Chapter 6: Grape Card

“He’s here again.”

Akae became alert instantly.

Normally, these beggars each had their own territory.

“Hey.”

Mel Carlo stood up, his gaze fixed on Fatty.

They were all weak people, yet they liked to bully those even weaker than themselves.

He couldn’t stand such people.

Whether in his past life or now, human nature didn’t change much.

Feeling Mel Carlo’s gaze, Fatty shrank his head, but the drool at the corner of his mouth couldn’t be stopped, and his eyes were full of pleading.

He said nothing, yet it was as if he’d said everything.

They weren’t life-and-death enemies with this Fatty—everyone was just trying to survive.

“Akae, do you want to take the bread back? Will it cause trouble?”

Mel Carlo threw out the question first.

Gang members weren’t good people.

By then, the bread would probably be fed to the dogs.

Akae quickly realized the problem too.

They were already full and couldn’t bring the bread back.

At best, they could hide it somewhere, but even then, it wasn’t safe—if someone saw, someone would covet.

“Should we let him eat some? He looks really hungry.”

Lily was still too gentle.

“Then there’s no need to take it back.”

“Fatty, listen up—go call all the people who’ve been hungry for a long time.”

“It’s not right to let people starve to death.”

Mel Carlo grabbed a piece of bread and tossed it to Fatty in front of him.

They couldn’t hide it, and they couldn’t eat it all.

So, it was better to let the bread serve some value—maybe it could be useful.

Fatty started devouring the bread, finishing it in no time.

He didn’t delay, quickly running to call the others who’d been hungry for a long time.

Some hadn’t eaten since yesterday or even the day before.

They were already staggering as they walked.

“Akae, is it okay to give them the bread?”

Mel Carlo looked at Akae.

After all, the bread was Akae’s, so it was his call.

“Mel, it’s fine.”

“We’re already full anyway.”

Akae agreed readily.

“Fatty, help Lily distribute the bread. Everyone gets some.”

Seven or eight people shared most of the bread in the bag.

At least everyone got some.

It might not be enough to fill them, but it would keep them from starving.

The children’s throats bobbed.

A group of ragged, barefoot kids stared at the bread with wide eyes.

They heard Mel Carlo’s words clearly, so no one fought over it.

Fatty seemed still hungry and stuffed another piece of bread into his mouth before starting to divide the rest of the pastries and bread among the others.

“Thank you…”

“Thank you…”

One by one, the remaining children took the bread and began to wolf it down.

Mel was worried they’d choke to death, but said nothing.

Perhaps even choking was better than enduring this cruel reality.

Many children cried as they ate.

Orphans like them—no one cared about them.

“Why cry when there’s food? Don’t cry!”

Mel Carlo looked at the children.

When he was young, he never cried as long as there was something to eat.

“No… it’s just so delicious.”

“I’ve never eaten anything this good.”

One child had snot bubbles coming out.

They weren’t crying from sadness, but from never having eaten anything so good before.

Even dry black bread wasn’t something they could eat every day.

After eating, the kids stood in place, as if waiting for Mel and the others’ orders.

Whoever fed them was the boss.

“Why are you still here? Have you found today’s money yet?”

“Or are you planning to go back and get beaten up?”

“All of you, get lost.”

Mel Carlo certainly wouldn’t be soft-hearted enough to share money.

What he needed most now was to accumulate some funds to create a chance to escape.

After everyone scattered, the sun had already begun to set.

If they hadn’t gotten money yet, it would be hard to get another chance.

In the system space, Mel Carlo had already tried opening the wallet through the system menu.

All the coins were cleared out: 2 Gold Coins, 10 Silver Coins—totaling 3,000 Orlen.

But Gold Coins and Silver Coins weren’t easy to spend.

Better to exchange Silver Coins for Copper Coins first and then use them.

They couldn’t steal money every day, nor could they beg for more than 20 Orlen every day, so they didn’t have to pay tribute to the gang daily.

Mel Carlo didn’t even need to ask to be sure of this.

“What should we do, Akae? We haven’t begged any money. We’ll get beaten if we go back.”

“It’s okay. I’ll protect you.”

The blond kid patted Lily’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. I got the money, but we need to exchange it for Copper Coins.”

Mel Carlo took out 1 Silver Coin from the system.

That was 100 Orlen.

Of course, he couldn’t just hand it over.

He glanced at the Jewelry Shop not far down the street.

With the sun setting, most shops had already begun closing.

They needed to hurry.

Ignoring the two’s puzzled looks, Mel Carlo led them toward the Jewelry Shop.

“Excuse me, how much is this Grape Hairclip?”

Mel Carlo stopped the merchant who was packing up.

The merchant glanced at the three of them, dressed in rags, raised an eyebrow, but finally spoke.

“If you want it, give me 5 Orlen.”

“Alright, we’ll take it. Give us the rest in Copper Coins?”

Mel held the Silver Coin between his fingers, not handing it over directly, waiting for the exchange.

One couldn’t be too careful—especially as kids like them.

If the merchant tried to bully them, it would be hard to resist.

The merchant quickly counted out 95 Copper Coins.

The hairclip was handed directly to Mel Carlo, and they exchanged the Silver Coin and Copper Coins.

A small bag of Copper Coins didn’t even need to be counted.

Mel Carlo shoved the Copper Coins into his arms—actually putting them into the system space.

With the storage compartment, he could instantly check the number and it was safer than carrying them.

“Lily, this hairclip is for you.”

Mel Carlo handed the hairclip to Lily.

Of the three, she was the only girl, and he had no use for it.

“Thank you.”

Lily happily accepted the hairclip.

“But you’d better not wear it—not now, at least. It’ll attract attention from the gang members. Those with bad intentions like to stomp on things others treasure.”

Mel Carlo reminded her.

As orphans and beggars, it wasn’t right to do things beyond their status.

Then, he gave 20 Copper Coins each to the other two.

With this, they could avoid a beating.

Just the sound of the whip was enough to make his scalp tingle.

The three returned to the gang’s territory and entered the yard.

Unlike yesterday, the boss who should have been sitting in the center intimidating them was now slumped drunkenly on the stairs.

The others nearby looked normal, so he must have been drunk.

Mel Carlo hoped he died—he was trash anyway.