Okami Wa Nemuranai

Episode 3.6

"I ain't gonna give my thanks to the lord! Like hell I'm gonna!"

A man called Pirariko suddenly started to shout at Lecan when Lecan told him that he was here for Service Quest.

Today's quest is to clean up garbage. And indeed, Pirariko's mansion is full of garbage.

"I just need to take care all of this garbage right."

Pirariko continued on to disparage the town lord without responding to Lecan.

Still, what a big mansion. Lecan wondered why would an owner of such a huge mansion posted a service quest, but then he saw that both the mansion and the yard were desolate with nothing of value put anywhere. He could only sense one presence in this mansion, Pirariko, the man wearing shabby clothing in front of him.

Lecan proceeded to sort out the garbage and take them outside the gate.

The garbage here was mostly recycled stuff. Food waste, rusted stuff and some usable looking things. There's barely garbage that has to be buried or burned. And even ash from those things could fetch a price to someone. Thus, by bringing the garbage outside the gate, someone would take it. Someone might demand him to pay up for the litter if he's not careful with it, but he's not obliged to take the responsibility for that.

"Hey, it's awful ain't it. I told 'em I'm gonna pay the tax. I said I'm definitely paying after my fragrant wood is sold. Someone already ordered and paid for it, it was gonna sell for sure. And it was wonderful fragrant wood. I never seen such fragrant wood before."

Pirariko followed Lecan everywhere while continuing to badmouth the town lord.

"But then, exactly the day before that day, the taxation agents dropped by. And they told me. That the fragrant wood wasn't recorded in the account book."

Lecan works fast as long as there's a clear goal. He grabbed all the garbage his eyes caught, and threw it out of the gate.

"I mean, that fragrant wood's gonna be sold the next day. I was gonna write the amount of cash paid in the account book afterward. Since it hadn't been sold yet, naturally you'd only gonna write the product name and its quantity instead."

And yet, the garbage isn't decreasing no matter how much he threw out. It's completely impossible to clean up everything in one day.

"I did write the amount of money it got bought at! But those taxation agent guys ordered me to tell 'em the fragrant wood value. Then they asked me who was buying the wood, and how much I charged 'em!"

Complaints are unpleasant. Getting followed around everywhere as he kept rattling on and on about his misfortunes and endless complaining about the town lord like this is making Lecan feel depressed.

"They took it! They took it all as tax. I didn't have enough cash. And what do you think they took from me?"

To begin with Lecan is bad at associating with other people. While with magic beasts, they're objects to be slashed at, it's simple. If he had to keep listening to his endless complaints, he might as well cut down Pirariko, Lecan entertained such thought. But unfortunately, the quest this time isn't one that requires him to cut down the client.

"My fragrant wood! Those guys took my fragrant wood away! Of course, I didn't get enough fragrant wood for the deal the next day! Then they took an enormous amount of money from me for breaching the contract. Can you believe this crazy talk!"

Lecan has absolutely no clue about merchant's account books. He has no idea about how taxation agents work. He's been like since his former world, and that won't change in this world. Thus, he cannot decide whether Pirariko was really a recipient of an unjust treatment or not.

"Just one day, if they had just waited a day, I would have profited from the fragrant wood, and those taxation agents would get much more than what they calculated. That'd be better for the town lord too."

However, as long as one continues to live in the town, one cannot act against government officials. He should have given up on his lost money and put effort into starting a new business.

"That was mine! That fragrant wood! It was me who found it. It was me who obtained it. I don't care what anyone says, that thing was mine!"

Suddenly.

Lecan recalled something.

<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>

The blue jewel inside his <Storage>.

He formally received that from Lady Rubianafale. Heck, it was exchanged for Lecan's treasured item that had been enchanted with <Stamina Recovery> and <Mana Recovery>. That's why, Lecan holds the right to own it no matter how you look at it.

But however, if Zaidmahl current and next heads found out about the jewel's true value and declared that the exchange was invalid, what would happen then.

The blue jewel is already Lecan's, he's got no intention to hand it over to anyone else. He'd fight anyone trying to snatch it away from him. But what if Lecan couldn't move due to a sickness or wounds, and someone took it from him then.

He won't forgive it.

Even if this world puts Zaidmahl House's right above his, it's irrelevant to him.

"That thing is mine!"

Lecan would have insisted as such. Yet if the jewel still got taken away, what then. Not only that jewel, were his favorite overcoat, his trusty sword, and every enchanted accessories he has all got taken away through some kind of reason, what then.

Wonder if he would be able to keep himself from drinking in despair for 20, 30 years.

"You, what do you think. Hey. That wood, is mine right?"

"Yeah."

Pirariko was dumbstruck to see Lecan suddenly turning around and giving him an affirmation.

"That wood is yours. It absolutely is."

For some reason, Pirariko stopped getting in Lecan's way afterward.

And just as the day was getting dark, he handed over the quest completion coin.