"Hello, Did you eat anything yet?"
Beside a shiny and luxurious street, in a dark alley, a man slept by the ditch. Leon was standing just beside him now; with a handful of food, he was donating every € he earned through the scammer.
I am blessed with a system now. I've slept in this alley once, so giving them first won't be considered bias of me, right?'.
He gave every homeless person small bags of food and fifty to one hundred euros; he was hoping to give it back to his roots. Although in the dark alley it was not that obvious, some people with good eyes were noticing excessive blinking by this kind soul.
"Y... You're Leon? What happened to your eyes?"
One of the beggars recognized Leon 'The Beggar Prince.' He asked with a concerned tone. Leon's generosity didn't shock him, but the way he was blinking made him worried.
"Nothing, I got paid recently. Enjoy your food, buy yourself something warm."
"I will; you take care now. Don't force yourself too much."
"Yeah, look at you, Leon; you've become significantly thin."
"How's Sister Meelah? Take care of her."
The whole alley came together slowly to greet him, and they looked more troubled by Leon's health than interested in the money he was distributing.
"I will. Alright, I will leave for today. Go to the church if you need anything."
Leaving the dark alley, which he once called home, Leo checked his pocket; it was empty. He spent every cent he had on his previous alley mates.
Balance
[Current Balance: 760€] [Tap to Withdraw into your Bank] [Proceed with Cash]
So it counted the euro I had scammed? Now all that's left is what was earned through blinking.
A satisfied smile crept up on Leon; this was the first time he had purchased this much food and used this much money in one go. It felt genuinely nice.
*Growl*
Eh? I am hungry. Let's try Saint Denis today. I think I have enough today?
Saint Denis was a dreamy place for every orphan that was in Saint Denis Orphanage; the neon sign of Saint Denis restaurant would always torment them in their sleep, and the window curtain would never be able to hide its glow.
[€100 Cash]
Leon pressed the keyboard layout that came after tapping on the cash button; his hand trembled when he pressed the second zero on the virtual keyboard. This was the first time he was withdrawing from the system; it felt unreal.
A simple white paper landed in his hand, like it was there all along, and the system interface disappeared. Leon, with a curious mind, gently opened the paper; there was a single €100 note inside.
His heartbeat was rising rapidly as he looked at the freshly baked crisp note in his hand; it felt precious and more valuable than the money he used earlier to buy food. That money didn't make him feel anything; he just used it for others. Now that it was his turn, things were very different.
Pocketing the money, he looked at the paper; inside, rows upon rows were written in German. This hundred euro came from Fiverr Germany; he earned 204€ from them, but they withheld income tax, church tax, and surcharge, leaving him only with 100€.
Holy Crap!! This is robbery. This much in tax? Sigh! What would I know? I have never paid tax, eh? Church tax is going to my church? That's nice, so I am already contributing?
Leon was shocked by the simple tax rate; he heard people complain about it, but he never paid a dime. His income was not enough to qualify for paying tax.
Thank God, System covered this for me.
Folding the wage statement in his pocket, Leon walked ahead with confidence; he was feeling more hungry as he walked, but this much hunger was nothing. The smile on his face never diminished as he reached the Saint Denis Restaurant.
I could have taken a taxi. Sigh! Walked three kilometers in this.
The shoes on his feet were barely holding on, and he was rich enough to get a taxi now, but he did what he always does and walked; he didn't even bother to rent a bike.
If you want to upgrade this system, Leon, you have to spend more, buddy.
Giving his nervous self motivation, Leon looked at the neon sign that had made him salivate countless times in the past, then, without glancing at the bedroom he stayed in when he was a minor, entered the restaurant.
"ONE BEER TO TABLE NO. 15"
"Beef ribs are good here."
"Chug!! Chug!! Chug!! "
It was their everyday—waitresses shouting, customers tasting food, friends having beer competitions—but for Leon this was his life's peak moment, other than dying and regressing, of course.
"Sir? Table for one?"
Admiring the restaurant, Leon forgot about other things entirely until a waitress woke him up with a smile. Even though he was in rags, his charisma didn't come from the cloth he wore; he was even once kidnapped by a female classmate, so you can guess.
"Nope, two."
"Two? Well, follow me kindly."
The waitress raised an eyebrow with disappointment when she heard Leon say 'two' instinctively, but that lasted for a single second before she moved on, gesturing him to follow her.
Leon sat beside the roadside window; the table was in a corner, which he preferred over middle ones. His eyes were looking at the church gate where Sister Meelah was; she was supposed to come here to eat with him.
I did text her; she got it right? Is she even allowed to go out after 7?
While he wondered about her arrival, he waited. The waitress gave him a glass of water and some breadsticks, which he wanted to decline, but the waitress said, 'Free', so he just ate them to pass the time.
After burping a little, he finally saw a redhead nun coming out of the church gate; the veil on her head could barely contain her fluffy red hair. Big rounded glasses on top of her nose made her look more like a fashion icon rather than a nun.
Why does she always wear such luxurious jewelry?
As long as he remembers, this sister, Meelah, was like this, and he knows her from when she first enrolled in the church. 15 years ago, when he was just eight, he met her; she was also seven back then, but she never looked like your typical nun at all.
Leon had to stand up when she entered the restaurant; unlike his rags, she was the image of purity and holiness, and loud noises in the restaurant also quietened down a lot by her sheer presence.
"Leon!! I was so worried about you."
Before Leon could even smile with politeness, she ran with full speed in a crowded restaurant, but she missed everything in her path and safely arrived in front of him.
Then she checked him from head to toe while clutching his big hand with her gentle, soft and dainty hand; after looking at him for a full thirty seconds, she nodded with satisfaction.
"Very good. I thought I told you to not go with that guy? He is a criminal."
She didn't let his hand go; she gently sat across from him while gently removing her tunic from the dusty ground. It was unclear how she did it, but her impeccably perfect clothes were the testament of the cleanliness she maintained.
"I...I wanted to earn some money."
"By risking your life?"
"I took your advice and came back, didn't I? "
"That you did, very well. I forgive that criminal."
Her cold glare settled down a lot when Leon tried to calm her down; she instantly got relaxed. He had to nudge his hand two to three times before she let it go.
"Sis… Meelah, I will go to the washroom and order food for the two of us. I don't know what to order. I have earned 100€; I don't know if that will be enough for the both of us."
He was prohibited from calling her 'Sister' by her; he was about to say 'Sister' but changed it halfway to not offend her.
"Eh? Alright, come back, and then we will talk about it."
Seeing him walking away, her cute face vanished, and her whole aura changed in an instant. Everyone in the restaurant felt cold like they were in the Arctic, and her emotionless eyes felt like they could freeze the earth over.
"How dare some measly criminal try to hurt him?"
Even though she uttered it under her breath, you could feel the rage and anger in her voice; even the waitress who was coming with the menu felt a chill running down her spine.