The next morning.
"What's going on with those Divine Grace Knights and nobles who believe in the benevolent gods? Why haven't they sent anyone out to maintain order yet?"
Lor, who hadn't slept all night and had two dark circles under his eyes, sat behind the estate gate, yawning.
Occasionally, the sounds of fighting came from the street last night, startling his heart.
All he could do was light three candles in the most conspicuous spot in the living room, indicating that someone was in the courtyard, hoping no one would forcibly break in.
At this moment, he longed for order like never before.
Now, at just twelve years old, in a town where at least half the people had died due to faith in the deities, he didn't dare to take money and go out to buy fish.
Only when order is restored, he thought, can I make a move.
Click, click, click——
Suddenly, a series of footsteps came from afar, growing closer.
Lor tilted his ear to listen; there were at least three people in the approaching group.
"Bang, bang, bang——"
The visitor knocked hard on the door a few times and shouted loudly:
"Is Mr. Rox at home? It's Kotri."
Kotri was the only baron in the town, the steward of Baron Radef, and every year at the end he was responsible for collecting the merchant taxes from families like theirs.
Now the task of confirming the survival of the merchants in the town had obviously fallen into his hands.
"Uncle Kotri, my parents have already gone to the Divine Kingdom."
Lor immediately opened the door, glanced at Kotri and the two militiamen behind him, and said with a sad expression.
Outwardly sad, he was actually somewhat happy inside, having acquaintances alive would make executing his plan much easier.
"Little Lor, you should feel joy. They will live forever in the God of Wealth's Divine Kingdom."
Seeing Lor open the door, a fleeting trace of disappointment appeared in Kotri's eyes, but he quickly restrained it, offering a word of comfort before asking:
"What are your plans for the future? Are you going to inherit your parents' work and continue making salted fish?"
If possible, he certainly wanted to extort more gold coins from Lor, but the two militiamen accompanying him were not only there for his protection.
"Of course!"
Lor nodded firmly, taking out two burlap bags from his arms and handing them to Kotri:
"Uncle Kotri, this bag contains this year's merchant tax. Please help me deliver it to the Baron in advance."
"The other bag is a small token of appreciation for you and the two militia uncles for coming so early and taking the trouble."
"If everything goes well, it will double next year."
This was money Lor couldn't afford not to give because this steward was well aware of his family's wealth.
Now he could only bet that the steward wouldn't dare to risk the Baron's reputation and abandon future gains for short-term theft.
From every angle, Lor had considered everything thoroughly, and the odds were much in favor of his gamble.
Upon hearing this, Kotri and the two militiamen behind him immediately smiled.
Kotri reached out to take the two bags, opened each to take a look, and nodded with satisfaction:
"Good, I believe with your talent, Lor, everything will go smoothly."
One of the bags contained the normal five gold coins for the merchant tax, which Kotri dared not touch.
The other bag, however, held one gold coin and eight silver coins, more than three times last year's five silver coins.
Even if he divided the eight silver coins among the two militiamen with him, he would still get one gold coin, a substantial profit.
Not to mention, it would double next year.
"Which of you will stay here to protect Little Lor for a few days?"
Kotri turned around, evenly distributing eight silver coins to the two militiamen before asking.
He had won the gamble!
Seeing the scene before him, Lor felt a weight lift from his heart.
Order was now his only protection.
"I will." A red-haired young militiaman stepped forward hurriedly.
The other militiaman, seeing this, could only retract his already extended foot, feeling somewhat regretful.
This little fellow named Lor seemed to be very generous and sensible. Protecting him for a few days could likely earn some benefits.
"Alright, then Chris, you'll stay here to protect Lor for the next few days, and I'll report to the militia captain." Kotri nodded, patted Lor on the shoulder, and smiled:
"Alright, we have to check in with a few other families, so you just go back and rest."
He said that, then turned and left with the other militiaman.
"Uncle Chris, you haven't eaten breakfast yet, have you?"
Lor saw Chris's face full of fatigue and immediately displayed a shy smile, leading him into the house while asking.
"Haven't eaten, for sure."
Chris rubbed his stomach. Last night he had been busy suppressing the unrest most of the night.
He hadn't had a chance to sleep before being dragged off to assist the steward in checking the population, with no time to spare at all.
"I'll go make some breakfast then."
Lor led Chris into the living room to sit down, then ran to the kitchen, boiled a pot of water, and tossed in two salted fish.
He grabbed four slices of white bread, casually spread some butter on them, and paired them up on two silver trays.
Shortly after, a pot of soup and two breakfasts were ready.
When he walked into the living room carrying the bread and soup, he clearly saw Chris's eyes light up, seemingly with anticipation.
This was normal; in an average freeman's home, eating white bread—something that cost a silver coin a pound—was a rare occurrence.
Usually, it was only on the Day of Divine Grace that one would eat something like that.
As for salted fish soup, it wasn't so uncommon, given this was a seaside town.
"Uncle Chris, this is for you." Lor pushed one plate over.
"Thank you, Little Lor." Chris expressed his gratitude, taking the plate and eating heartily, with a face full of enjoyment.
"It's expected, since I'll be relying on you to ensure my safety in the upcoming days." Lor said with a smile.
As he spoke, he forced himself to eat his piece of bread despite an unpleasant taste in his mouth.
Undoubtedly, it wasn't to his liking.
But there was no choice; given the conditions of this world, it was the best he could do.
Once he's strong enough, he could make changes. But for now, it was out of the question.
Tall trees catch much wind, after all.
"Uncle Chris, I wonder how things are outside right now? I didn't dare leave the house all of yesterday."
Having finished their meal, having grown slightly more familiar with Chris, Lor began to probe for information about the outside world.
Chris's eyes showed a hint of envy as he said:
"The devout followers of the great God of Light, Life God, Dark Goddess, God of Wealth... have had their souls taken to the Divine Kingdom. The shells left over in town amount to over twelve thousand."
"Unfortunately, I worship the God of War, and I wasn't accepted there."
"Some others who believe in other deities also didn't enter the Divine Kingdom."
Lor remained silent, thinking that Chris should count himself lucky to have faith in such truly benevolent gods.
According to the documentaries he had seen in his previous life, when deities fell into their final struggles, half of them chose to absorb the souls of their followers to exchange them for a final retaliation, causing considerable damage to the wizards.
The remaining half chose to let their followers live.
"So there are still about eight thousand people left in the town now?" Lor asked.
Originally, the town had a population of just over twenty thousand, and with more than half gone, there should still be around eight thousand people left.
The question remained about how many of the fishermen, who supplied his parents, were still alive. If too few remained, he might have to look elsewhere for supplies.
"No, there are at most just over seven thousand now."
Chris angrily pounded the table: "Some despicable scum took advantage of yesterday's chaos to burn, kill, and loot, harming a group of innocent civilians."
"From yesterday afternoon to evening, on orders from the Baron, we hunted down those scum and killed them."
"To be honest, Little Lor, I'm considerably surprised your place wasn't visited by that scum."
"Maybe it's because I'm just lucky?" Lor said with a shy smile.