"What?"
The old man was shocked to hear a tremendous amount of money being thrown around like it was nothing. He only earned about 200-300 Parou every day, which was barely enough to live comfortably with his wife.
The most amount of money he had was 10,000 which was quickly spent on purchasing his current horse. And it took him years to try and break even on this investment.
Now, this young man who looked like he was living in the sewers was offering him 50,000 Parou!
Even the people that were clamoring to enter the carriage stopped and looked at Caesar. Even they were tempted to get that much amount of money. Some even contemplated carrying Caesar on their back just to earn that money.
"Young man, what are you saying?" the old man said.
"Just like I said. I'll pay you 50,000 for your services."
"Hey kid, where do you want to go, to the edge of the world?" a man interrupted from the line. But he had a point. If he would be paying that much, then his journey must be very long.
"No, just somewhere in this town. So, do you accept it?"
The old man didn't know what to do, but his head already decided for him. Even without coming to a decision, he already nodded in acceptance.
"Good," Caesar said as he climbed the only carriage in the street. Nobody could deny him this, as they were still flabbergasted that a kid like Caesar would pay that much money.
Once on, the old man asked him where to go, and Caesar gave him the address of his luxury home that he had just rented from Erica.
"Hey kiddo, why would you waste your money like that?" a man asked from the line.
Caesar peeked out from the window and with a casual tone, he said: "because I can."
—------------------------
Caesar got off the carriage and gave the old man a fat bag of cash. He was a man of his word, at least to those who hadn't harmed him.
The old man received the bag and didn't dare look inside. He felt like he would be disrespecting Caesar by doing that, making it seem like he didn't trust him.
Caesar didn't feel any sort of loss with losing 50,000 Parou. There were three reasons for that. The first reason was because he couldn't be bothered to go to the bank and deposit this small amount of money. He had better things to do.
The second reason was the change he saw in his status when he was riding on the carriage.
[Caesar's status]
[Title: Crook]
[Lvl. 3]
[Exp to next level: 5,000,000 C]
[Vitality: 15+3.5]
[Strength: 13+3.5]
[Dexterity: 14+3.5]
[Intelligence: 9,999]
The bonus added on his was only supposed to be +3, but it changed to +3.5 on the carriage. It only returned back to +3 when he got off the carriage.
This meant that since he paid 50,000 Parou for this carriage, it added to the value he had on hand. Since every 100,000 Parou value was equal to +1, 50,000 Parou was equal to +0.5.
The third reason would be this…
"Sir, I cannot accept this money for such little work. Not only would I feel guilty, it would also demean the hard work I endured for years," the old man said, massaging the wrinkles on his forehead.
Caesar smiled. "What do you suggest?"
"I will pay this money off through being your personal driver. Where you want to go, just beckon for me and I will take you there no matter what."
"I agree with this. Do not worry, I am not a stingy boss, I will properly compensate you for your work. Enough to live comfortably."
The old man opened his mouth, speechless. When he woke up this morning, he didn't think that the trajectory of his life would change this drastically.
"I am grateful. My name is Silas, sir."
Caesar already turned around at this point and only waved without looking back.
"Caesar. Come here tomorrow morning, I need to go somewhere." he said as he opened the door and immediately went inside without looking back.
"Caesar…," muttered Silas. He then bowed towards the door even after Caesar was long gone. It was only after he felt that he had shown his thankfulness to Caesar's kindness did he leave for his home. He was ready for tomorrow.
Caesar knew exactly what would happen once he showed his generosity. Some people would say that they should save as much money as possible, but Caesar thought differently.
Giving an opportunity to Silas was akin to buying a new machine. Although he had to pay a lot of money at first, it would only end up being more useful and help productivity. As time passed, it would end up paying off his original payment and give profit.
Caesar took a bath. The water was hot, an immeasurable privilege only a few people had. Back in the orphanage, no one would dare take a bath at night, or they would risk freezing to death.
When he opened the cabinet, he saw a box with a red ribbon tied around it. At the top was a letter addressed to him.
{Dear Caesar. }
{Accept this new and fresh clothes that I especially picked out for you. I think you'd look cute.}
{Love, Erica.}
Caesar put on the new clothes, which still smelled newly-sewn. It was comfortable and fit, just enough for Caesar. It wasn't overly extravagant either, just lowkey enough. It looked like Erica knew exactly what Caesar wanted.
He went to lie in his large bed. This was his own room, in his own house. He was now reaping the rewards of his hard work these past few days, while others were not that fortunate.
—----------------------
Vantino Street, West side of town
Only a small number of people lived here. There were only restaurants or stores every other street, with barely any people inside despite it being supposed to be the busiest time of the night. People called this the 'Ghost street'.
Most people who lived here already knew each other, down to where they live, and whose daughter became pregnant from a married man.
That was why there were some awkward looks all around when they saw a disturbing amount of unknown teenagers walking around. They weren't all walking together, so the citizens didn't think they were all connected to each other.
Rola opened the wooden double doors in front of her and went inside. The reception was big, but there was no one inside except a woman manning the reception booth.
"How much for a room?" she asked.
The woman chewed her gum while looking at Rola up and down. She only saw a desperate and poor teenage girl.
"1 room is 5000 a night,"
Rola looked around the hotel and saw unpainted walls, leaking ceilings, and vomit splats all over the floor. There was no way this hotel cost 5,000 Parou a night.
But she was desperate.
"How many can fit in one room?"
The woman looked at Rola with a frown. She got a bad feeling that Rola would bring more trouble than worth.
"How many are you?"
"20."
The woman frowned even more and did not hide her disdain for Rola trying to bring that many problem children to her doorstep.
"50,000. And you can only use 3 rooms."
Rola didn't even bother bargaining. She knew that this offer was only a more polite way of saying 'get the fuck out'.
Before she got out of the hotel, she sighed. Only once she composed herself did she go outside and speak in the air.
"Let's search somewhere else," she spoke to no one.
But then, teenagers started to pop out of alleyways and hidden potholes. They sighed in disappointment, and got ready to move again.
"Don't worry. I'll find some way," Rola said confidently.
With her words, they steeled themselves and got moving. They had full confidence that Rola would be able to do something about this situation. Like she always had.
They searched for more and more until it was already late into the night. They almost scoured through the entirety of the west side of the town, but no hotel would be willing to take them in.
In the end, Rola got a deal with a pig farmer. They ended up staying in an abandoned pig sty. They had to endure the stench of the mud and pig poop, but at least they had a roof over their head.
They had to pay 40,000 Parou just to stay in one night. And they had to pay another P10,000 for food, which was just enough for 20 hungry kids and a bit more.
Rola looked at her family. They were all suffering, but they didn't show it in their faces. She felt like it was her fault for putting them up to this.
They cannot stay here forever. They already used all of their 50,000 Parou, and it was only enough to stay in a dirty pig sty in only one night.
Rola decided. She stood up and addressed her family. "Let's go back to the orphanage."