Alaric’s heart beat faster in his chest. The situation was a lot worse than he could have imagined it. As the orphanage’s condition had soared, so too had the condition of the Five Hills.

It was expected that a village blessed with this much aether and aether crystals would start to flourish. And while all that was a good thing, Alaric hadn’t thought for a moment that it would have some negative impacts as well.

As it so happened, one of these negative impacts was Chief Garrick. He’d been greedy before but the repulsive being before Alaric now was the personification of Greed. He was now Greed Incarnate, complete with the rotund belly to prove it. Not even the silk tunics wreathed in enchantments could hide how fat he was getting with all the taxes he now had access to.

“Wait… Sister?!” the village chief’s shocked expression lasted only a few moments before it morphed into relief and then snide laughter, “Don’t tell me this brat is who you brought to fill in for Alaric. You slayers must be as dumb as your swords. He doesn’t even look like the boy. I must admit, you almost got me with the voice… and you know, the way the air gets colder when he gets mad. How did you do it?”

Before Alaric could respond, however, Sister Marla burst out of the orphanage and came rushing to them, her expression unreadable. It almost looked like she was angry and shaken at the same time. Still, Alaric couldn’t tell to whom the anger was being directed.

She walked up to them and wedged herself between Alaric and the village chief, “Garrick, leave now.”

Alaric’s mind was quick on the uptake but his emotions gathered like a storm, bidding their time. He could hear Sister Marla’s rushed heartbeat.

‘Fear,’ he confirmed.

He knew Sister Marla was trying to avoid a scene. The problem was, how could she avoid one? Not a single fibre in Alaric’s being was willing to turn a blind eye to the obvious evil that was right in front of him and for quite several reasons.

For starters, Alaric knew of the situation with the Village Chief. His senses had gotten stronger after Alia’s awakening and during that time, Alaric had overheard a few troubling conversations… by accident, of course.

Not only that but after tapping into Thomper’s power, he’d spread vines throughout the village as part of his plan to improve the safety of the village by subconsciously watching out for trouble. The side effects of this involved learning a few things he shouldn’t have.

Alaric had come to learn some terrible truths about this remote town, especially in regard to the Village Chief.

Chief Garrick was in the habit of hassling money out of everyone in town in the name of tax, especially those with establishments that would, under normal circumstances, be making a decent amount of money.

Orphanages, especially private ones that weren’t aided by the Empire, were known to be funded by rich individuals who wanted the best treatment for their anonymous children. It was because of the nature of these orphanages that the man suspected money to be flowing into Marla’s orphanage.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for this orphanage at all. Yes, it sat on a sizeable piece of land on one of the hills in the Five Hills but that was just about it. Up until six months ago, its structural integrity itself was questionable in terms of children’s safety… and yet, even then, the Village chief had taxed the orphanage heavily.

This was the dark truth behind why Old Thomper had to go down to the farmers and use his power to help increase their crop yield at least once every three days.

At first, this had been a favour that Marla would offer once a month… but as the taxes drained her pockets, she monetized Thomper’s services and offered them more frequently all to survive the Village Chief’s gauntlet.

“Ah! Marla, you’re looking fairer than ever. About my proposal… I’m sure you heard it from Garin. I’m not sure if Garin’s been slacking but I haven’t been getting any replies,” Garrick spoke.

“I said, ‘Leave now.’ We can talk about this another time,” Marla hissed again.

Alaric couldn’t tell why she was trying to drive him away so much. This was the Village Chief after all. He could go wherever he wanted unrestricted simply because that was his power as the Village Chief.

[ Why is he asking for more taxes? ] Alaric wondered.

[ That should be obvious, Alaric. Greed. ] Alia responded in a dark tone. Through their bond, Alaric could sense her anger as well, [ Look at his face, Alaric. Do you see a hint of remorse? ]

[ You don’t have to spell out his audacity. It’s all too clear to see. What can I do about it though? ] Alaric replied.

