『José: Like every year, my daughter and I will pay them. 』
『Commissioner: And you will also pay the taxes for that boy. 』
『José: Excuse me, Mr. Commissioner, but I am not the father of that child. It is not my responsibility to pay the taxes of a minor who is not part of my family. You should get better informed about this. 』
He looked at the little boy next to his daughter, holding his hand and with a fearful expression on his face.
『Commissioner: I said you have to pay this year; taxes will be collected for every head in this village. 』
In a grave and serious voice, the commissioner insisted on his demand, making it clear to the father and the two children that they could not evade it.
『José: I'm very sorry, but we don't have the money you're asking for the boy. Thirty silver pesos is too much. We can only offer you, at most, twenty-five and some of our belongings. 』
『Commissioner: Then that will be enough for me to take this girl away for a few days. 』
Upon hearing the commissioner's proposal, the father frowned with anger. One might think that a man so unreasonable would not take his daughter just for pleasure. In these times, prostitution is common, even among the youngest women.
Just looking into the eyes of that wretched man was enough to understand his intentions when he said those words.
『José: What? No, that's not going to be possible. Talk to the matron of the orphans to get the money from her. 』
A father's pride in his love for his daughter is priceless. He had sworn to her mother that he would take care of her.
What kind of father would he become if he could not fulfill his promise? And what kind of sane person would allow his sixteen-year-old daughter to fall into the hands of someone so vile?
The commissioner stepped forward and raised his arm, delivering a slap to the father. The loud impact reddened his face. Seeing this, Lina began to feel anxious.
『Commissioner: Don't reply to me, peasant. Who do you think you are? 』
The discontented commissioner grabbed him by the face and demanded that he pay his taxes and the boy's if he wanted to prevent his daughter from being taken away. Not satisfied with the man's words, he sighed and released him.
『Commissioner: Then I'll take her for just two days. Hopefully, they will pay a good sum of money for being a young and beautiful girl. 』
『José: No, wait! You can't do that! 』
Desperate, the father grabbed the commissioner's shoulder to stop him. The commissioner turned around and threw a powerful punch that knocked him to the ground.
Once on the floor, the commissioner proceeded to kick the man hard in the stomach. Lina could only watch helplessly as her poor father suffered for her.
Letting out a groan of pain and struggling to catch his breath, he realized that it was almost impossible for him to breathe.
『Lina: Aaaah! Please, stop! I'll do whatever you ask, just don't continue! 』
The girl approached the commissioner, grabbing one of his arms in an attempt to pull him away. This only caused him to focus his attention on her, slapping her and knocking her to the ground.
『Commissioner: Don't touch me, girl. 』
『José: Lina, what are you doing?! Get out of here, quick, run! 』
『Lina: No, Dad! I don't want to lose you too! 』
Why did she have to run away? Was it right to abandon her father? It wouldn't be the same again, just like when she lost her mother.
The family would be even more broken and devastated. A father who doesn't want his daughter to suffer. A daughter who doesn't want to leave her father alone. What should the right choice be?
『Commissioner: Enough of this drama. Guards, arrest that man! And you, come with me. 』
The anguish of both the father and daughter was rising, feeling the pressure in their chests tighten around their hearts, while sweat began to bead on their foreheads from the tension.
The commissioner grabbed the poor girl lying on the ground, her face reflecting sadness and distress.
The scene was heart-wrenching, but suddenly, one of the guards fell to the ground, and an unknown voice rang out.
『???: Get your filthy hands off her, pig. 』
Before them stood a hooded boy, leaving behind two guards sprawled on the ground.
One had a dagger embedded in his neck, while the other appeared to have been slit open, blood gushing and spreading across the street.
『Commissioner: Who the hell are you? Guards! 』
The commissioner immediately blew a whistle to alert the other guards in the area who were collecting taxes.
『Neizan: Call whoever you want. Let's see if you don't end up dead before they arrive. 』
The boy looked down and grabbed the sheath of the sword from one of the guards he had killed. Then he shot a threatening glance at the commissioner, who was slowly advancing toward him. The commissioner placed his sword against the girl's neck, warning the hooded boy of his intentions.
『Commissioner: Stop! Drop your weapon and don't come any closer if you don't want me to hurt her. 』
『Neizan: This is how you collect taxes here: extorting, abusing, and threatening innocent people. You're scum, not even a pig of your kind would come near. 』
The deep tone of his voice made it clear he was a young boy.
『Commissioner: I said don't come closer! 』
The commissioner began to exert pressure on the girl's neck, holding her head with his other hand, causing drops of blood to spill from her.
『Commissioner: Who the hell is this kid? He took down two of my men before I even realized it. 』
『Neizan: ... 』
The hooded boy stopped to observe the commissioner's actions, remaining in expectant silence.
『Commissioner: See, I told you: I'm willing to kill her if necessary. 』
『Neizan: Alright, is this better then? 』
The boy threw the sword he was holding to the side but kept moving closer. He glanced at the father, who had positioned himself behind the guard with a stone in his hand, ready to strike at any moment.
The boy paused for a second, turned his head, and signaled for him not to do anything reckless. Then he continued, this time removing his hood.
『Commissioner: That's right, good job throwing away your weapon. Don't be reckless and do nothing, now come closer. 』
『Neizan: Sure, here I am, bastard. 』
『Commissioner: That's it, come closer so I can kill you. Aaaah! 』
Just as the commissioner was about to attack the boy with his sword, the commissioner received a stone to the head that destabilized him.
The boy seized the opportunity to quickly approach, dodging the sword that barely grazed him. When the commissioner tried to regain his composure, the boy had already taken the dagger he had used to break the child's ball.
『Commissioner: Urgh! What…? 』
The dagger the boy drove into the commissioner's neck protruded from the other side, creating a jet of blood and leaving a man gasping in his final moments.