Daddy Dio

A few minutes later, Arnold cursed under his breath. In an effort to resist starvation, his body had forced him to sleep in the middle of the day. In the end, not only did he make no money, other beggars had even taken the chance to rummage through his 'food court'.

The young beggar did his best to swallow the few crumbs he managed to salvage when he heard loud footsteps approaching.

He quickly hid inside a garbage pile and smeared dirt on himself in order to hide his smell.

'Damn city guards.'

His streak of bad luck seemed to go on forever. Running into the city guards as a beggar only had two outcomes : Getting beat up and thrown outside the gates as a meal for the beasts, or being forced into slavery.

Suddenly, the footsteps came to a stop next to his hiding place.

Arnold felt his heart stop for a moment as he closed his eyes in despair.

The guards snorted in disgust at the pile of garbage before leaving in a hurry. As bonafide Warrior Class experts, the guards of Porto must've sensed him, they just couldn't be bothered to dirty themselves for some useless beggar.

Arnold heaved a sigh of relief but still forced himself to remain in the pile for another hour before finally leaving.

After washing off the filth in the nearby ocean, he dried himself with dirty rags and went back to the familiar alley.

The Grims' heir laid down and went to sleep.

He had to conserve as much energy as possible to execute his plan tomorrow.

After that close encounter with the guards, he steeled his resolve. In order to survive, he would defy the Archeons' decree and beg in front of the Cathedral, consequences be damned.

He had to level up as soon as possible.

The next day, Arnold woke up earlier than usual. The sky was still dark as he prepared himself mentally for the possibility of death.

All Classes benefit from different things to help them level up faster.

A Farmer might level up by simply harvesting wheat, but if he also had barley and cabbage, there would be an experience multiplier and he would reach level 1 years in advance.

A beggar also gets experience modifiers from various factors. Arnold hadn't explored all of these yet, but after getting the Beggar Class his experience had immediately skyrocketed.

He suspected it was accounting for the seven days and nights in the Temple.

In other words, location was a modifier.

However, the Cathedral was protected on all sides by guards, and they would never let filthy beggars in.

He had to disguise himself and bypass the patrol. Guards wouldn't bother inspecting every single citizen, but for that he needed decent clothes, some shoes and a clean look.

And in this world, footwear could be managed, but clothes didn't come cheap, even simple outfits.

"The real problem is that stealing is unwise."

Arnold rubbed his wild beard. There was a reason he didn't steal anything for so long : Alignment. He had come to hate this word with a passion.

The system interface served as an ID card primarily because of one's Alignment.

Of the nine possible alignments, the Neutral faction was extremely rare. Most people fell into the Lawful Good spectrum. Neutral Good was fine, and while they may be despised, no one cared too much about Chaotic Good people. If one had an Evil alignment, however, it meant immediate arrest once spotted.

The moment he stole something and his Alignment became Evil, approaching the Good faction's base, the Cathedral, would become a pipe dream. And if he were to be inspected, well…

[Kekeke, you'd have to take a shot at reincarnation.]

"Oh shut it. Blimey, this will be tricky. While I'm grateful for the low crime rate that alignment allows, it just keeps hindering me time and again."

As Arnold vented his frustrations, he was surprised to hear the Devil Lord laugh.

[Low crime rate you say? Kukuku. You never fail to crack me up, you stupid boy.]

The young man, who had his intelligence insulted, frowned.

"Isn't that the case? As annoying as Alignment is, it helps keep people in check. Rarely have I heard of robbings or murders in the old Gundam Republic or in Porto."

Azazel grinned.

[The keyword here is 'heard'. Well, I suppose I'll have to give you a special lesson later. Now, you got a plan or what?]

"Why, of course."

Arnold took a deep breath. Stealing wouldn't work, so he had to use his brain.

…

As the sun rose and more people filled Porto's streets, Rosalind put up the open sign on the flower shop's door. She then waited with a smile for customers.

A few hours later, the midday sun was bright but the young woman's beautiful smile was all but gone.

She looked at the deserted shop, then turned her eyes to the booming competing businesses nearby and sighed.

'Another day another copper, except for the copper part. If only you were here, Daddy…'

Deep in thought, she didn't notice the approaching man receiving strange looks all around.

"Excuse me miss. Miss? Miss!"

"Daddy!... Eh?"

"..."

Realizing her mistake, Rosalind blushed. But more importantly, why was this handsome guy almost naked? Could that rag even count as underwear?

If not for his clean look (OceanTM) and shaved beard (StoneTM), she would've thought him a beggar.

The guy in question seemed to read her mind as he scratched his head.

"I'm sorry, but could we talk inside?"

"Oh, yes! Welcome."

As they entered the shop, Arnold's eyes darted around and he confirmed his suspicions.

'As expected, she's the perfect target. Young and on the way to bankruptcy.'

Rosalind, happy to finally have a customer, didn't notice the strange look he gave her.

"May I ask what your business is? Would you like to buy flowers?"

"I'm sorry, that's not what I'm here for."

The young shopkeeper's eyes dimmed, but she tried to maintain her smile.

"Oh, um, this is a flower shop so I don't–"

Arnold smiled confidently. It was time to perform.

"You thought of me as a customer but in fact, I am a merchant from the far away Eastern Lands, Dio. Unfortunately, the Devil be damned, …"

[Achoo!]

"... I have been robbed of my possessions near Porto, and have since been looking to exchange my services for proper lodging and clothing. Very valuable services, yes."

Rosalind was too dumbfounded by the eccentricity of this person to react. Of course, her first reaction was that this was a scam and to call the guards, but…

It was such an exaggerated act that even the stupidest scammer wouldn't be this stupid. Instead, hope was birthed deep in her heart.

She took a deep breath and kept up her vigilance.

"I suppose Mr…"

"Dio."

"I suppose Mr.Dio has chosen my shop for a reason, may I inquire about it?"

Arnold thanked his lucky stars she didn't ask to check his system.

[The younger, the dumber.]

'She's just too nice.'

Indeed, it wasn't that Rosalind didn't think of checking his system, but that it was considered rude.

Guards of course had no such qualms, and experienced merchants also couldn't care less. But the young shopkeeper was too nice, or perhaps naive.

"Why of course, Miss. I may seem young, but I have a keen eye for business. I dare say."

He took a deep breath for dramatic effect.

"This shop is in the perfect spot to turn some profits! Very good profits, yes."