Otome Game Mob Villain

Chapter 549

"Yes, I recognize Amon as the tribal chief. Besides, the food and alcohol in Baldia are delicious. If we leave it to Amon and Ridd, we'll probably be able to enjoy them here in the near future."

"Yes, of course. If I—no, if Baldia and Amon work together, the Foxkin tribe will eventually achieve development rivaling that of Baldia."

As I responded to Rafa's question, murmurs of astonishment, "Oh," escaped from the mouths of the clan leaders.

Then, without missing a beat, I continued.

"In the short term, the tax reform will reduce the tax revenue for everyone here. However, from a long-term perspective, tax revenues will undoubtedly exceed current levels, and the lives of the people will significantly improve. Please consider this as an 'investment' in the future."

As the room buzzed with chatter, Amon stood up energetically.

"Without the people, a leader cannot fulfill their duties. As Ridd said, this plan is a necessary investment in the future for the development of the Foxkin tribe. Therefore, I will definitely execute this plan. I ask for your support."

As Amon bowed deeply, Barbarossa declared loudly, "I agree with Lord Amon."

"In the battle of Hazama Fortress, we decided to follow Lord Amon, who envisions a new future for the Foxkin tribe. Therefore, we should carry out any plan he supports."

As he spoke, the clan leaders who supported Amon began to stand up one after another.

"I agree as well."

"Me too."

Then, even the neutral clan leaders stood up, saying, "Understood. We also agree."

More than half of the clan leaders in the room showed their support for Amon, but those who opposed, led by Remos, frowned.

"Wait a moment. If we don't collect taxes from the people, does that mean we will have no income until the Fox  tribe develops? What do you plan to do about that? Are you suggesting we live on air?"

"No, no. That point is also addressed in the plan."

"What...?!"

I opened the last page of the plan and read aloud.

"To ensure the funds for the tribal chief and clan leaders until the development of the Foxkin tribe, all funds from the tribal chief and each clan leader will be collected. Afterward, they will be redistributed fairly based on the situation of the territories they manage."

"You... you must be joking. Collect our funds? That's absurd!"

The opposing clan leaders, following Remos's outburst, began to raise their voices in anger.

But I remained expressionless, inwardly smirking at their foolishness.

Looking around the room, the clan leaders who supported Amon and the neutral ones cast cold glances at the opposition.

The reason for this situation was that Remos and the opposing clan leaders had enjoyed various privileges under the old regime.

In fact, the clan leaders who supported Amon and the neutral ones had little to no assets, so having their funds collected wouldn't change much for them.

But Remos and his group were different.

The reason they remained so powerful was due to the wealth they had amassed by exploiting the people through taxes.

And another reason was the enormous slush funds they had obtained through 'this.'

I cleared my throat and raised a certain document I had received from Diana.

"Everyone, please pay attention to this document. It is a record of under-the-table dealings with Balst that I obtained from a certain source. Unfortunately, it seems some of you have been involved in human trafficking, diverting supplies meant for the tribal chief, and various other activities."

"What... what are you suddenly talking about?"

Remos and his group were immediately flustered and frightened.

The document I held up was something I had received from Clarence, who had come from Balst.

"I won't name  anyone here. However, the accuracy of this record has been verified by a copy of the Grandork family's ledger that Rafa had kept."

"A copy of the ledger? Lord Rafa, is what Lord Ridd said true?"

"Yes, it's true. I was entrusted with managing domestic and international information by my brothers. Naturally, I kept copies of almost all the transaction records from the tribal chief's residence. Well, I didn't keep records of what wasn't written down, though."

Rafa smiled happily, while Remos and his group were stunned.

Under the old regime, the opposing clan leaders had done many unscrupulous things to make money.

When the tribal chief's residence burned down, it was announced that all tax and transaction records of the clan leaders had been lost.

Thus, they had assumed that their misdeeds would never come to light and that they would never be held accountable.

"Amon and I compared the copy of the ledger she had kept with this transaction record. And guess what? It seems that a considerable amount of illegal funds are hidden in the pockets of some individuals. We will use those funds to secure the budget for rescuing the Foxkin people who were sold into human trafficking. The remaining funds will be redistributed. How about that? A good plan, right?"

As I smiled, the opposing clan leaders turned pale and slumped into their chairs one after another.

When I reunited with Amon in the Foxkin territory, I quickly explained the contents of this document.

Then, I asked Rafa if she had any copies of the transaction records with the clan leaders.

As expected, she had copies, so with the help of Capella, who was good at calculations, and the knights, we tirelessly examined them.

What greatly helped at that time was the abacus, a calculator widely used in Renarute that was still functional.

When I first visited Renarute, I found an abacus being sold and bought it immediately.

I had Ellen and Alex mass-produce them based on the original.

I also shared the usage methods with the Baldia family and the Christy商会, and it received high praise from Chris and the others.

The Second Knight Brigade not only trained but also anticipated the need for various calculations on-site, so squad leaders and deputy leaders' children were required to carry an abacus.

Thanks to that, the ledger verification was completed quickly.

This time, if we could recover the illegal funds and redistribute them, we could equalize the economic power of the clan leaders.

By doing so, we could weaken the power of the clan leaders who had gained financial and influential power under the old regime while strengthening the power of Amon's supporters and the neutral ones.

When I glanced at Remos, it seemed he had caught on to our intentions.

He was trembling with anger, his face red.

"I have also reviewed the obtained documents. However, among you, there may be those who had no choice but to act to protect their territories during the old regime. Therefore, if you comply with this fund recovery and redistribution, we will specially not pursue any 'crimes' this time."

As Amon declared this, a faint light appeared in the eyes of the dejected clan leaders.

Remos still frowned, but when Galiel whispered something to him, he seemed to realize something.

"Understood. We are grateful for Lord Amon's generous decision. To be honest, our Galiel family also had no choice but to deal with Balst during the military expansion under the old regime. Therefore, we will cooperate as much as possible."

As Remos turned to us and bowed, the other opposing clan leaders also began to offer their cooperation one after another.

The flow was good, but I wondered what Remos and his group were really thinking.

Afterward, the 'Five-Year Plan for the Reconstruction of the Foxkin Tribe' was officially decided, and surprisingly, the meeting ended without incident.

However, I remained vigilant, as I suspected that Remos and his group might still cause trouble.