Kivamus was sitting in the manor hall once again, finally being glad that they had hidden all the blueprints and the powdered medicine away from sight. Once he had returned back to the hall after locking the room, Feroy had noticed the simple sketch he had made of the paper making process on the very first sheets of paper they had manufactured here being stuck on the walls. That was just in time because as soon as the ex-mercenary removed those sheets of paper and exited the hall to hide them away, the outer doors opened and Tesyb walked inside, looking nervous for probably the very first time.

"Milord," the burly guard reported, "Ustaimo - the tax collector and his escorting knight are here."

"Good. Let them in," Kivamus ordered, while glancing at Duvas who was sitting nearby with the tax ledger in his hands. Feroy had already called up two other guards earlier, who were standing in the corners of the hall now, just in case they were needed.

Tesyb walked out and this time he returned with a wiry old man in tow. The tax collector looked to be around fifty years old - so around a decade younger than Duvas - but it was still quite old for this world's short life expectancy. Deep furrows were etched across his forehead - probably from decades of squinting at a tax ledger in poor lighting - while his slumped shoulders told of a difficult journey on the road for a man of his age. He was wearing the usual drab tunic commonly worn by those not of noble birth, while even those clothes had certainly seen better days.

Following behind him was the first knight Kivamus was seeing from up close in this world. This was a young man, probably in his mid twenties, and his confident gait spoke of a person who was used to his orders being followed. The plate armour he was wearing had been polished to a mirror-like sheen, the metal easily reflecting the flickering light from the fireplace. Ornately decorated steel plates of what Kivamus had recently found to be called cuirass, pauldrons, vambraces, gauntlets and so on, as well as the helmet held under his arm, showed intricate craftsmanship and designs, which probably wouldn't be easy to afford even for a knight.

Hmm... Kivamus guessed that most likely this young man hailed from a noble family, instead of a commoner who had been elevated to a landed knight for his services. There was no other way this man would be able to afford such an elaborately decorated armour which looked more for showing off instead of being made for practical use.

That being said, he was surprised to see that the polished plate armor looked like steel - instead of the usual wrought iron commonly used everywhere in this world - although it was probably to be expected if this young man was of noble blood. However, the manual process which was used by the blacksmiths and armourers to produce even this small quantity of steel in Reslinor was very complex and time-taking, due to which this plate armor would probably be more valuable than a big tract of land in this world.

He recalled when Cedoron had told him about how his father used to help in making steel plate armour in Ulriga, back when the man was alive and his family lived there - and it was certainly a very long and elaborate process. Starting from iron ore in a bloomery to smelt a red-hot bloom of iron, then hammering it to remove the unwanted slag - although with the help of waterwheel powered trip hammers in Ulriga - and then shaping it into the commonly found wrought iron ingots was only a start.

Only after that could a talented blacksmith start the carburization and quenching of that wrought iron to increase the carbon content and produce mild steel - which usually took days and made it very costly to own this advanced metal in this era. The armourer would then start shaping the metal by beating it repeatedly to forge each piece individually and then shaping and cutting the steel armour - often according to each individual knight's measurement. Suffice it to say, it was a very intricate and difficult process, which meant only the rich nobles could afford to use steel.

Duvas' cleared his throat and stood up to greet the new arrivals, bringing Kivamus' mind to the present. "Ustaimo! My friend! It's been so long since we last met."

"You flatter me, Sir Duvas," the tax collector replied with a short bow, firstly to the majordomo - who was still born in a noble family in the north of the Kingdom - then to Kivamus. "Greetings, my lord. I hope you don't mind our late visit."

Kivamus stood up as well and smiled at Ustaimo. "Not at all. Taxes have to be paid after all."

The tax collector returned the smile and gestured at the knight. "This is Sir Tuilas, nephew of Count Ebirtas of Cinran."

The young knight barely gave any bow to Kivamus, just completing the formality with a nod of his head, while completely ignoring Duvas. He gazed at the wooden walls of the manor house. "So this... is where the Baron of Tiranat lives? Looks like... a hovel."

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Kivamus forced a smile, already not liking this knight's ways. "Well, I'm sorry it doesn't meet your noble standards, Tuilas," he riposted, pointedly ignoring the honorific for the name. Even if this knight was a nephew of the Count, technically he did outrank Tuilas, after all.

