"The peddler isn't a bad person, Claud. Sometimes people have to do bad things to survive. Y-you understand, right? I want to help him."

Sophie's sense of justice is strange. She wants to help the peddler instead of the smith after all I've said. Did I fail to portray the smith in a good light? She must have taken a different message from my words.

'The smith will be fine because of his status'. She might have interpreted it this way. 'The peddler he had to resort to crime, he's the one who needs help'.

Sigh.

I was a bit hasty in accepting Sophie's wish because I realize that this small argument could quickly escalate to us never talking again. It's not the Hero's fault she has a strong moral foundation.

"What if that man were your father trying his best, but he was being beat up on the street?"

Good point, Sophie. The one I should be mad at is the peddler.

She can't resist the urge to want to protect the weak.

I could never have convinced her the smith was the good guy. I should have shown her how evil the peddler was instead.

-Willpower: 22/44-

"If my father were selling goods that could hurt other people, I'd be furious with him."

For a father to be thoughtlessly performing crime is an indicator of his incompetence.

"Claud!"

If he didn't cause this mess, Sophie and I wouldn't be arguing.

-Willpower: 21/44-

"I almost thought about beating up the smith for pushing you. But the smith isn't the one at fault. He's another victim, his business was devalued because of this peddler selling counterfeit items in front of his shop. You're not thinking about how those counterfeit items could be hurting the people who bought them. 'Potions' that don't cure, essentially snake oil. They'd be lucky if consuming it didn't make them sicker. Swords that can't cut, a person could die if they used this in a real battle. And all of that is being attributed to the shop owner. Years of his hard work and reputation could be ruined."

"I don't think he did it on purpose."

I mouthed off so much and this is your response. Why are you being so stubborn?

"He didn't know what his actions would do."

I find that hard to believe.

"I believe he's a good person..."

And how do you know that? Did she take a look at his status and find some good traits?

Probably, given how she's acting.

"Besides, you promised. You promised to help me with whatever I wanted."

I want to shake some sense into this thick skull of hers.

"I'll prove it."

No, Sophie. I'll prove it. Just because you have good character traits, it doesn't make you a good person.

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The peddler was still gathering his things into a sack, trying to leave.

Tsk.

She spent her valuable Willpower to heal a piece of crap like him.

"Thank you, young lady. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Sir, why are you selling fake goods with that shop's logo. I don't think it is the right thing to do."

"To have a child reprimand me, I am really sorry. But I desperately needed money. And all I have is this Copy skill. It makes a pale imitation of an object..."

"Sir, we'll help you. We are adventurers, we can help you hunt a monster to gain a combat class!"

"I don't think that someone like me is capable of defeating those monsters. I was rejected from jobs for not having a high enough stat limit. To be an adventurer requires an even higher threshold."

Weak stats? That's an excuse. Sophie with her shitty stats could fight intelligent goblins with a wooden sword.

"Sir Branford? Ms. Sophie? Dad?"

A familiar voice, Paige. What is he doing here?

"... Dad, let's go home."

Paige couldn't look us in the eyes. He froze in place. Paige is aware that his father is running a scam.

He's ashamed of his own father. I'd be too if I had a father as pathetic as this.

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Sophie determined, volunteered to help Paige's family out. In their wet, rotten shack home on the outskirts of town bordering the wall, I pulled up my scarf a bit higher. The sewage flows freely through the street and the stench is the worst I've ever smelt. A room of corpses smells more appealing than this. How do you fail life to this extent? How is this possible?

It hurts to think there are so many people out there like him with children in these slums. You can't even help yourself, what made you think you could raise a family in this awful place? There are a lot of decisions that have led you to this point. How many did you have to screw up?

Just for a little bit, I'd like to say what I truly think about this... thing trying to resemble a proper father. I have no reason to keep my prim and proper facade with someone as worthless as this.

'Empathize with them, Claud. What if that man were your father trying his best but was being beat up on the street?'

How do I empathize with trash? I don't think I could.

It's wrong to look down on you. To be mean and nasty. At least you haven't abandoned your children. At least you did the bare minimum of giving them a roof over their heads. A rusty roof with leaking holes but a roof, nevertheless.

The Empathy trait isn't activating. It's lacking in sincerity.

I've been through the same thing. I understand what you're going through... I know what you're feeling...

Feelings of ineptitude. Low self-esteem. Inferiority...

What sort of bullshit is flowing freely from the cavities of my mind? I'm just spouting what I think are the most common weak spots of someone useless.

"Ah, you're the ones who helped Paige earn that money. Could I bother you to accompany him on a quest again? Hahaha."

He laughed trying to play it off as a joke. He was definitely serious. Does this man have no pride? Asking his son to go on a dangerous quest while he stays at home slacking off.

"Young lady. Do you have any money, by any chance?"

"Um, yes."

"Could you lend me some?"

Garbage. Asking for more when you've already received. Even Sophie felt awkward in this atmosphere although she volunteered to help. I wonder how she's rationalizing this event in her little head. He's human garbage, realize it already.

Paige couldn't bear the shame and turned 180 degrees away from his father. Even Paige, a child hadn't asked for handouts.

Sophie gave him a gold coin. That single coin can pay for a family of four's expenses for an entire month. Paige got plenty of gold coins, where did it all go?

I'm getting more irritated.

I empathize, alright. With how much of a god forsaken thing you are.

Begging when you don't need it. To appear weaker than you are to receive more charity. Taking advantage of someone's kindness to receive a little bit more than you need. I did it plenty when I stayed at the orphanage. I begged on the streets for a little extra food to share with Keith. Nanny got angry whenever I did that.

We were fed but I wanted our stomachs to be bursting. Not just surviving. I wanted us to be thriving.

From Sophie's perspective, the peddler is a man down on his luck trying to provide for his family. Willing to risk jail for his family. Willing to give up his pride to support his family. The type of person that the system has defined as good. Why else would Sophie have wanted to help him so much?

But I can't see it her way at all.

Almost everyone has some redeeming feature. But not this man. A truly rare existence, unrecyclable trash. Seeing how he's behaving currently; this is not the type of person who will return the favor. There is no benefit in helping him.

Paige and Anny deserve a better father than this.

-Empathy Trait Active-

How could you bring children into this world if you can't protect them? You're just like them.

Someone as inconsequential as you... Paige and Anny won't miss you.