The area where Zeon was standing was part of the city's red-light district, and he stood in front of one of the brothels. The elven woman appeared to be one of the prostitutes from the establishment, as she was standing with her back to it.
She wore a very loose dress, revealing most parts of her body. Her skin was gleaming under the sunlight, tempting him to touch and squeeze it.
The system was definitely inviting him to give in to the sin. Zeon was suspicious that the system would grant him more XP points if he gave in, but he didn't want to get it that way. What would be the cost if he did?
He pushed the urge down, making his muscles tensed. His mind screamed for him to flee from this temptation, but he held his ground. Meeting her gaze with a cold stare, he said, "I know where I'm going."
"Do you?" she purred. Then she smiled, stepping closer to him. "Most men would love to lose their way with me."
He felt the inviting desire that promised pleasure. His hands began to shake, trying to divert his eyes from the lustrous body of hers. She was very alluring, indeed, and he could feel his blood boil stronger than when he was with Carrie.
"Not me," he lied, then turned his back on her and walked away a bit faster than a normal walk would.
"Come back to me when you need to have a pleasure, pretty boy," she chuckled, making his ears want to hear more of her voice when he conquered her on bed. But he quickly disappeared into the crowd, and the voices calmed him down.
The allure of the temptation in the city was real, and it wasn't a joke. He had overcome this one, but he knew there would be others. Shaking his head to ease the haziness from the alluring woman, he arrived back at the Iron Fork.
*******
He just closed his room door when the female voice of the system began to speak in his head, reading the texts on the screen before him.
[Your Sin of Sloth has increased by 30 points.]
Zeon looked at the texts bewildered, and they stared back at him, as if mocking him.
'... What did I do?'
He had not even been lazy since the day he arrived in this damn world. He hadn't been idle… unless when he was sleeping.
What he saw on his status screen baffled him. The sloth point he gained because he had forgotten about Carrie, the first person he had met in this world and gave him a simple kindness.
He had neglected to help an innocent woman, chosen his survival over morality. And the system doomed him to make that choice not as a logical decision even though he couldn't save himself either. It doomed it as a sin.
He clenched his jaw, pushing down the guilt of forgetting Carrie, he took out his toolkit and began to sketch new designs. It was a necklace. He remembered the elven woman he met earlier, wore a simple necklace braided from soft fabric strips, and it gave him an idea.
*******
After a month, Zeon's appearance changed, his look was cleaner, and more composed. His muscles were more solid now, the result of more regular meals he got from Zelda, and his own disciplined workout. His silver hair and blue eyes now looked healthier, and his pale skin no longer seemed dull or malnourished.
He was tasked to serve customers now, and was taught the basics of serving. Don't rush, don't stare, keep hands visible, and don't speak unless spoken too. It was easy enough, much better than scrubbing pots in a smelly backyard, where chickens and goats roamed freely.
The work was simple, and the tips from the kind customers were generous. He made good money, and with that money, he was able to buy more of the cheap mana-infused alloys from the dwarf in the slums.
He had to keep his night works hidden, of course, and his small room was his secret workshop—with the pots, pans, and bags, hiding his tools and the half finished devices. It was a strange, hectic life, but it was his.
His latest creation was a small necklace, a simple teardrop shape cut from the dull grey metal. He had carved tiny, intricate lines into it, a kind of circuit board, and then used a small amount of his own mana to charge it. Zeon wasn't sure if it would work, because of his limited knowledge of mana, and therefore he wasn't sure what the effect would be either.
One day, he was waiting for a table to be emptied, while wiping down the clean wooden counter with a damp cloth, when Zelda approached him. She wasn't too busy cooking in the kitchen, as there were not many customers today.
"Hey, Zeon!" she said, while wiping her wet hand on her apron. Zeon looked at him, then smiled widely. Zelda was the only woman he knew that would not make him aroused… well… perhaps due to her age. She was like a mother to him.
"Hey, Zelda."
"What's that?" she asked, her gentle eyes fixed on his hands.
She leaned closer, peering at his hands. Zeon smiled, and showed it to her.
"Just a necklace. Nothing special," he said, then tucking it away. He didn't want to get into trouble, he just wanted to make them and sell them one day.
But Zelda was fast, she was already holding his hand firmly, her strength surprised him. She took the necklace from his grasp. She held it to the light, then breathed. The etched lines on its surface seemed to glow faintly.
"It's beautiful. Is it… magic?"
"I-I don't know," Zeon lied. "Just something I'm testing."
Zelda looked at the necklace with a clear longing on her face.
Zeon hesitated for a moment, then said, "Take it if you like it. It's a gift, but don't tell anyone that I made it," he said.
Her face beamed, and she slipped the necklace around her neck. It looked so good on her, and he felt satisfied. "You're full of surprises, boy. And thank you," she said.
And that night, Zeon got a dinner portion larger than usual.
*******
Zeon worked two shifts daily as usual, it had become his routine. He almost felt he was at peace, nothing to worry, no bills to pay, no criminals to chase. He already forgot what Zelda would do with the necklace, as he was almost sure that it was one of his failed experiments.
But a few days later, he found out. He was walking back to his room after work, when he saw a crowd gathered around the front of the restaurant. Zelda was standing at the center of it all, and he could clearly hear her.
"He made it with mana infused metal. It's beautiful and made me feel calm and relaxed," she declared, pointing at him as he froze at the edge of the crowd.
A woman pushed forward, her sleep-deprived eyes widening. "Zelda, you're saying he made this? A servant?"
Zelda grinned. "Told you! Zeon's a genius. You should all get one!"
Zeon's stomach twisted. He grabbed Zelda's arm, and pulled her aside with great effort, as she was kind of a chubby woman. "What are you doing? I told you to keep it quiet!"
Her smile faltered, but her eyes stayed bright with enthusiasm. "I couldn't help it, boy! People saw it, then asked questions. You're famous now."
"I don't want to be famous," he said in a low voice.
Zelda laughed defiantly. "You can't hide forever. I will make you rich."
Before he could argue, Barney, the restaurant's owner's voice, cut through the crowd.
"Zeon! Get in here!"
Barney stood at the door, his hands on his hips. "You causing this ruckus?"
He shook his head, while dragging Zelda to face him. "Not me. It was her."
Barney looked at him for a moment, then snorted, his eyes darted back to the crowd. "Your little toys are the ones that stir up trouble. Better hope the Grid comes sniffing."