Oh? An unexpected gain?
Out of the corner of his eye, Vinny noticed the increase in his virtue points and raised an eyebrow.
Heh, earning virtue points even here, how exaggerated.
Originally, Vinny had just come here to fish, but it seemed like he had caught a real big fish instead.
Although he had come up empty-handed in terms of actual fish, there was no comparison—fish couldn't be as fragrant as virtue points.
As this thought crossed his mind, Vinny remembered the time he had bought gifts for the children at the orphanage. There had been a discounted item that he had picked out by accident.
It was a very cute doll, exquisitely crafted, and even though it had a discount tag on it, it was still somewhat overpriced.
Vinny didn’t know why he bought the doll. He didn’t need such a thing, but for some reason, he thought it was beautiful, and since it was discounted, he felt it would be a shame not to buy it. It was like there were ants crawling all over him, and if he didn’t grab the bargain, he might die. So, he bought it.
Afterward, Vinny hesitated for a moment, wondering if his action would seem abrupt or offensive. But after thinking it over, he realized that he was just sending a small gift to a friend on their birthday, so there shouldn’t be anything wrong with that, right?
Mirecia was a person of high moral character, and if she accepted it, he would be happy to have such a friend.
With this thought, Vinny felt at ease.
As for whether Mirecia would like the gift, as her childhood friend, Vinny could at least guess a little about her preferences from past memories.
So, he took out a beautifully crafted box from his clothes and handed it over to the blonde girl.
"Cough, Your Highness, although today is the Queen's memorial day, it's still your birthday, so I wish you a happy birthday. Also, this small gift is a token of my respect."
Mirecia paused when she saw Vinny’s gift, then instinctively thanked him and accepted it.
Seeing her reaction, Vinny felt a little awkward. After all, he had a history of giving Mirecia strange gifts, so she might have a conditioned response whenever she saw him giving something.
"Can I open it here?" Mirecia, at that moment, thought of the odd gifts Vinny had once given her, but seeing the girl-style decorations, she couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of expectation.
Thinking positively, at least this time the gift box didn’t look strange, right?
"Of course." It was impolite to open gifts in front of the giver, but this wasn’t the palace, so there was no need to adhere to such formalities.
With Vinny's consent, Mirecia opened the box, and inside was a finely crafted blonde-haired, cute doll.
Mirecia’s pupils slightly contracted.
"I hope you like it. Of course, if you don’t like it, feel free to throw it in the river. I won’t mind." At this point, Vinny was already packing up his fishing rod, preparing to leave.
Seeing that Mirecia didn’t speak, Vinny packed up his things, gave Mirecia a bow, and then left.
As for whether Mirecia liked the doll or not, the increase in virtue had already told him.
‘Virtue +80’
‘Current Virtue: 214’
It seemed, just as he had guessed.
The birthday gifts that the nobles gave to Her Highness the Princess were certainly of the highest quality—mostly priceless gemstones, luxurious silk gowns made from the finest fabrics, and weapons and armor crafted by master artisans.
Mirecia's admirers and suitors were certainly not stingy when it came to spending money and effort on the kingdom’s most dazzling jewel.
However, perhaps only Vinny knew a bit about it—Mirecia didn’t actually like those things.
To outsiders, Mirecia was seen as a practical and mature princess, and the things she liked were either practical weapons or beautiful jewelry.
But in reality, it wasn’t like that.
Because she had been groomed as the heir to the kingdom from a young age, Mirecia’s preferences were actually for things that, due to her identity, she had little exposure to.
This princess, who rarely smiled and was diligent and reliable, had lacked a mother's love since childhood and had been trained under pressure to be the kingdom’s heir. It seemed she had never once been seen as a “delicate young girl.”
People were used to looking up to this celestial beauty, but they never knew what Mirecia truly thought.
Although these feelings had gradually faded with the passage of time, occasionally being treated as a young girl and receiving gifts that were uniquely for girls would never be something Mirecia disliked.
Therefore, giving a doll to other noble ladies would be childish and out of place, but giving it to Mirecia was just right.
Heh, looks like I’ve hit the jackpot again.
Vinny was in a good mood, even humming a little tune. To think that just going out for a stroll and fishing could earn him virtue points—this was something he hadn’t expected.
He had been stacking virtue points so smoothly, thanks to these heroines. Among them, Jiuli Xue particularly stood out. This white-haired fox’s efficiency in earning virtue points was much higher than the others. Her status in Vinny’s mind had now risen to "Top of the List."
If he were to rank his rewards, Jiuli Xue would undoubtedly be at the top of the list, followed by Mirecia. As for Aeciphysis, well, forget it. What a nuisance, better not to mention her!
By the time Vinny graduated from Cariliman Academy, she would probably provide him with zero virtue points.
But even if Aeciphysis could provide him with virtue points, Vinny would rather not have them.
Joking, would you dare take the virtue points from the protagonist? If you take too many, it could cost you your life.
Although Vinny had come up empty-handed today, he was still in a great mood. Back home, he opened the virtue system.
Two hundred virtue points—he could now unlock a new skill!
This time, Vinny focused on a spell called "Minor Healing Orb" under the [Holy Emissary] category.
Though he already had the Intermediate Healing spell, it was just a basic healing magic with a small range.
The Healing Orb was different. It had a wider healing range. As long as a person was within sight, he could release the orb to lock onto the target and heal them.
However, the healing power of the Healing Orb was slightly weaker than the same-level healing spell, but its range was far broader.
Rubbing his chin, Vinny hesitated for «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» a moment before choosing this spell.
‘Virtue deducted 200’
‘Current Virtue: 14’
‘[Minor Healing Orb] acquired.’
The [Holy Emissary] state was strengthened, and Vinny couldn’t neglect his human state.
After all, [Holy Emissary] was more of a last-resort ability, and more often than not, he would have to face enemies as a regular human. He had to find ways to boost his permanent combat power.
———
"That damn bastard! He actually got us stripped of our Dragon Knight status, and our Soul Art was confiscated! We fought so hard for that!" Meanwhile, in a courtyard somewhere in the capital, a young man angrily slapped the table, causing the tea on it to splash up.
".......So what do you want to do? It's already done, what’s the use?" Another young man, rather helpless, replied.
"We can't just let it go like this. I’ll make Vinny, that bastard, pay a heavy price!"