Vernum City

Carolyn had hunted game with a bow before, but she had never hurt a person with it. Part of her wondered if this was the right thing to do, but then she remembered the words of her father.

"Lyn, though what I'm teaching you can be used for self-defence, you must remember that protecting yourself will inevitably involve hurting someone else. I know you'll grow up to be just as kind as your mother, but when the time comes, don't think about your enemy; think about those who will be saddened and hurt by your loss."

She wished she could ask him if he thought about her and her mother when he fought to buy time for their escape, but that chance would never come. With his advice in mind, she imagined the reactions of those she had met in Noral Village if they learnt of her being robbed and killed.

'Hanson would probably feel that it was his fault for not providing escorts and blame himself. As for Atla and Rilis, they would be really sad that we wouldn't meet again, though I wouldn't want to see any tears on their faces again. Mr. Teri, now that I think about it, I've never seen him be sad. I've only seen a lonely look in his eyes sometimes. I wonder if he would look like that if I can't keep my promise to bury him anymore...'

One by one, their faces appeared in her mind. Going from Hanson to even the villagers she had only spoken with once or twice. As she thought of them and how they might react to news of her losing her life, a budding resolve appeared in her heart.

'I'm not as kind as Dad said I would be. The reason I'm hesitating isn't because I'm being considerate; I'm just afraid. Even though I trained so hard, I can't imagine landing a single hit on them. Still, even if my power is much more limited than I thought,'

She didn't want her loved ones to feel the way she had when she lost her parents. With a steady light in her eyes, Carolyn pulled back the bowstring and took aim.

"What? Are you gonna shoot? Go ahead and try, ya little- Ahh!"

At the release of her hand, the arrow flew into the talking man's leg as if it was sucked in. Although the arrowhead was made of wood, it was designed to cause more damage when pulled out than when it went in.

"Damn it! My leg!"

Carolyn grimaced, but while the other two men were distracted by their fallen comrade, she nocked another arrow and took aim.

"Watch out!"

The wounded man noticed her movements and warned his comrades, but it was too late to stop another arrow from lodging inside one of their thighs.

"Gah!"

Now there was only one left standing, but he charged towards her with a vicious expression and his knife ready to draw blood. Judging that he was too close for another shot, she changed the grip on her bow and used it to deflect his knife. She then kicked him on the shin and flicked the bow at his chin. Taking advantage of his disoriented state, she planted her foot on his solar plexus, knocking him off his feet before finally shooting an arrow next to his ear as he struggled to sit up.

"I'll let you off easy this time. But if you let me catch you again, then don't expect to walk again."

Putting aside whether or not she could truly carry out that threat, Carolyn tried to sound as serious as possible with her nervous expression hidden behind the mask. She would have had an easier time aiming without it, but it was too late for that now. While the three glared at her with hatred and a hint of fear, she calmly walked away. She honestly wanted to run while they were down for the count, but showing weakness might invite a counterattack.

After making her point, Carolyn snorted and started walking off as confidently as she could. The three men watched as her cloaked figure faded into the distance. They were naturally upset, especially the two men who had been shot by her arrows, but they didn't have the courage to go after her either. They had first noticed her at Hamridge Camp and decided to rob her after seeing the purchases she made. This wasn't the first time they had robbed lone travellers, and so they didn't think anything could go wrong with such an easy mark. However, they picked the wrong target this time.

"Damn it! I can't believe we got beaten by a little girl."

"Shut up and come help me out already! This damn arrow feels like it's stuck."

"No fair! I got shot first!"

"You got what you asked for. If you hadn't goaded her, we could have grabbed her before she had the chance to shoot."

"Then why didn't you go grab her?! I'm always the one in front!"

"That's because you're the youngest, idiot!"

"You're the idiot!"

"Stop it! Both of you! This ain't the time to be arguing."

"Shut up, you damn coward!"

"That's right! At least we got shot. All you got was a kick."

"Damn you two!"

While the three thieves were arguing, Carolyn gradually increased her pace until she could no longer sense them behind her. Only once she felt alone did she release a sigh of relief.

"Whew~. That was close."

When Carolyn looked at her hands, she found them shaking. It was the same as the first time she had hunted an animal. For about two weeks after that, she even stopped eating meat, but her parents eventually helped her get over it. In this case, she hadn't taken a life, but she had still drawn blood. She didn't regret it, but it wasn't a feeling that she wanted to get used to. Carolyn knew that on her journey, incidents like this would surely repeat themselves, but she wished that she could solve them without resorting to violence. Nevertheless, if someone wanted to harm her or her loved ones, then she would fight. Just as her father had taught her.

As this resolve took root in her heart, Carolyn eventually reached Vernum City. The city was surrounded by wooden walls, but they weren't built to defend against a strong army. The city had multiple entrances, but as a newcomer without an official status, Carolyn could only enter through the one at the end of her path.

There weren't many people ahead of her, and they were all travelling on foot, so inspections were rare and didn't take long. She reached the front of the gate before noon and presented her travel pass to the guard stationed there. The guard looked at the front and back of her travel pass before giving her permission to proceed. After passing through the gate, Carolyn was then taken to a small room with a guard sitting at a desk. Here she presented her travel pass once more and had to pay the entry tax. Tax was a foreign concept while she was in Noral Village due to its closed nature, but Riddly Village paid tax, and through her studies, Carolyn knew what it was and how the system worked.

Just like how it sounded, entry tax was tax that non-residents had to pay each time they entered a city. Similarly, there was also an exit tax that applied to all commoners, but it was generally less expensive. She didn't receive information on the exact figure in advance, but she had an estimate for how much she would pay in entry tax. However, the number she heard was so different that she doubted her hearing.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"The entry tax is three silvers. If you want to leave, then you have to pay the reduced exit tax of one silver."

There were some variations, but with the exception of the royal capital, the entry tax for cities in the Alterna Kingdom was generally below one silver. This was not only based on what she learnt from her mother but also on what she heard from Hanson. Carolyn scrutinised the guard's expression, but he didn't seem to be lying. He even seemed somewhat depressed.

"No, I'll pay the entry tax, but when did it get so high?"

"First, the tax."

Restraining a grumble, Carolyn took out three silvers and handed them to the guard.

"The last raise was last week. There was a raise two weeks before that and another one a month before that one. If you have any other questions, ask someone else."

She could tell that he was serious about not asking any more questions, so Carolyn left the room and finally entered the city.