Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 734: The Great Legacy (3)

× Taxes……?

Obstruction of Official Duties alternated its gaze between the flattened give-up button and Yeongwoo, then crooked its index finger.

Yeongwoo confirmed that the gun barrels had vanished at some point, then tucked Bastard into his waistband.

“Ah, you’ve never had any reason to pay taxes, so you wouldn’t know.”

× I know what taxes mean. I’m merely surprised that even a bastard like you pays them.

“That means you don’t understand taxes. Taxes are something that even a bastard like me absolutely has to pay.”

× Why? You could simply not pay them.

“That’s impossible. Even if I raided a Police Bureau prison, I could avoid summary execution as long as I wasn’t arrested, but tax delinquency doesn’t work like that.”

× What exactly does that mean?

At that, Yeongwoo drew the edge of his hand across his own throat.

“Anyone who fails to pay their taxes dies immediately. I don’t even know how they die. Honestly, it does feel like an utterly absurd abuse of power.”

As far as Yeongwoo knew, tax delinquency was the worst crime in the universe.

After all, it was the only matter in which the absolute power of the universe directly intervened.

× Anyone dies? How is that possible?

“I don’t know. That’s just how reality works. I suppose you could call it the bare minimum rule holding this world together.”

Things like the Universal Police Bureau existed, but the actual universe as experienced firsthand was truly a lawless wasteland.

Theoretically, if one possessed enough power to overpower the Police Bureau, the structure allowed them to become free from the ‘law.’

But even such supreme beings could not escape taxes.

“I wonder if there’s anyone somewhere in the universe who doesn’t pay taxes. It doesn’t seem like there would be absolutely no way to avoid them.”

The very moment Yeongwoo uttered those blasphemous words, the time to pay taxes truly arrived.

—Taxes will be collected shortly, beginning at 10 p.m.

Ten o’clock in the evening.

Tax collection.

What this implied was not simply that he had to pay taxes.

“If that’s the case, the dungeon will open soon too.”

Didn’t the night dungeon open at 11 p.m., one hour after tax collection?

× What is a dungeon this time?

When Obstruction of Official Duties asked yet another question, Yeongwoo finally realised it.

Tonight, he would be entering the dungeon together with this insane anti-government handgun.

“Ah, right. This bastard was here. Tonight’s dungeon is going to be rather noisy.”

× I asked what a dungeon is.

“It’s difficult to describe in a single phrase. A space with different characteristics appears every time. Still, to summarise it as much as possible… it’s something like a duelling arena.”

× A duelling arena?

“Yeah. Though you could call it a duelling arena with strange rules attached every time. Perform well, and you receive rewards.”

It was also one of the few ways to cross the vast reaches of the universe.

Every dungeon he had seen thus far had been a place that truly existed somewhere in the universe.

× In any case, all you need to do is fight well, don’t you?

“Ultimately, yes. The greater your martial prowess, the more overwhelmingly advantageous it is.”

Just as Yeongwoo shrugged and agreed, the problematic taxation procedure finally began.

「The estimation of your payable taxes has been completed.」

|Final Tax Amount: 1,136,628,400

1.13 billion Karma.

It seemed the corrupt official at the National Tax Service had accomplished great things once again.

“That must be bad news for the universe. I’ve managed to evade death again this time.”

The cash currently held by Planetary Shipmaster Jeong Yeongwoo amounted to a staggering eleven billion Karma.

Therefore, even after paying his taxes, he would still have plenty of money left.

Piiing!

At last, the taxes were collected with a sharp signal, and Yeongwoo’s balance soon fell to approximately 9.9 billion.

-Available Karma: 9,925,354,016

And then.

Piiing!

Another signal sounded, and this time Yeongwoo’s balance rapidly swelled once again.

Paaat!

[The taxes of Planet |l||I-Earth, ‘13,246,338,290,’ have been collected.]

“…What?”

Planetary taxes, 13.2 billion.

And it was not money that had gone out, but money that had come in.

It was income.

“Thirteen billion……?”

As Yeongwoo’s mouth fell open at the absurd amount, he soon remembered.

Some time ago, as a reward for making golden rain fall upon Planet Tehen through the Golden Nebula Decree, he had caused rain to fall throughout the entire Earthship as well.

And the resulting increase in the income of the Earthship’s residents had directly led to an increase in tax revenue.

Of course, the one unfortunate part was.

-Planetary Holdings: 13,246,338,290

Like defence expenditure, planetary taxes were also treated separately from his existing balance.

[As your planetary taxes have exceeded the standard threshold, a special account under the jurisdiction of the National Tax Service has been established.]

‘…Under the jurisdiction of the National Tax Service? I already have a bad feeling about this.’

[Planetary taxes will be strictly managed under the supervision of the National Tax Service, and only public expenditures related to the planet may receive approval.]

Put simply, it meant that he was not to use the enormous amount of tax revenue for personal purposes.

‘But it’s still true that thirteen billion came in, isn’t it? Couldn’t I somehow use it privately if I exploited the loopholes properly?’

Of course, Yeongwoo already knew that it would not be easy.

After all, tens of billions of Karma was a large sum even to great beings who owned entire star systems.

“Nothing ever comes for free.”

Yeongwoo let out a long breath and turned his head, just as Keniscita’s outer hull finally folded outward.

Earth and Mushio Tare, who had been waiting outside, cautiously poked their heads in with visibly tense expressions.

『N-Nothing happened, right?』

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“There was a minor commotion, but it was resolved without issue. I paid all my taxes too.”

