Chapter 30: helping people

We walked down the center of the village. The houses on both sides were in bad shape, with broken roofs and burned walls from the war. A few locals sat near the road, looking completely tired and hungry. They didn’t even look up at us as we passed.

A few yards ahead, three men in royal uniforms were standing outside a small house. One of them had a large book in his hands, while the other two were pulling a crying woman out of her door. An old man was on his knees near them, holding onto the chief collector’s legs.

"Please, sir," the old man begged, his voice cracking. "We already gave you all our grain last week. We don’t have anything left to give for the new palace tax. My granddaughter has been sick for three days."

The chief collector didn’t care. He kicked his foot back, breaking the old man’s grip, and pointed at the house. "If you can’t pay the coin, the crown takes the property. Move him out of the way."

I stopped walking. In my past life, dealing with unfair corporate bosses was annoying, but watching someone get kicked while their family starved made my blood boil.

’Suzy, I’m going to take care of these guys.’

Her voice came back to me, sounding very quiet and serious. "Be careful, Barry. If you use your power here, the palace will know exactly where we are."

’Let them look,’

I changed back into my human form right behind a broken wall, making sure nobody saw the switch. The clothes she gave me were a bit tight across my shoulders, but I didn’t care about the fit right now. I stepped out into the open street and walked straight toward the three tax collectors.

"Hey!" I called out, my voice loud.

The chief collector stopped talking and turned around, looking me up and down with a frown. "Who are you? This is official kingdom business. Clear out if you don’t want to get locked in a cell."

"I’m the new auditor," I said, stopping a few feet away from him. I didn’t pull a weapon. I just looked at the large leather book in his hands. "Your are wrong and your company policy is a total joke."

The two guards laughed, drawing their short swords out. "A crazy traveler," the first guard said, stepping toward me. "Let’s teach him some manners."

The guard come forward, aiming his sword straight at my shoulder. He was slow. To my new strength, his movement looked like it was happening under water. I didn’t even try to dodge. I just reached out my right hand, grabbed the sharp edge of his blade bare-handed, and used my power.

The skill ran through my palm instantly. The moment my fingers touched the sword, the weapon didn’t just break—it melted down into a thick stream of bright silver coins that rained straight down into the dust.

The guard stared at his empty hilt, his face turning completely white with fear. "What... what did you do to my sword?!"

"Your assets just got liquidated," I said flatly.

Before the second guard could even move, I balled up my fist and hit him squarely in the chest, sending him flying back into a pile of broken crates. He didn’t get back up.

The chief collector dropped his book, his knees shaking so badly he fell right onto his rear. He looked at the pile of silver coins on the ground, then looked up at my face, realizing he was dealing with an expert who could crush him like a bug.

I picked up the book from the ground, flipped it open, and looked at the long list of names and stolen taxes. I looked down at the chief collector, my eyes locking onto his trembling face.

"Soon this whole branch will be under new management," I said.

The remaining guard scrambled away on his hands and knees, dragging his unconscious friend until they both disappeared around the corner of the lane. The chief collector was still sitting on his back, staring at me with a pale, sweaty face, completely unable to find his voice.

I turned away from him and looked at silver coins scattered in the group. I walked over, knelt down, and began scooping up the bright pieces by the handful.

I walked straight to the old man who was still on the ground near his door. I held out my hands and poured the silver directly into his trembling palms.

"Take this," I said, my voice quiet and calm. "Get some real food for your family, and buy whatever medicine your granddaughter needs."

The old man stared at his full hands, tears spilling over his wrinkled cheeks. He looked up at me like I was a savior dropped from the sky. "Thank you... thank you so much, young man. You have no idea what this means to us."

I stood up and looked around the street. The other villagers were slowly coming out from behind their broken House’s. Their faces were still thin and tired, but a tiny spark of hope was showing in their eyes. I gathered the rest of the coins from the ground and started distributing them evenly among the small crowd that had formed around us.

Suzy stepped walking slowly over to my side. She wasn’t laughing or acting annoyed anymore. She looked at the happy villagers, then she look directly on my face. There was angenuine look in her eyes that I had never seen before.

"I have to admit, Barry," Suzy said, her voice gentle. "I always thought you were just a greedy, shameless creature who only cared about keeping your own skin safe. But seeing you give everything back to these people... you actually have a good heart."

I adjusted the shirt she gave me, looking away to hide the sudden warmth in my cheeks. "Don’t get it twisted, manager. If the customers starve to death, nobody is left to buy the goods later. It is just a smart long-term investment strategy."

Suzy let out a little beautiful laugh, shaking her head as she stood right next to me. "Keep telling yourself that, you strange snake. But I know the truth now."

[System: Companion affection level increased! Bae Suzy’s trust rating has just reached an all-time high! Your synergy bonus is active!]

’Shut up, System,’ I thought, keeping my face completely blank. ’Let’s focus on the actual target.’

I turned back to the chief collector, who was still on the ground, shaking with fear. I held up the book I had taken from his hands.

"Now," I said, walking right up to him and looking down at his pale face. "You are going to tell me exactly how to get past the main security checkpoints at the Prince’s forest house, or your personal career is over today."