Chương 9: The Worst Way to Do Good (2)

Noticing Hale's silence, Maddie offered a word of comfort.

"A starving soul can think of nothing but their own hunger, Master. If someone hands them a piece of bread, their only focus is shoving it down their throat as fast as possible. They hardly have the luxury to care about who threw it their way. Please do not be angry with them."

"I'm not angry," Hale replied.

"But the way you put it... it sounds like you've been there yourself."

"If it weren't for you, Master, my situation right now would be far worse than theirs."

"Is that so?" Hale muttered. So it turns out the original Hale Wallace actually knew how to do a good deed better than I do. After all, you're still grateful to him even now. On their way back, Hale's eyes caught an iron gate bearing a sign that read: House of Charity. Through the bars, he could see a cluster of rather dilapidated buildings, where a few women wearing aprons were stirring large pots or hanging out patched blankets to dry. Hale fished two Gold coins from his pouch and handed them to Ryan.

"Hey, go inside and give these to them." Ryan stared at the two shiny, polished Gold coins with a hint of reluctance, but he pushed the gate open anyway. He went inside and handed them over to a middle-aged woman. They exchanged a few words, after which the woman looked out toward Hale and bowed repeatedly in gratitude. Those two Gold coins only netted him two miserable Merit points, but the gesture left Hale feeling vastly lighter inside.

And so, his first official day of philanthropy concluded with a grand total of 5 Karma points shaved off. Lying flat on his back in bed, Hale glared miserably at the digital digits reading 1, 000, 025 and ground his teeth.

"It racks up in seconds but drains like molasses. God damn it!" Handing out cash to the poor was a terrible strategy for lowering his Karma. He needed to brainstorm a more efficient way to farm good deeds. What about playing doctor and saving lives? He wasn't a physician, and his first-aid knowledge was rudimentary at best. What about inventing something revolutionary for mankind? Easy to dream up, but the moment he actually tried to map it out, he realized he didn't know jack about engineering.

The modern civilization he had left behind made everything so seamless that he had never bothered to observe how things were actually manufactured. He was just a sophomore; he hadn't even scratched the surface of his major before getting dragged into this transmigration trap. And here he was now, a total cripple, flanked by a snarky kid and a dragonborn maid... Wait. Speaking of his maid, Maddie was incredibly overpowered, wasn't she?

Just the other night, she was trading blows evenly with a guy hailed as a Sword Master! A fresh idea sparked in his mind. Hale sat up and addressed Maddie, who was sitting nearby.

"Hey, what if we go hunt down some bad guys?" Ryan, who was reading nearby, let out a sharp snort. He had claimed the lighting in his own room was garbage and had drifted over to Hale's suite. He chimed in mockingly, "We are the bad guys here. Why don't you just turn yourself in?" Hale ignored the brat and continued enthusiastically, "This city has got to have thieves or bandits, right? We catch them and dump them at the feet of the local knights or the military."

Maddie replied, "If that is what you wish, Master, I can scout around tonight."

"Wait, but if we do that, you're the one doing the catching, not me..." If Maddie committed a crime and he failed to stop her, the system penalized him. By that logic, if Maddie performed a good deed under his direct orders, would he get the credit? There was only one way to find out.

"Maddie, try slipping out tonight and round up one... no, let's say two thieves or muggers, alright?" Hale asked. Maddie nodded.

"If it is your command, Master, I will see it done." If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"Don't push yourself too hard, though. Just nab whoever looks like an easy target. I don't want you getting into anything dangerous, and don't stay up past your bedtime. It's bad for your health."

"Understood. I will quietly apprehend two thieves and return before midnight."

"Perfect. Just tie them up and leave them right outside the knights' garrison or the military barracks. Just make sure they don't freeze to death out there." That night, both Ryan and Hale sat by the window, waiting while Maddie went out on her patrol. Ryan dragged the candle closer to his book, turning the pages silently. Watching the kid study so diligently made Hale suddenly feel like a total slacker. Back in his old world, hadn't he been a hardworking, ambitious student?

"Hey, tomorrow, can you go buy me a few books on local geography and history?" Ryan cut his eyes over to him.

"Local as in Berula, Seki, or the entire continent of Lagore?"

