Chương 157: Chapter 147-Chosen UGH

Chipper does as chipper is. Serve some food to the line and live a happy life. Don't worry about the impending confrontation with Prideborn or the Purists. Yes, only happy thoughts. Nothing about how I'm constantly having to [Lie] my way through life. No, don't worry about that, because today is the day. The day I managed to do something… legally with minimal to no dubious means. Now I have 6 Platinum in my pocket and-"What ya smirkin about?" the Old Timer asks as he waits for food.

"None of your Godsdamn business. Now take your food and move. Other people are waiting," I say as I gesture to the line behind him.

"Alright, but better watch out. I hear them some Purists about," he grumbles as he hobbles away on his peg leg.

"Yeah. Thanks for the warning, Old Timer." Hmm. Seems Kat is doing good work if even that Old Timer has heard about the Purists in town. Soon enough everybody in the city will have heard. Then we can enact the plan or at least the semblance of a plan. Still not sure how I'm going to pull off the last bit. Eh, I'll wing it.

"CJ, we're going to have to close the kitchen after this batch of people," Frank says with a tired look on his face.

"What? We still have another hour left," I say as I scoop some beans onto the next person's plate.

"Our magic oven is broken again. So we won't be able to heat up the food you brought, and we can't cook up any more," he says with a dissatisfied groan.

"Again? Take over for a second. I'll see what I can do," I say as I hand Frank the ladle.

"Really? You know how to fix up magic tools?" he asks in surprise.

"We will see." Slipping into the kitchen, I head towards the seemingly broken stove. Hmm. Where do I start? Usually I pop open Stovey and get to where I can touch the mana crystal. How do I pop this guy open? You're so much bigger than Stovey? Wait. I think I found it. With a hefty tug, I pull the side panel off to reveal an intricate and beautifully put together system of magical runes and six mana crystals. Okay, I have no idea what I'm doing. Does it need mana? Two of them glow with a dim blue light.

The other ones are seemingly cracked and no longer have any light to them. Damn, this thing is old and worn. I'm surprised it's even still working. Well, technically it isn't working anymore, but still you know what I mean. It was working. Okay, I'll just… not touch any of this complicated stuff and instead do this. With a solid kick, the magic oven roars to life.

"Oven's fixed!" I yell as I put the panel back on.

"Really? How'd you do it?!"

"Uhm. A little maintenance is all it took. Although, I would get it fixed up if I were you. Maybe switch out some of the broken mana crystals," I say as I walk out of the kitchen. Frank gives a dry chuckle as he scoops beans.

"Wish I could, CJ, but we already used our budget on the new security system," he says, pointing at the communicator crystal in the corner of the room.

"Why waste your money on that?"

"Sadly, we've had some break-ins recently. Weird thing is they aren't taking anything. They've just been breaking things. I would've liked to spend the money on the oven." Biting my tongue, I look over at Frank. Damn it. Fucking damn it! Nope. I don't have to do it. Not this time. I fixed the oven. I don't have to do anything else.

"How much would it cost?" I ask. Ugh. The 3 Platinum coins rattle in my hand as I walk through the street. Fucking bullshit. That's what this is. With a sigh, I pocket the coins. Could [Steal] the thing. It'd be easier than taking candy from a baby. Why can't I be rich? The moment I walk into the jewelry store, a man at the door stops me.

"Sorry, the store is closed," he says with a gruff voice. Oh yeah. Garus isn't with me today. Guess this asshole won't let me in like last time. Great, even more shit to this day.

"Listen, I was already in here earlier last week. I just want to buy something," I say with an annoyed tone. Could I talk my way through this thick-headed dolt? Yeah, easily. Which is why trying to reason with him is a stupid idea. Yet here I am doing it. Truly another idiotic move from yours truly.

"I said the store's-""Jeff, let him through. He's one of my customers," the shopkeep says with a smile.

"If you say so." As he moves out of the way, he gives me a death glare.

"Hello, remember me?"

"I do. You were the one who was thinking of buying The Falling Leaf, correct?" If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Yup. Small problem. I couldn't get the Platinum together in time. So, what can I get for 3 Platinum?" I ask in defeat.

"I'm sorry to hear that. If you'd like, I could hold it for another week," she says with a calculated smile.

"Thanks, but sadly that will be a little too late. Her birthday is in two days, and I'd rather get her something now than wait till the last minute."

"Girlfriend?"

"No. Just a friend."

"Must be a pretty close 'friend' if you're spending this much time and money on her gift."

"She is. Now what can I get for 3 Platinum?" I ask again.

"This case is everything we have for that price. Does anything catch your fancy?" Hmm. Yeah, there's some fancy stuff here, but nothing really compares to the one I was going to buy. Sure, this bracelet looks nice, but it doesn't really seem like her style. These earrings are too gaudy. Don't even get me started on this necklace. By the Go-"What are you doing!" Jeff yells at a group of people I can't quite see.

