagers to be exploited by a corrupt lord was something he wouldn't be able to sleep at night with.
"Then there's nothing wrong with stepping in, right?"
"Indeed. Please, go ahead."
With Celestine's firm seal of approval, Rest walked straight into the heart of the commotion.