"Uh, a bit of everything, please. Frankly, I don't even know basic common sense right now."

"Did you seriously lose your memory to that extent?"

"You still think I'm running a scam? What exactly did the old me do to earn this level of trust issues?" Ryan stared intently at his book for a long moment, offering no reply. Hale shrugged, figuring the small talk was officially over. They had mentally prepared themselves to pull an all-nighter, but barely half an hour after Maddie's departure, the translucent system interface flashed open.

NOTIFICATION The Host's subordinate has successfully executed an order to intercept, apprehend, and deliver a criminal caught in the act of theft. Merit +2 Instantly, his Karma score dropped by another point. About thirty minutes later, an identical notification popped up, signaling that Maddie had bagged another thief. She climbed back through the window shortly after.

"You're incredible, Maddie! You caught two already!" Maddie tucked her dragon wings away as she stepped into the room.

"Hearing your praise brings me great joy, Master. On my way back, I actually witnessed two more muggings, but since you specified only two targets, I bypassed them. It is still well before midnight; do you wish for me to continue?"

"If it's not too much trouble, that would be amazing, but—" Before he could even finish his sentence, Maddie had already vaulted right back out the window. By midnight, Maddie had rounded up four thieves and five muggers, shaving an additional 9 points off Hale's Karma. As of right now, he had managed to successfully reduce his score by 14 points. If we keep up this pace, I'll be walking again in just three days! Hugging that beautiful thought tightly, Hale happily drifted off to sleep.

The following morning, the city of Raveno was abuzz with a rumor. Someone had spent the entire night hunting down thieves and thugs, tying them up like packages, and leaving them directly on the steps of the the knights' barracks gate. According to a victim who had been mugged, he was staggering home from a tavern when two thugs cornered him.

It had been too dark, and his vision was too blurred by alcohol to make out any details, but he distinctly recalled a massive, cloaked figure knocking both muggers unconscious with a single blow before dragging them away. However, because the vigilante's identity remained a total mystery, and there was zero physical evidence or eyewitness testimony to verify the criminals' identities, the majority of the thieves were released with nothing more than a stern warning.

Yet, the next night, and the night after that, the exact same routine repeated itself. Whispers began to ripple through the populace about a winged knight operating from the shadows, dispensing vigilante justice across the border city. Some witnesses even claimed they had seen this mysterious figure handing out cash to the destitute in the slums just days prior. Eventually, the rumors worked their way up to the highest authorities of Raveno.

"You're saying... a knight with massive wings?" Elias repeated the report he had just received, his brow furrowing in deep confusion. Following his clash with Hale Wallace and his subordinate, he had been strictly ordered to remain bedridden for three whole days to recover. Today, the Mayor had paid a personal visit to the Leasser estate. Elias had assumed the man was bringing vital intelligence regarding Hale Wallace, but instead, he was bringing queries about a bizarre night-crawler playing superhero.

The Mayor of Raveno, Joshua Rockwave, nodded.

"This sort of thing has never happened before. There aren't many individuals capable of pulling off such physical feats, so I was wondering if this might be a subordinate or an acquaintance of yours, Lord Elias..." Elias shook his head.

"I do not believe I have any connection to this person. But a figure with massive wings...? Could the witnesses have misidentified them?" His mind immediately flashed back to the maid with the dragon wings who served Hale Wallace. But obviously, that woman and the concept of 'vigilante justice' belonged nowhere near the same sentence. The Mayor countered, "The eyewitness was quite certain about seeing the individual fly into the sky using their own wings.

She noted the figure was exceptionally tall, and that the wings resembled those of a bat." Too many variables lined up perfectly; it was impossible to dismiss as a mere coincidence. They hadn't issued an official wanted poster for Hale Wallace because they assumed he had only sneaked into the city for a single night of vengeance before fleeing into the night. But given the current layout, he was still lingering within city limits—and what's more, he was secretly ordering his henchman to perform good deeds?

What the hell is he plotting now? Ultimately, an official bounty description was drafted: a man with long black hair, a jagged scar running down the left side of his face, a severed right arm, and severe mobility issues, consistently accompanied by an exceptionally tall maid. But by the time the ink dried on the posters, the individuals in question were already nowhere to be found within the city gates.