Even as Yeongwoo said this, his body was still covered in blood.

The wounds he had sustained during the final training session had yet to heal.

When Earth stared fixedly at the wounds, Yeongwoo stepped out of the vessel and turned his head towards the wheelhouse in the distance.

“There’s only one hour left until the dungeon opens. I have a mountain of things to do in the meantime.”

『What do you need to do? Isn’t it about time you rested, even if only for a moment?』

“A new navigator has arrived. I should introduce him to Mantero. And.”

Swoosh.

What Yeongwoo produced next was a key.

It was the key to a safe made by the Kingdom of Kushen, which was presumed to contain a Liberation Zone.

“We also need to discuss where the safe that this key opens might be. From what I’ve heard, it doesn’t sound like the Liberation Zone is the only thing inside.”

The owner of the safe would also be desperately searching for this key, so Yeongwoo could demand both a reward and the Liberation Zone from them.

『You truly cause an endless stream of problems.』

“Problems? This is business.”

『Will the owner of the safe truly be someone easy to deal with? In any case, I suppose you’ll handle it yourself.』

Earth shook his head from side to side as though he had grown tired of even lecturing him, while Yeongwoo took the final Aropin out from inside his clothes.

『…And what is that?』

“The last bizarre ship. Come to think of it, I don’t even know its name. I only know that it’s a suicide vessel.”

At Yeongwoo’s words, Mushio Tare closely examined the Aropin in Yeongwoo’s hand.

—There are not many vessels belonging to great beings that self-destruct. This emblem is… Yorma.

“Yorma? What does that mean… something like ‘exploding wildly’?”

—It means ‘solution.’

“Aha. I rather like it.”

The bizarre ship, Solution.

However, it seemed it had failed to solve the problem that had befallen its first owner.

Had it not ultimately been pushed all the way into the hands of the Planetary Shipmaster?

“Could there be a legacy inside this one too?”

As Yeongwoo spoke and tossed the Aropin towards the empty space in the distance, Mushio shook his head for the first time.

—As you said, it is a suicide vessel. There is no possibility that a legacy would have been stored in something like this.

Booooom!

The bizarre ship Yorma, which appeared amid an explosion of pure-white dust, was an extremely cleanly shaped rectangular solid.

In truth, it looked more like an enormous ingot than a vessel, which made it difficult to believe that something like that could self-destruct.

“Still, take a look around. You never know.”

As Yeongwoo spoke, approached Yorma, and placed his hand against the outer hull, a large square outline appeared around the point of contact and formed an entrance.

“Its method of entry is the most futuristic of all the vessels I’ve seen so far.”

—However, the purpose of this vessel’s existence is to cease existing in the future. An immensely powerful self-destruction is its ultimate objective.

After saying this, Mushio Tare politely gestured towards the interior of the vessel.

Seeing this, Yeongwoo nodded and stepped inside.

“The interior here is extremely clean too.”

—As it would only have been used in situations dire enough to warrant self-destruction, it likely contains no unnecessary facilities whatsoever.

“At the very least, I suppose we won’t find any training equipment.”

Indeed, the only things inside Yorma were the pilot’s seat and several pieces of navigational equipment.

There were neither benches hidden beneath the floor nor gun barrels aimed into the interior of the vessel.

—It seems there is not even a weapons rack, which most vessels commonly possess. She appears to have been an extraordinary person in many respects.

“Who? Are you talking about its original owner? Who made this vessel?”

—Yugui Moga. She was the second queen of the Kolso royal house, as well as a thief who terrorised three galaxy clusters.

“A thief? A thief who used to be a queen?”

Yeongwoo looked over Yorma’s interior again with astonished eyes.

“Is that why she was capable of conceiving the insane idea of a suicide vessel? She must have had an unbelievable number of enemies.”

No matter how extensive the area in which an ordinary being operated, they could not even go beyond a galaxy group, much less an entire galaxy cluster.

Even those referred to as prestigious houses of the universe generally made their names within a single galaxy cluster.

Yet she had roamed no fewer than three galaxy clusters as a thief, a profession in which one gained new enemies at every moment…….

“She must truly have been a great woman. No, I suppose ‘a great thief’ would be more accurate.”

—That must be why her enemies adopted the strategy of defeating her before she could use the suicide vessel.

“Either way, if she left no legacy for me, then she’s nothing more than another dead person. Are you certain you haven’t found anything?”

While Yeongwoo tapped various parts of the vessel’s interior with Bastard, which he had taken out at some point, Mushio Tare, who had been examining the pilot’s seat as a final measure, turned his head.

—Oh.

“What is it?”

—The previous navigation records remain.

“Really? So why does that matter?”

—Bizarre ships generally do not retain things such as navigation records. They are not public vessels like the large ships of prestigious houses. Especially considering that Yugui Moga was a thief, she would have even less reason to leave behind any traces.

“Then you’re saying she deliberately left the navigation records behind? For me?”

At this, Mushio showed a somewhat troubled expression.

—I cannot say whether they were left for you, Shipmaster, but in any case…….

Swoosh.

Mushio then swept his hand over the translucent glass panel attached to the side of the pilot’s seat, causing points resembling constellations to spread through the air.

—If Yugui Moga left a legacy somewhere, there is a very high probability that these records will serve as a clue.

“Really? Then we should show this to our deputy as well. Since he also comes from royalty, might he not be able to understand the thoughts of a queen?”

—……?

Mushio stared blankly for a moment before quickly composing his expression.

He then nodded and voiced his agreement.

—You are absolutely correct. A Planetary Shipmaster truly is different.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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