“What?” The woman looked down at Herscherik.
Before she could say anymore, Herscherik rushed to add, “Father won’t eat fruit from anywhere else! So he sent me out to... What’s wrong, Miss?” He looked around with a confused expression. He turned to the fruit strewn on the ground and immediately looked like he was going to cry, as if a perfectly blooming flower was starting to wilt. “All those delicious fruits dumped on the ground... What happened? I can talk to Father. He has friends in the military, so I’m sure he can help you!” Herscherik innocently proposed, as if it was a brilliant idea. He saw the constables all jolt, but he only looked up at them with a curious expression. “Are you constables? Father loves fruit. He’s going to be really sad.” Herscherik sulked dramatically.
Now, the constables were facing an obviously noble child, upset that his father’s favorite store had been vandalized. Not to mention that his father apparently knew people high up in the military.
I mean, I’m not lying, Herscherik silently disclaimed, keeping up his act.
His father was the king, after all. He knew (and commanded) everyone in the military. And he did like fruit. Herscherik hadn’t claimed that his father was with him, either. In his opinion, he didn’t tell the whole truth, but neither did he lie. Besides, he didn’t think the flustered constables would see through him.
“Well, we’re... Um...” Mumbling, the constables retreated back into the crowd.
Herscherik was relieved to see that the situation played out just like he’d hoped it would. The military and the constabulary had always butted heads. The military, composed of the national army and the Knights’ Order, was more in the forefront of the country’s image and diplomatic presence while the constabulary focused on keeping the peace within the country. Both institutions proudly believed that they were the most vital to the protection of their country.
Herscherik couldn’t believe how immature this conflict was. They were on the same side, after all, just with different job descriptions. Because of this conflict, there were communication issues between the departments now and again. This time, though, Herscherik had been able to use the conflict to his advantage.
“Are you all right?” Herscherik asked as he began to gather the fruit off of the ground.
The woman had been blankly watching the scene unfold before. She snapped out of it. “Please, sir. I can’t let you... And I would never want to disappoint your father...”
“I was just bluffing. Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry about your beautiful fruit...” Wasting food had always been a strict taboo in Ryoko’s upbringing. Herscherik frowned at the damaged apple in his hand. “What a waste...”
Someone in the crowd laughed. That wasn’t something some noble’s son would have been concerned about. The laughter spread like a wave through the crowd. The crowd wasn’t mocking Herscherik, but rather they seemed charmed by him. They had come to realize that Herscherik had simply pulled a stunt to help this stranger.
“Good job, kiddo!”
“Wait, isn’t that a girl? Well, he did such a good job, anyway!”
A middle-aged man came and ruffled Herscherik’s hair as a woman of about the same age applauded him. A flood of compliments poured out from the crowd and made Herscherik blush.
It took a considerable time for the crowd to disperse and for all of the fruit to be collected. Most of the fruits that had been spilled were now too damaged to sell.
“It really is a waste...” Herscherik repeated, looking into the box full of unsellable fruit.
How much time and effort do they think it takes to grow all these fruits? Not to mention money! Herscherik could feel his gut boil, as if the fruit was his own merchandise. He immediately calculated the amount of loss in his head, out of force of habit from his previous life, only to find himself even more enraged.
“I can’t thank you enough.” The lady of the fruit stand, Louise, handed Herscherik a piece of fruit, as if losing all this merchandise didn’t bother her at all. “A token of my thanks. I can’t sell these because they’re a little bruised, but you can still eat it just fine. They’re still delicious, too. I promise.” With a bright smile, she continued. “Those constables are the worst. They’ve been accusing people all over the market with nonsense charges so they can take our money. Boy, the look on their faces today!” Louise seemed genuinely relieved.
“I didn’t know...” Herscherik took the fruit from her. “Is it true that the constabulary and the commerce guild are fighting?” he asked, recalling the comment he had overheard.
Louise’s expression clouded. “Yes. Apparently, the higher-ups in the guild skimped on the peacekeeping fees we pay the constabulary. So, they come out to pick on the shopkeepers. It was starting to get really bad.”
Herscherik’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe the phrase he had heard. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. “Peacekeeping fees”? What is the constabulary doing here, running a protection racket!? He silently groaned. Peacekeeping was the whole purpose of the constabulary, so naturally, all of their expenses were paid for by tax money. What do they mean, “peacekeeping fees”!? Sure, they may make some under-the-table deals, but why would the guild even pay something like that!? It was also possible that this was just the result of a few of the constables working the field pocketing the money. In that case, Herscherik believed it would be their supervisors’ fault for letting such a scheme run amok under their watch.
If Louise was telling the truth, and Herscherik had no reason to doubt her, the constabulary and the commerce guild were in cahoots. The commerce guild organized the market workers, merchants, and artisans. Their main duties were to develop production and secure import and export routes, as well as regulate their members. One of their jobs was to tax their guild members and deliver that to the government. In regions outside of the capital, the lord or lady of the land taxed their people.
They had been paying the “fee,” but they must have cut back because of the recent recession and tax hike.
Some things were made easier by the existence of this kind of bribe. Herscherik couldn’t say that such a system offered no benefits at all, but it was outrageous that the constables refused to do their jobs just because they weren’t getting their side income anymore.
“We’re being taxed more and more as it is...” Louise let out a long sigh. “In any case, I better let the guild know. I’m closing up for the day so I can head over to the guild for a second, but can you wait for me here for a little bit? I really haven’t thanked you enough!”
After watching Louis leave, Herscherik sat on a wooden box that was lying around and took a bite out of the fruit that was given to him. It was slightly smaller than an apple from Japan, but it was very sweet with just the right amount of tang. Herscherik was too distressed to truly enjoy the fruit, though.
Things are really bad here.