[ You’re at the Wood Rank and have the power to command guardians… and you still think yourself powerless. I overestimated you. Seriously, what was all that training for if you won’t protect those closest to you? ] the guardian continued.

Alaric’s heart skipped a beat. Was it really fair for him to use his powers this way? Alia was his guardian though. Would she advise him to do something wrong? Besides, wasn’t it the Village Chief in the wrong here? He’d come with the intention of tripling Sister Marla’s taxes.

[ Those taxes are coming out of the money you gave to the orphanage. He’s probably going to buy himself a new carriage at this point… or build a mansion as he searches for more ways to drain the village of all its earnings. ]

The wind stopped howling and the world went deathly quiet, “Why is he asking for more taxes?”

Everyone went quiet at the boy’s voice. The air seemed to hum quietly with a tense pressure that made everyone hold their breaths.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Garrick chuckled, “Ha! The brat puts on a good act. I commend your efforts,” Garrick chuckled, “Beat it, kid. The grownups are talking.”

Alaric stood up from his place on the ground and dusted himself off, the aether in his body rumbling with barely restrained anger. It was rare for him to feel this much of it boiling inside of him. He wanted to let his magic fly loose but he also knew that wouldn’t do him any good.

“He really doesn’t recognize me… Has my face changed that much, Sister Marla?”

“A bit,” Sister Marla responded with a nervous smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Alaric nodded, “Summon your guardian, Garrick.”

Alaric walked out so he was in full view of the man who called himself the Village Chief. The air around the man rippled and a two-legged reptilian creature the height of a human stepped out. Its spine was lined with needle-like fins while its skin gleamed with shimmering stone-like scales. A long maw filled with razor-sharp teeth dripped with dark venom.

Menacing as the beast looked, it bowed its head the instant it was out of the spatial rift and in front of Alaric… just like it had plenty of times before. Only this time, Alaric was not in a good mood.

The beast’s master, Garrick, went pale as a sheet no doubt after hearing the confirmation from his guardian that he was indeed staring at Alaric himself.

“Al… Alaric, wow. You’re back! I didn’t realise it was you,” the man stuttered.

“I noticed,” Alaric responded… “I also couldn’t help but notice you were threatening Sister Marla.”

“Threatening? Oh dear, no… I think you misheard. Fortunately, there is no issue here since you’re now awake and all. I collected my tax and…”

“Are you going somewhere?” Alaric asked, “You look tired. Or maybe…” Alaric turned to the man’s guardian, “Someone just told you to get away from me.”

It was a smart choice to run away. Under normal circumstances, Alaric would have simply let this go and let the man rush off but today, there was one difference. He would be leaving for the Tower of Seekers and Elite Guardian Academy soon. There was no better time to settle this man’s bad habits than today.

Garrick’s expression of fear morphed as he furrowed his brows in anger, “You’ve got some nerve. Seems like the Tempering Ritual gave you a big head.”

Alaric kept his eyes on the man’s guardian. The menacing beast’s head was still bowed, [ Please… F-Forgive him, Lord Alaric. ]

[ I would like to but that doesn’t mean he’ll stop picking on my family. How can you let him be this cruel? ] Alaric’s voice bellowed into the guardian’s mind, [ Aren’t guardians meant to guide humans to become the best versions of themselves? Why have you neglected your duty? ]

The creature took a step back, keeping its head to the ground. Garrick didn’t miss the touch of fear that rolled off his guardian, “Hey, what are you doing? Don’t tell me you’re actually afraid of this boy?”

“Shut up, Garrick. You’ll only make it worse,” LionHeart snapped at the man.

“Make what worse? I’m the Chief of this Town. I can kick you and this whole orphanage out if I so wish it,” the man bellowed.

Alaric approached the reptilian guardian and stood before it. The guardian looked ready to vanish into the ground, never to be seen again. This situation reminded him a lot of the situation with Aslan, LionHeart’s guardian. That guardian, however, had been far more prideful and elegant compared to this one.

Before he could understand what had happened, Alaric felt a connection with the guardian in front of him. A part of him wondered how this was possible without him touching the guardian but then he focused more on the creature.

