"So… you saw me talking to that man, huh?" Loid said.
Roberto stared at me in silence, his face completely expressionless.
Those eyes felt like they could see straight through me.
Loid relaxed and smiled.
"Don't stare at me like that. I only offered him money to stop beating Arim."
"How much?" Roberto asked.
"One silver coin."
For a brief moment, Roberto's eyes widened. Then he looked down.
"A moment ago, even Hasami had one silver coin," he said.
"What are you people doing to suddenly have silver coins?"
"Are you doing dirty jobs like Arim?"
Loid's expression turned serious, though his tone stayed calm.
"No. But if I tell you… will you join us?"
Hearing that, Roberto stood up.
"Are you really the Loid I know?" he said.
"I'm going back to the alley."
As he passed the physician's shop, I spoke firmly.
"Okay. I'll tell you."
Roberto stopped, but didn't turn back.
"You don't have to," he said.
"Just be careful if you're doing something dangerous."
He walked away.
Inside Loid's mind, annoyance surfaced.
Dealing with old men like him is a pain in the ass.
After some time, everyone came out of the shop.
Arim was unconscious, resting on Moneru's shoulder.
Hasami and Mac were helping carry him.
"Where is Mr. Roberto?" Hasami asked anxiously.
"He went back to the alley," Loid replied with a smile.
"How is Arim?"
"The physician said he'll be fine," Hasami said.
"He gave him some medicine."
We returned to the alley.
Most people were already sleeping.
We moved to the right side, where no one was sitting or lying down.
But Roberto was there.
He was sitting in the left corner, leaning against the wall, his eyes closed.
I went closer and stared at him.
He didn't move.
He looked like he was sleeping…
but my gut told me he wasn't.
After a while, he spoke.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to listen to me," Loid said.
"I don't want to listen."
Loid frowned.
"We're doing salesman jobs for someone," he said.
"Aunt Hasami, Moneru, and Mac are all involved."
"For now, we're selling salt."
"In the future, we'll sell more things."
Roberto opened his eyes.
"So you're the ones selling the salt everyone's talking about."
"You've heard of it?" Loid smiled.
"Everyone in the streets is talking about it."
"You sound interested," Loid said.
I explained everything—
who we were selling for,
how we were paid,
and what had happened earlier, just like I explained to the others.
Roberto listened quietly.
Then he spoke with concern.
"So that's it," he said.
"Don't sell salt at that shop anymore."
"The guards are watching it."
"They're looking for you."
Loid smiled brightly, as if stars were shining in his eyes.
"That's exactly why you should join us."
Roberto turned his face away.
"I'm not interested," he said.
"It's dangerous."
"With you, it won't be dangerous," Loid replied.
"You have experience too."
"Please… please…"
No matter how long Loid tried, Roberto didn't agree.
"I won't give up," Loid said stubbornly.
"I'll make you agree."
Soon, everyone fell asleep.
The next morning, Arim woke up.
Hasami was taking care of him.
His mood was clearly down.
Moneru and Mac were still sleeping like corpses.
Roberto had already woken up.
Loid went to him again and tried to persuade him.
But Roberto still refused.
"This is harder than I thought," Loid muttered.
After a while, the alley emptied as usual.
Beggar after beggar went out to search for food.
This time, I stopped everyone.
No one went out.
Only Roberto left.
I slipped out of the alley and went to an empty street.
I had no coins left.
So I opened the system.
[System Interface Activated]
Points: 1181
I searched for bread.
Many types appeared.
I chose the cheapest.
[Purchase Successful]
Item: Bread x6
Cost: 1 Point Each
Remaining Points: 1175
I returned to the alley and gave the bread to everyone.
When I gave one to Arim, he refused.
Hasami forced him to take it.
He ate slowly.
"This bread tastes better than normal," someone said.
"Where did you buy it?" others asked.
I smiled suspiciously.
"From a new shop."
I observed Dov's shop.
He was still there.
It looked like he hadn't told the Count anything.
Most of the time, I talked, rested, or secretly followed Roberto.
Trying again and again to convince him.
But that annoying old man never agreed.
At night, half of the morning bread was still left.
I told everyone to finish it.
No one listened.
In the end, we ate everything together.
I tried to give bread to Roberto again.
He refused.
I lay down and closed my eyes.
Thinking about how to make that old man join us.
A slow, evil smile appeared on my face.
Let's try this.