So, what are the duties of the Aeciphysis family? Perform a good deed every day?
Winnie, hands in his pockets, arrived at the slums of the capital city. Looking around, he noticed the shabby people staring at him.
This was to be expected. Even though the Aeciphysis family had fallen into poverty, a few sets of noble clothes could still be gathered, and his present neat attire made him stand out in the slums.
This was rare, after all. The slums were considered a filthy gutter in the eyes of the nobility, and they never visited personally.
Seeing the various gazes on his fine clothes, mixed with emotions such as envy and longing, Winnie shook his head.
These poor folks might not know, but if this fallen noble didn’t come up with a solution soon, he would soon be living here with them.
“Hey, you.” Winnie didn’t waste words. He approached a bent old man and casually tossed a silver coin from his pouch to the man.
“This?” The old man didn’t reach out but looked at the young noble in front of him with confusion and fear.
The slums weren’t a safe place, and no one was foolish enough to provoke a noble.
“What are you staring at? Take it, this is a charity from this young master,” Winnie said with his arms crossed, adopting an aloof, high-and-mighty pose, though inside, he was feeling a sting of pain.
A silver coin! That was a silver coin! For him now, every coin counted!
“F-for me?” The old man’s face was full of disbelief. His cloudy eyes brightened for a moment, but then he hesitated, not sure if he should accept.
Winnie immediately saw the old man’s hesitation, and his gaze shifted to the strong, young people around them. From their looks, he saw greed.
They were indeed afraid of provoking a noble, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t snatch the coin once Winnie left.
But what did that have to do with him? He wasn’t here to do charity work. He was giving away money just because he needed Virtue. Whether the old man got robbed after he left didn’t matter.
All he needed to do was witness the old man accepting the coin, say nothing, and leave.
“What are you all looking at?” Winnie’s gaze swept across the strong punks. “What’s the matter? You’ve got arms and legs, you’re all stronger than me, you must eat well, so why are you staring at an elderly man who can’t even take care of himself?”
“Little thugs, do you know who I am? I’m the infamous villainous, mad dog noble of the capital, Winnie Aeciphysis.” Winnie said, his arms still crossed, speaking each word slowly and with pride.
Not gonna lie, his imposing presence didn’t scare others, but it was enough to make these unworldly punks freeze, especially when paired with his fierce face and the freckles on it—full marks for effect.
As soon as Winnie spoke, these punks all fell silent, too scared to say a word.
“I don’t care who you are, I don’t care how nasty you’ve been, I just want to tell you that when it comes to being bad or crazy, you’re no match for me.”
“What you guys play with, I’ve already played and left behind.” Winnie smiled, showing a grin that fit his villainous persona, as he continued to point at the punks while speaking.
“What you usually do, it’s none of my business, but I’ll make it clear. This money is from me. If any of you try to steal it, you’ll be challenging my authority. You’re opposing the bad noble of the capital, and you’ll see if I don’t send knights to break your legs!”
“...S-sir, you... you’re saying that...” The leader of the punks stammered, his face pale.
It was clear that even if they were eyeing the coin, they now had to reconsider.
Of course, all that talk about challenging the capital’s bad noble, sending knights to break their legs—it was all just bravado from Winnie. He didn’t even have a single household guard. Knights? Ridiculous.
Seeing the old man take the coin, Winnie immediately focused on the Virtue panel.
One second passed, then ten seconds.
He heard the old man thank him for his generosity, but he didn’t see the Virtue entry prompt.
“What’s this?!” Winnie jumped up in a panic. “I gave the coin, where’s my Virtue!”
If he didn’t get it, was this silver coin just wasted? Did they think he was some rich young master? He was practically broke!
This startled both the old man and the punks, who quickly stepped back.
After waiting a few more minutes.
Under the gaze of everyone, Winnie’s expression darkened, becoming as grim as water.
In the next moment, the old man saw Winnie glaring at him fiercely. The old man, feeling completely innocent, had no idea what he had done wrong.
At this moment, Winnie was thinking—this damn Virtue system must be malfunctioning. It hadn’t given him any Virtue. Should he just take the money back?
He glanced at the old man’s frightened, pale face, then at the cane in the corner and the empty pant leg. Winnie clicked his tongue in his mind.
Forget it, a noble like him wouldn’t go back on his word. Taking back the money in front of so many people would be too embarrassing.
"If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen."
But...
Damn, it still hurt so much!
Why?! Why didn’t it add any Virtue?! That was a silver coin, damn it!!
Even a copper coin could add some Virtue, so how much could a silver coin add?
That was the plan Winnie, the brilliant mind of Camellia, had come up with.
But it seemed the Virtue system didn’t work the way he had imagined.
Damn it, where did it go wrong?!
Winnie walked out of the slums, biting down hard on the bread in his mouth, ripping off a piece and chewing vigorously.
What the hell?! Giving a copper coin gets Virtue, but giving a silver coin gets nothing? This damn Virtue system is really something else—probably a dinner that can’t even count!
While cursing the damn system in his head, Winnie took his frustration out on the bread in his hand and walked in the direction of home.
Everything just feels like it’s going wrong.
As he walked, Winnie felt something lightly tugging on the bread bag in his hand.
He looked down and met a pair of dark, shiny eyes.
“Big brother, can... can I have a piece of bread? ...No, just half, half is fine!” A little boy with messy hair, his eyes filled with pleading, like a little puppy, lightly grasped the bread bag in Winnie’s hand and swallowed nervously.
It was clear that the skinny child was starving, or else he wouldn’t have risked getting beaten to come up and beg for bread.
“Tch, damn it!” Winnie looked at the little boy with disdain, then immediately shoved the bread bag into the boy’s arms.
“My bread bag got dirty because of your filthy hands. Here, take it, all of it’s yours!”
“Th-thank you, big brother!” The boy took the bread bag, repeatedly thanking him in disbelief.
“Thank my ass. I just have a cleanliness obsession and didn’t want to touch something you dirtied. Now, scram!” Winnie waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.
The boy thanked him again and ran off.
Once the boy was gone, Winnie was stunned.
He discovered that, after giving the bread to the boy, his Virtue had gone up by +1.
What does this mean? Did the damn system fix itself?
Or could it be...?
Winnie stroked his chin, feeling like he’d discovered some kind of pattern.
Before, he had given money—both copper and silver coins, and this time, it was food. This was the first time he’d given someone food.
Could it be that...?