Rosalind rolled her eyes.
"I wish it were so, but I'm afraid you simply don't understand my situation."
'Dio' shook his finger and smiled elegantly.
"You mean a lack of customers and suddenly booming rival businesses? Let me guess, you have been under pressure from the city officials to relinquish the property for a laughable sum? Perhaps you've inherited this shop from your parents."
Rosalind's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Suddenly, she thought of something and shuddered.
The young woman bowed humbly and asked in a whisper.
"Is Sir perhaps… a Merchant Class Holder?"
[Hook, line and sinker. I knew I liked you for a reason, boy.]
'Dio' was indeed pleased with her reaction.
"As you're aware, Class Holders do not easily appear, and it may be hard for you to believe me."
Rosalind interrupted him with fervor.
"Far be it from me! I don't doubt Sir Class Holder, I-"
"Now now, you may believe me, but I won't take advantage of your kindness."
[Right.]
"I propose a fair deal : In exchange for my advice, I ask for clothes and a bed. I shall be staying here for the next few days to answer your doubts, just long enough to get my bearings back and restart my trade. What thinks you, Miss…?"
'Dio' saw his target's face bloom in a genuine smile as she answered.
"Rosalind, Rosalind Plumeria Vitalis. I will graciously accept your offer, Mr… Um…"
"Again, Dio."
She, who was bad with names, hung her head in shame.
Meanwhile, Azazel was surprised.
[Rose and Plumeria, shit. No wonder she works in a flower shop, she's a damn flower too!]
"...Why the hell is a Devil Lord so knowledgeable about flowers?"
[...Kuhum.]
'Dio' rolled his eyes and spoke seriously to the girl whose very life was in danger.
"Miss Vitalis, I won't beat around the bush. I suspect unfavorable rumors have been spread about this shop, which would explain the lack of business. It also appears strange to me that the arrogant city officials would take interest in your shop for no reason."
As Rosalind's heart sank, 'Dio' spoke in a hushed tone.
"That reason may be, for example, because of a corrupt deal with another merchant or shop owner. You must ask yourself, did the previous owner of this shop have any enemies?"
Rosalind's mind went blank in shock. If Sir 'Dio' was right, then the puzzle would be complete. At the same time, perhaps her father hadn't abandoned her, but had been…
A few minutes later, the young woman with tears in her eyes, slowly pulled some clothes from the backroom.
"These were my father's. I'm sure he'd be happy to give them to the kind Sir Dio. I shall make sure to investigate if there are rumors being spread, and I can't thank you enough."
Rosalind bowed deeply to the young man in front of her, truly grateful. 'Dio' was also tactful, he excused himself to change and left in a hurry to let the poor girl mourn.
[She may be a bit stupid, but I like that girl. You don't find them so polite these days. How 'bout you 'buy' her? It's a flower shop, after all, kekeke.]
Arnold actually didn't rebuke the Devil Lord for his terrible joke.
"I… shall see. Most importantly, it's time for the harder part of the plan."
…
Porto's Cathedral was founded hundreds of years ago by Archbishop Titus III in honor of the Archeons. At the time, Porto was far from its current size, and the massive project took many years and countless laborer deaths to complete.
This Cathedral alone had stalled the city's growth for decades, but Porto's citizens came here in droves to worship the benevolent Archeons, and Titus III was later revered as a Saint.
On the way there, Arnold, who heard about these ugly truths from Azazel, couldn't hide his disgust.
"Incomprehensible! What makes these people better than sheep?"
[Sheep or not, you should be thankful to that Titus kid. He gave you the best place to level up in the city, what a great guy!]
"Yes, yes, I'll beg in his name then, perhaps the sheep will actually like that and give me more coins. I can check if the amount of donations received is also an experience modifier."
As he was making plans, Arnold could finally see the massive Cathedral right in the center of the city.
At the same time, he felt a sacred Aura radiating from the building.
[Tsk. Alright, I'm 'bout to sleep. I'll wake up when you're either dying or leveling up, kekeke.]
As a Devil Lord, even a mere soul fragment from Azazel wouldn't be purified by the Archeons' blessed Aura. But to avoid detection, it was better for him to sleep and hide his presence.
Meanwhile, Arnold was spotted by several guards already, but they simply ignored him.
From their perspective, he was a well dressed, handsome young man coming to offer his prayers.
This was the importance of prestige and looks in society. Had he come in his usual filthy rags, he might've landed in the cycle of reincarnation by now.
At last, he crossed the central plaza and arrived at the steps to the Cathedral. Entering from the gold-tinged gates and seeing the mass of people devoutly praying, ordered by their social status, he felt like a spectator to a tragicomedy.
Beggars didn't even have the right to pray, they weren't allowed hope. As he saw the priests receiving gold from the sheep, righteous expressions hiding their wretched smiles, he felt something snap inside of him.
Sooner or later, he would overturn this place and offer both priests' and sheep's souls to Azazel to suffer for eternity.
…
A few minutes later, Arnold was seated in a relatively deserted corner inside the building. Unlike the plaza, there were no guards inside the Cathedral. The arrogant clergy didn't feel the need for protection.
And they were right. Thanks to their divine spells, a priest could defeat three or four guards alone, not to mention the powerful Bishops and the supreme Cardinal.
But this helped Arnold beg for coins worry-free. The few priests were too busy filling their pockets to notice him in the dark corner. And if a sheep noticed him and donated, even better.
Soon, he took out an old alms bowl and extended his hand. He then spoke in a melodic voice.
"A copper coin please."
He focused and tried determining the amount of experience he received. He wished the system would just quantify it, but alas, this world wasn't that convenient.
Soon, he struggled to hide a grin.
Sure enough, despite no one donating yet, he still gained more than 10x the usual exp.
He struck gold!