The raptor was scared… and timid, despite being gifted with strength, teeth and venom. Garrick’s guardian knew of the dire consequences of invoking Alaric’s rage, from something as simple as a punishment to something as permanently damaging as severing their bond, just like he had with Darth and Saber.

The guardian’s fear and knowledge of its own shortcomings were somewhat enough to keep Alaric from lashing out. In the end, Alaric was not well-versed in the art of punishment. He knew it was required at a time like this but did not know how to administer it.

He sighed, “You’re his other half. You’re responsible for teaching him what he should and should not do. So, what do you reckon I do for him?”

The raptor looked up at the boy, then at its master. A kind resigned voice rumbled through the air, “He has angered you, my Lord. Any punishment you see fit would be fine with me.”

Garrick’s face went white as a sheet, “You… can talk?”

LionHeart scrunched his face in disbelief, “What?! You’ve never heard your guardian speak before? Not even in your head?”

“Of course, I’ve heard him talk in my head,” Garrick yelled, “But not like this.”

“I tried to get you to leave,” Marla sighed, her expression becoming indifferent to what was happening, “This is out of my hands now.”

Alaric wasn’t listening to their conversation though. He didn’t know about punishment so he didn’t know what lengths he was allowed to go to without overdoing it. He didn’t know the limits of his power over the guardian and frankly, he wasn’t one to condemn someone to harsh punishment.

Unlike Aslan, this raptor wasn’t even offering to have the man enslaved or thrashed a hundred times. This guardian was asking for mercy. ‘I guess not all guardians are the same either.’

“You are his guardian… so guide him. In three days, he must present a full progress plan to the village, a full breakdown of the taxes as well as a full account of what those taxes will be used for. The Village must accept these terms and only when they’ve accepted them should he be allowed to proceed.

He can decide on how much he’d want the taxes to pay for his needs. Should he reject this course of action, then you’ll have him step down from the position of Village Chief.”

As Alaric spoke, the Village Chief grew paler with shock.

Pulling up all the papers and details concerning tax collection was a tall order considering how much of that tax never made it to the Village Treasury. There was almost no way to accomplish all this without coming clean with where taxes had been going.

However, not going through with it also meant he had to step down and lose access to all those taxes completely. This was madness. The world didn’t operate on such black-and-white principles.

There was hope though, or at least that’s what Garrick thought. There was always a chance his guardian rejected these terms. Which guardian, in their right mind, could accept to watch their master treated like some third-rate slave? It simply wasn’t possible.

But then, his guardian replied with a bow, “Very well, Lord Alaric.”

Garrick stared at his guardian with a look of utter disbelief, “Who do you think you’re bowing to? I’m your master!”

A feral growl from the velociraptor stopped him in his tracks. The beast turned to him and stalked closer to him, “You're my guardian… Not…”

The world turned colder, the happiness draining from everything close by as the Village Chief’s guardian grew even angrier with his master’s conduct. Alaric could hear the words between their communication, [ Shut your mouth… before we get an even bigger punishment. Trust me. He’s doing us a favour. ]

Garrick stared at the boy who had just commanded his guardian to punish him with a complicated expression. Then he saw the clenched fist Alaric was trying to conceal.

Alaric’s emotions were the easiest to read. The tense still air along with the absence of the sun were proof of them. And that only meant he was, for whatever reason, holding himself back. An idea sprung up in his head, [ He doesn’t want to cause trouble for Marla. He’s bluffing. ]

Before the man could say a word, the velociraptor dashed to his side bit down on his collar, then threw him at Alaric’s feet, [ I asked him to punish you and he held back… and you have the audacity to think of blackmail. ]

Alaric sighed, “I was hoping you’d accept the punishment. I’ve known you for a long time and so has everyone in the village. I would hate for something bad to happen to someone I know. I know you take money from the Apothecary, the farmers, the market vendors, the travelling merchants… I’ve seen the way you treat them. This is your chance to make it right with everyone. Listen to your guardian and all will be well. You have three days.”