"Is everything okay?" I ask as the shopkeep gives me a worried look. The man at the door collapses to the ground, revealing a small group of three thugs with daggers. Fucking great. Can't have one weekend without something happening?

"Hand over the gold and nobody gets hurt," the slimiest of the three says as Jeff sits in a pool of his own blood.

"Yeah, I don't know about that. Any chance you're [Lying]?" I ask as I walk up to him.

"Oh. What's this? We got a tough guy. Listen, Devil, this ain't got nothing to do with you. Stay out of our way, or you're going to end up like that bleeding piece of shit," the biggest of the three says as he looms over me.

"Oh, I didn't realize I had an out. Well, if you don't mind me," I say as I draw Stabby and cut the hand off the big one before he can even react. He drops his dagger along with his hand and lets out a bloody scream.

"What the fuck!? You fuckin' cut off his hand!" the tiny one yells as he charges me. With a simple parry, I disarm him and then kick him straight through the store window.

"What? Hurting people's okay when you're the ones doing it, but not when I'm doing it? Seems a little hypocritical," I [Taunt].

"Who the in the hells are you?" the slimiest one says as he hides his dagger up his sleeve.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I ask as I [Throw] the handless one at the slimy one. The slimy one is easily crushed along with the display case behind him. The store is filled with groans of pain as I reel in my anger. I may have gone a bit overboard with the property damage. Gods, I hope I don't have to pay for this. Leaning over Jeff, I give him a quick once-over.

"You'll live, Jeff. It's just a flesh wound," I say as I pat him on the back.

"Are you okay?" the shopkeep asks as she steps over the broken glass.

"Oh, not a scratch. Sorry about the damage to the window and the display case and the wall. Okay, I'm really sorry about a lot of the damage. How much is it going to cost me?" I ask as I [Throw] a rock at the wall, which then bounces to the tiny one outside that was trying to run away. The Falling Leaf gleams as I hold it up to the setting sun. Now this is more like it. Maybe my luck is finally turning around. Shame that Jeff got stabbed, but the guards took him to get healed up, so he should be fine.

A couple inches to the right and he probably would've been dead. I would know. Still, I wonder if those three thugs were the ones who broke into the Food Bank. They're obviously not from around here given the fact they were blatantly breaking the rules of the Gang Lords. Not my problem. They break the rules, they get to pay the price. Now, how do I give this to Penelope without making things weird? I can't just give it to her. She'd be all like.

"For me? What are you trying to say, Charlatan?" I say using her voice. Maybe I could give it to Alfira, and then she could give it to Penelope.

"Oh, I see you didn't have the guts to give it to me yourself. How pathetic, Charlatan." No. I know exactly how to give this to her. I'll wrap up the box. Place it in her desk and… This is stupid. It's just a present for her birthday. It's not like I'm trying to say anything else with this. I'll just give this to her and say something like…

"For you, Penelope," I say with a wink as sparkles fly around me. What was the wink for? No. No wink. I'm not doing a wink, and what was with all the sparkles? I don't sparkle. Nobody sparkles. If you're sparkling, you should be worried. It's not good for you; Seek medical attention. Okay. Keep it simple and straightforward.

"Happy birthday, Penelope!" Perfect. Concise. Everything about it is amazing. Just like me. Now, I just have to say it to her and not this brick wall. Thanks for the help though. I rea- A blinding pain burns through me as I double over. My MP burns away at an alarming rate. What in the fuck?! It then pools near my stomach. Pulling up my shirt, I watch as a word is carved into my stomach.

'L-O-S-E'. Lose? What could I have- Ilota? My [Gamble]! Pushing through the searing pain, I run through the alleyway in a random direction. Come on! Work my [LCK], work! Take me to him! As I round a corner, I stop to catch my breath. I need to keep going.

"Hey, CJ! Over here! We need some help!" a man from the Food Bank yells. Walking over to him, I find him and two other homeless people hovering in the nearby alley.

"What's wrong?"

"We found this guy getting attacked by some assholes. We scared off the fuckers, but he's looking pretty rough. We can't take him to a healer. Any chance ya can? I don't know if he's going to make it otherwise," he asks as he spits at the ground.

"Of course," I say with a hint of fear. Don't be him. I just mistook the feeling from earlier. Ilota's fine. He's- As the group moves over, a deathly pale Ilota is revealed. At a glance, I see multiple stab wounds that have decorated his body along with a frightening amount of blood. For a second, my heart stops. It stops just long enough for his chest to slowly rise and fall.

"I'll take him," I say as I carefully pick him up.

"Thanks, CJ. Be careful out there. Purists are about."

"I know."