"Recognize that I didn't do well on this test.
Out of 15 answers, I got four right. My brother did a little worse than me with three correct answers, while Miau only got one point.
It was clear that I was going to be the champion, and now the rule was that I could do whatever I wanted with the loser, whether it was him or her.
I was ecstatic. This was my chance to punish Miau, that arrogant girl who thought she could be among us, a noble family, having fun with us as if she were our equal.
That was something I couldn't accept. So, I ordered her to stand on one foot for an hour. She didn't complain, and neither did my father, while my brother called me annoying and arrogant.
After 20 minutes, which I timed, I demanded that weights be placed on her back, hands, and head. Miau kept holding on for another 20 minutes until she dropped something.
The rule was clear: the punishment had to be imposed for an hour, and the person had to endure it under the threat of losing their most valuable possessions if they failed.
Still not satisfied, I ordered the servants to put more weight on her.
In less than 10 minutes, Miau collapsed, clearly exhausted, but she still apologized and continued to balance herself, despite all the weight she had to bear.
At the end of the hour, she was tired and hurt, but she didn't complain once, while the other staff, watching from a distance, felt pity but dared not say anything.
When she finally finished her punishment, she went over to the servants who had placed the weights on her multiple times, thanked each of them, and dismissed them.
My father, the baron, came walking toward me and, with a sad look on his face, said,
'Now it's your turn.'"
Little Joe fell asleep with the diary in his hands. When he woke up, he remembered the diary and, as usual, went to the bathroom for 10 minutes. Afterward, he grabbed a snack and checked:
_Status System!_
**Status: Chicken Coop Cleaner**
💪0.16 /+ 0.16|🏃♂ 0.10 /+ 0.10|❤️ 0.16 /+ 0.16
🛡️ 0.09 /+ 0.9|🍀 0.36 /+ 0.36 | 🧠➗ 0.50 + 0.0
↓off 🗣️ Dialogue Skill Nvl 0.50%
↓off ⚠️x10 Adversity Multiplier x10 Nvl 0.50%
"Wow! My intelligence went up again! How much more will it increase?"
_Microsubs Status!_
[Status Visitor / Skills]
↓off 🔋 Energy-Saving Mode Nvl 00.1%
⬆️on 🕐Slow Consumption 🔗 Connection Nvl 0.36% ⬆️on 🧠➗ Intelligence Nvl 0.50% + 0.36%
↓off 🖼️ Screen Creation Nvl 00.15%
Skills connected at Nvl 0.86%. Effect: Light refreshment for 3 minutes and 59 seconds every 15 minutes.
"Now I feel better," Joe sighed.
And the little Joe cheerfully whistled his way to finish the job when, suddenly, as he approached the chicken coop, he saw a massive pile of manure towering several meters high and spilling out of the coop. It was much larger than before.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why it happened.
On reflex, he decided to look closely at his default status:
_Status System!_
💪0.16 /+ 0.16|🏃♂ 0.10 /+ 0.10 |❤️ 0.16 /+ 0.16
🛡️ 0.09 /+ 0.9 |🍀 0.36 /+ 0.36 /🧠➗ 0.50 + 0.0
↓off 🗣️ Dialogue Skill Nvl 0.50%
↓off ⚠️x10 Adversity Multiplier x10 Nvl 0.50% 😴 (🕛x10 Cooldown... 240hs)
"Wait, how did this adversity multiplier go up so much in just one night? And what's with the cooldown? Why such a ridiculous recharge time? And why a cooldown at all?"
"!!! ???"
"And now, what am I going to do with all this chicken manure? There's no way I can handle so much of it."
As he stood there talking to himself, Van Vil arrived, and upon seeing the mess, questioned Joe:
"Can you explain what's going on here, little man? We hired you to clean up the mess, not make it worse. It looks like there's five or six times the amount now."
"In fact, ten times," thought little Joe, feeling hopeless and unsure of what to do. Just then, he heard a faint clucking from under all that manure, as if a chicken was calling for help.
"Wait a moment, Mr. Van Vil, I think I heard something."
Starting to dig through the manure, Joe noticed that a young chicken was nearly lifeless from suffocation under the heavy weight of all that manure.
Disgusted, Mr. Van Vil stepped back to avoid dirtying his clothes, while little Joe, full of remorse, carefully carried the small chicken.
"Here, Mr. Van Vil, take this chick. It's almost dead," said little Joe, handing over the almost-lifeless bird.
"I won't. You take care of it. I've got dozens of things to do here, and without your parents to help, I can only rely on myself and you. The few people I hire show up less often than not, and with nearly 300 chickens to look after, you think I can afford to drop everything for just one?"
Little Joe finally understood Van Vil's point of view—he was just one person trying to handle so many things.
"But she's dying. What should I do?"
"Take care of her, of course. Don't you want her to get better?"
"But she's not mine. I can barely take care of myself."
"So, because she's not yours, you want her to die?"
"I didn't mean that, Mr. Van Vil."
"Then take out a bronze coin from your pocket and lend it to me for a moment."
Not understanding what Van Vil was about to do, little Joe fumbled through his pockets until he found a bronze coin and placed it in Van Vil's hand.
"All set. Now you can take care of her. I've solved both your problem and mine."