As was their custom, the villagers gathered in twos and threes in the direction facing the tax official, ready to listen to his admonition.
Seeing the crowd gather spontaneously, and no new villagers appearing afterward, the tax collector on horseback asked loudly:
Is everyone here? If anyone is missing, please let us know.
The villagers looked at each other, wondering how they knew about this, and then shrank back like quails, not noticing the logical flaws in the tax official's words.
"Great, everyone's here."
The tax official said with satisfaction:
"Everyone, look up at me!"
A small gasp of surprise erupted from the villagers. In the past, how could the priests of the Tree Worship Church allow them to look directly at each other?
If they are even slightly late when paying taxes, they will face either additional charges or whipping. Their long-standing experience has made them prefer to think they have misheard rather than raise their heads.
"I'll say it again, everyone lift your heads and look at me!"
A sharp shout, sounding somewhat youthful, rang out, the tone much more aggressive than before.
Yes, that's the feeling. This is what Tree Worship Church priest should be like.
The villagers, thinking this, all raised their heads, and then saw the young priest on horseback, dressed in a priestly robe and sitting upright, with a strange sapling growing from his left eye. They were all astonished.
Wow, trees are growing on his body too, right on his head! Now it's confirmed, he must be the master of the Tree Worship Church.
Ed looked around at everyone and said what he had said an hour earlier in Midstream Village:
I'm giving you this one chance, so remember my face!
"I am Adrian, the new bishop and tax collector of this region. The previous bishop and tax collector have been killed by the vile apostates and returned to the Lord's embrace."
In his last words, he said that apostates would impersonate church members and swindle people in the parish, and that he had fallen for such a deception, which is why he failed the Lord and the church.
"So I'll say it one last time, remember my face, I am the new bishop, and if any other bishop appears in the next few months, he must be an apostate!"
"You don't need to risk your lives against such vicious people. Just go to the castle immediately and report to me. If you capture the apostate, you will all be rewarded. If you conceal it... I don't need to say more about the consequences, do I?"
The villagers were in an uproar, but they all nodded in agreement, thinking to themselves that the apostate was indeed a apostate; not only did he not run away, but he also dared to impersonate a bishop, which was simply a rebellion against the heavens.
It's just that he's suffering; if he informs on someone and is discovered, he'll definitely die; but keeping it a secret is worse than death...
Ed glanced around, taking in everyone's reactions. He could tell the villagers weren't very enthusiastic, but he still had a plan.
Ed rang the pear-shaped bronze bell again, and everyone looked at him.
The doctrine states that the World Tree is the origin of all things and the nurturer of everything. As children of the World Tree World Tree, we should dedicate everything to it.
"But the doctrine also states: every child of the World Tree must be punished for their mistakes and rewarded for their merits!"
"Which of you provided the previous tax official with information about the apostate seven days ago? Step forward now!"
Amidst the clamor of discussion, Ed saw an old man push through the crowd and emerge; it was the same elderly man, not yet forty, who had taken him in that day.
His eyes were somewhat cloudy, and he looked vaguely in Ed's direction, as if he recognized him but also as if he didn't.
Since Ed has chosen to play the role of the bishop, he naturally wouldn't do anything that goes against his character in front of everyone.
He spurred his horse forward, made the old man raise his head, and, by the firelight, confirmed the correct position of the face and the saplings behind him. Then he asked:
"What did you say to the previous tax officer that day?"
The old man answered in a trembling voice:
"I told the tax official that I saw unfamiliar faces running towards Dragonborn Village."
"Very good, that person is you. What's your name?"
"My name is... my name is Kaping."
The old man answered tremblingly, Ed nodded in satisfaction, looking at the other villagers:
"Everyone heard that. Kaping provided crucial information earlier; he's a faithful believer. As promised by the tax official, Kaping won't have to pay taxes for the next ten years!"
The villagers were all taken aback. Over the years, they had been deceived countless times by the promises made by the priests of the Tree Worship Church. But this newly arrived bishop had so readily acknowledged this reward. Didn't he know the previous custom?
Then look at Kaping standing next to the horse, he's so excited he's practically fainting. It doesn't seem like he's faking it. How come this old man is so lucky?
Many people looked at Kaping with a hint of envy and something else unspeakable in their eyes. Against this backdrop, Kaping's trembling didn't seem to be entirely due to excitement.
Ed, of course, did not miss the villagers' reactions. As they murmured among themselves, the pear-shaped bronze bell rang a third time, accompanied by Ed's voice:
"To recognize Kaping's contribution, His Excellency the Archbishop has bestowed an additional reward: your Upperstream Village and Midstream Village will be exempt from taxes for the next three months, and the monthly tax on three seeds will be reduced to two for the following year. Furthermore, you are permitted to use aged seeds as an exception. Have you all heard that? Hurry up and thank Kaping!"
The people's jealousy of Kaping stemmed from their fear of inequality rather than scarcity, a fact Ed was well aware of. Therefore, he expanded the rewards for Kaping's contributions to prevent him from being isolated by the surrounding villagers.
In any case, everything he has now is obtained through deception. The seemingly lucrative promises he's making are essentially because he's using the "Tree Worship Church's" credit card, allowing him to arbitrarily apply tax-free policies...
Seeing the villagers' hostile gazes gradually disappear, Ed rang the bronze bell one last time:
"One last thing, in order to capture the apostates, I brought a group of Elite Warrior from the Holy See, who will then hunt and train near the village."
"If you need any help with anything, you can go to them for assistance. No matter how big or small the matter, all you need is one tree seed, understand?"
Amidst the villagers' profuse thanks, Ed plucked a leaf from his hair and stuck it over Kaping's eye.
The magical leaf seemed to come alive, quickly merging into Kaping's skin and disappearing.
Ed spoke in a voice that, though not loud, was loud enough for everyone to hear:
"From today onwards, Kaping is the village chief of Upperstream Village. If you have any disputes with those soldiers, come to him!"
He then looked at Kaping and whispered:
"You can call me in your mind if there's an emergency."
After everything was explained, it was past midnight.
The villagers, excited by the tax cut, went home, while Ed spurred his horse and galloped towards the castle. Dawn was breaking, and his players would be back soon!