Death Frost | Deathsworn #2

Chapter 82 ❆ Philosophy

"Which shortcomings exactly?" I replied. "I have written many things her—that you're such a slob when eating in the cafeteria, or how you tripped on your face right when you were trying to look cool in front of that senior female disciple from last week?"

Miles's face burst into a bright shade of red. "H-how did you even know about that?" he asked. "Aren't you too busy to pay attention to these things?"

"Why shouldn't I pay attention?" I asked back. "The Temple hardly has over three hundred disciples. It's quite easy to hear news about everybody."

"Don't tell me you still have intel on three hundred others?"

"That depends. Just something general and worth paying attention to," I said. "I'm not that free to peer so much into other people's lives, after all."

"I didn't expect you to be such gossip."

"I'm not. Gossip is laced with lies. I don't write gossips. I only write down facts," I told him. "Do you still want that information?"

"Yes. How much?"

I held up three fingers.

"Tsk. Can you give me a discount? I'll give you a favor in return."

"Anything?"

"Yes. At least anything that doesn't go off the moral code."

"Fine. You owe me, then," I said with a smile. "For whatever that's worth..."

Miles's cheeks puffed in anger. "Why do I feel like you're mocking me?"

"Then your feeling's accurate," I replied, throwing him a piece of paper ripped from my notebook pages.

He caught it rudely, nearly tearing it in half. He neatly placed the money on the table and I took it, dumping it into my wallet. "Once it's off your notebook, do you no longer have a copy of it?"

"Well, you bought it, didn't you?" I asked. "Anyway, I have prettttyyy good memory."

Erlan huffed with a smile at Miles's annoyed face.

Miles was very easy to annoy, and he lost his temper more easily than the other disciples of our year. Erlan was more cheerful although also reserved, Arondite...ah, well, he was very collected, and Maun rarely got angry over things he didn't care about.

"Then, start eating. I don't want to argue with you," I said.

Although it was a little childish to get into an argument in this manner, I quite liked it.

"Don't you have a lot of money?" Erlan asked. "Why do you still charge for these things?"

"I don't know. I like to be clear-cut about things, I guess. "I don't really like the feeling of owing kindness whether it's me owing or the one being owed."

"Don't you think debt of gratitude is better than money in the long-term?"

"You can cash in on those when you need them."

"It's a waste."

"A waste?"

"Think about it. You can't pay favors and expect a bank where you can withdraw good feelings at anytime. People are wired different. Some are naturally creditable, some are not," I explained. "I mean...if I need help, it'll be on my responsibility to ask for it and owe for it then. It's a little stubborn of me, but it's not a guarantee anyway that those people will pay your debt of gratitude as you expect them to. Isn't it more an assurance to settle accounts immediately? It's not like you can't choose the people that owe you."

Erlan's eyes brightened. "Choose the people that owe you—why have I never come across this philosophy?! Indeed, you are a business savant, Evy!"

"That's a principle you can see in the bank. That's not a new philosophy. Ever heard of credit score?" I replied blandly as I forked through my plate and popped a bite into my mouth.