Finally, the distributor's gaze swept to the end of the list, and his tone turned noticeably colder. "Ero."
The area suddenly fell silent.
Under the gaze of hundreds of eyes, Ero stiffly shuffled to the front like a beggar stripped naked.
"Ero, for deliberately damaging production tools, all Work Points are deducted. Final amount: 1 Work Point."
The distributor picked up a one-point note and casually let go, allowing the slip of paper to drift down until it landed by Ero's feet.
"Take your rations and go back to reflect on your actions."
Ero bent down and picked up the paper note amid the crowd's boos and mockery.
The lone Work Point in his hand looked exceedingly flimsy.
Ero clenched it tightly and slunk away from the crowd.
As he passed the detestable Balk, he could still hear them discussing how they planned to spend their money.
"I've already decided. I'm going to save today's Work Points." Someone chuckled and stuffed the stack of notes into his clothes. "After another two or three days, I want to get my family a thick wool blanket. The weather's turning colder. The wind last night had my little one coughing nonstop."
"I'm planning to save up for a month and get a steel shovel." Another man's eyes gleamed. "The steel shovels the blacksmith shop just made are way better than our iron ones. When the time comes, we can raise our digging speed even more. Getting nine points won't be impossible!"
Even his former lackeys were eagerly discussing what they would enjoy that evening.
Those slippery fellows who had once only known how to loaf around had shed their listlessness for the first time, replaced by a light called hope.
That night, in the castle study.
Lina brought the compiled data for the