The young knight glared at him for a moment, before he grunted and took a seat near the fireplace without waiting for an invite.

Ustaimo glanced at both of them anxiously, before he sighed. "Well, it's been a very long day, milord. If it's okay with you, I'd like to have some food before taking some rest for tonight. I don't think I can make any sense of numbers for the tax right now after travelling on that bumpy road for two days."

Kivamus glanced at Duvas, who looked impatient with the tax ledger held tightly in his hands, likely wanting to get it done as soon as possible, before he gestured at another free armchair. "Of course. You can rest here for now."

The majordomo took the cue. "Madam Helga is preparing something delicious for tonight, I believe. Your rooms have already been prepared, so you can sleep in comfort after having supper."

For a moment Kivamus wondered about what Reslinor's custom was regarding him - a baron of noble birth - and a tax collector who was not a noble, as well as a knight, and whether he should be sitting and eating in the same room as them, which would signify them being of equal ranks, before he snorted. He hadn't come to this world by choice, but he had no reason to follow all the customs of Reslinor, nor did he believe in the differences of nobility and commoners.

If anything, that was a custom he would prefer would become obsolete from this kingdom - if not now, then in the future. So he would do what felt right to him. Anyway, since Tiranat was just a small village, and it didn't have a huge castle or a vast residential living place like the Ulriga Palace, it wasn't like he had too many options to find another place to sit and have dinner. So he walked near the fireplace as well to find an empty chair.

Once everyone had taken a seat, Kivamus said curiously, "I've heard that usually two knights were sent to accompany you in the past. The road connecting Cinran to Tiranat is quite dangerous, so I'm surprised to see only a single knight with you."

Ustaimo pointedly glanced at Sir Tuilas, before looking back at Kivamus. "I'm sure the knight commander of Cinran did his best to provide us proper protection."

Kivamus took the hint, and didn't ask anymore. For now. There was a story here, but this seemed like a topic for when the nephew of the Count was not sitting right next to them. He snorted. Well, he was sure they could find some other idle things to talk about even with Sir Tuilas in earshot.

***

It was the morning of the next day, and everyone had just finished their breakfast in the manor hall. The night had gone without any incidents, which meant either the knight didn't have any intentions to kill him, or maybe Feroy and the other guards being present here had postponed his murderous plans. Only time would tell.

Duvas had gone to bring the tax ledger after he was done eating, while the usual two guards had continuously been standing close to Kivamus, just in case. Feroy had also been up for most of the night while guarding the stairwell, so he had been told to take some rest now.

Gorsazo had returned to an inner room to teach Syryne - who had not been present for breakfast today, unlike the usual mealtimes when she and her family usually ate along with the others living in the manor house. The simple reason for that was Sir Tuilas' excessive and completely unwelcome advances on Syryne last evening. While the knight had kept his hands to himself, it had still been bad enough that Kivamus had wanted to put Tuilas in jail for the duration of his stay here, but imprisoning the nephew of the Count wouldn't end well for them, so he had grudgingly told Syryne not to help out in serving the meals and stay out of sight of the knight. So for now, she was helping her mother in the kitchen in her free time, while the maid Clarisa and Madam Helga herself had served breakfast.

"I think I'll take a round of the manor now," Sir Tuilas announced as he stood up.

"Of course," Kivamus said while gesturing to the outer door. "We are going to be quite busy discussing the tax numbers for the next few hours anyway. Feel free to stretch your legs in the meantime. If you want some workout, I'm sure our guard captain Hudan will be willing to accommodate you."

Probably not understanding just how outmatched he would be in a mock fight with the giant, at least without wearing his full plate armour, Tuilas grunted. "We'll see."

Kivamus looked at Tesyb, who was standing nearby. "You go with Tuilas to escort him. Make sure to show him around to the southeast where Hudan must be training the guards around now."

The brawny guard nodded, the twinkle in his eyes showing that he understood Kivamus' intention to keep the knight away from other places where he could cause trouble - such as the servants' hall, where other maids stayed along with the female guards - even though Tesyb didn't say anything out loud.

With that, the knight walked outside the hall along with the guard, leaving Kivamus alone with Ustaimo as well as another guard.