NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60
Chapter: 60
There are three main ways to increase favorability at the Soul Academy.
First. Spend daily life together.
During free time, casually talk to the character and wander around the Soul Academy together.
The most efficient way here was the cake shop.
Eating cake with this one, and that one too, it was so bad I thought the protagonist might even get diabetes from all the cake, making it the best method for increasing favorability.
Right now, it’s a method I can’t do even if I want to.
How did the protagonist in the game manage to become friends just by talking?!
When I try to talk, the opponent turns into an enemy?!
That guy must have had some hypnosis app or something.
It just doesn’t make sense otherwise!
The second method is to conquer dungeons together.
As you roam the battlefield, the favorability slowly increases.
Of course, I find this hard too.
Who would want to risk their life going to the battlefield with someone they don’t even want to talk to?
Although I might be quite useful as a party member, it’s honestly not very likely.
Lastly, there’s the method of completing character-related quests.
By progressing through quests related to specific characters, you can raise favorability.
This is something I can definitely do now.
Here’s my plan:
First, I’ll complete related quests to increase basic favorability until we’re at a level where we can call each other friends.
Then we’ll go out together, hit the dungeon, and do quests together in between until I hit that 70 favorability mark.
If I can nail that first step, it should be completely possible.
So here I am, putting my life on the line as I head to Alsatine’s tavern,
To get the item that triggers a character-related quest from Alsatine!
“Uh… Young Lady, this seems dangerous,”
Karl said, stopping at the entrance of the dark alley tavern, sounding worried.
‘You unsure of yourself?’
“What’s that, sloppy? Are you saying you can’t protect me?”
“Not exactly, but avoiding danger from the start is the best thing to do.”
‘It’s fine to just admit you’re unsure.’
“But denying it is just wishing for safety. Young Lady, if I say I’m a weak and sloppy coward and can’t go in, then maybe I’ll consider it,”
Karl snapped back.
Unable to endure the mockery, Karl finally fell silent.
He must have some pride as a knight, huh?
He can take other insults, but calling him weak brings an instant reaction.
‘Karl…’
“Sloppy! Aren’t you going to declare yourself a wimp?”
“No. I will earn your trust by protecting you.”
So that means he won’t stop me from entering, right?
Avoiding Karl’s stern gaze, I grabbed the tavern door.
As I opened the door, everyone inside turned their attention towards me.
Most of those gazes were suspicious.
When it was a game, I didn’t care who walked in, but now it feels different in reality.
I mean, it’s not every day a kid like me steps into a hidden tavern in a back alley!
As I stepped inside, one guy sitting near the entrance snorted mockingly.
“Noble Young Lady, this isn’t a place for someone like you.”
‘Then…’
“So it’s a place for crummy lives that stink like you? That’s trouble. I can’t be some pathetic loser like you.”
“Uh… Young Lady?!”
The guy’s brow furrowed at my words and Karl panicked, shouting nearly simultaneously.
Hmm. I didn’t plan to say that much, but my Mesugaki Skill is on fire today!
“Hahaha!”
“Noble Young Lady, you’re quite rough with your words, huh?”
“Looks like even the Young Lady thinks that guy looks pathetic!”
“Who’s pathetic, you darn idiots?!”
The people inside the tavern pretended to laugh, but it wasn’t friendly.
I could easily tell they were keeping an eye on me.
Oh no, it’s already off to a rocky start.
“So, Noble Young Lady, what brings you here?”
A man drinking from a distance casually spoke to me.
When he spoke, the others hushed up. That guy must hold quite some influence here.
‘I’m here to meet someone.’
“Came to find a lousy one, huh?”
“You don’t think a dignified person would meet someone in a place filled with losers, do you?”
The way he spoke, it was clear he was hinting for me to leave before something bad happened.
Ha. Does he think I’ll be scared? Just because he’s the boss of these losers doesn’t mean he’s worth my time.
‘I want to meet Alsatine.’
“Trying to meet the owner of this rundown tavern?”
“Did you not hear me? There’s no one here for you to meet.”
‘I’m not talking to you.’
“Did you say that to me, the old man playing chief of losers?”
“…I was trying to be nice.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the man rose from his chair, and those in the tavern started to stand one by one.
Each of them clearly holding a knife in their hands, it perfectly matched this back alley vibe.
At that moment, I heard a sigh from behind.
“Young Lady, is this a revelation you received?”
‘Yes!’
“That’s right.”
“Well then, it seems I must do my part.”
As he said it, Karl drew his sword.
Immediately, the hostile looking losers began to falter and step back.
What’s going on? Karl hasn’t even done anything yet; why are they acting like this?
[You are currently applying your magic power to pressure them.]
Is that intimidation or something?
Karl really is strong, huh?
Can actually put these scrubs in their place just by appearing, huh?
[But dear girl, did the Almighty truly command you to goad them into a fight?]
‘Yes, that’s what I said?’
[Goodness. How could it be that so much time has passed serving the Almighty, yet I cannot understand his will?]
Though actually, the Almighty didn’t say anything!
If he’s been taking credit for my achievements, he should take the blame too!
As the standoff continued between Karl and the losers, a voice rang out from above.
“If you don’t want to die, put down your weapons, you idiots.”
The voice belonged to a rugged man with scars around his eyes.
He looks just like I saw in the game. Alsatine.
Upon seeing Alsatine, the losers lowered their weapons hesitantly.
Descending the stairs, he didn’t greet me first but threw a punch right into the gut of the guy leading the losers.
Thud!
The sound echoed through the tavern, and the loser leader dropped to his knees.
In the now subdued atmosphere, Alsatine approached me, making a deep bow.
“I apologize, Lady Allen. My subordinate has been rude.”
Seeing that, Grandpa gasped in admiration.
[Wow, he’s a clever one.]
‘Why is that?’
[It’s dangerous for his subordinate to threaten your life; he could’ve used that against them. But by punishing them first, he shows his innocence and makes it difficult for you to bring it up. To make such a decision in such a short time is impossible without great experience.]
Was everything Alsatine did intended from the start?
Thinking about his influence in this dangerous underworld, it all seemed quite plausible.
Wow, both Alsatine deciding in an instant and Grandpa interpreting it in the blink of an eye are so impressive that I feel like I can’t keep up.
I really can’t do politics in this world.
“I am Alsatine, the owner of this tavern.”
‘Hello, Alsatine.’
“Nice to meet you, Information Peddler.”
Alsatine is the Information Peddler?
He usually deals in items or information from the underworld, but couldn’t he have softened that phrasing a bit?
I mean, saying that upon first meeting isn’t going to put anyone in a good mood!
See? Alsatine’s mouth just stiffened slightly!
I really don’t want to upset someone with whom I’ll have to deal frequently! Damn it!
“I’m Alsatine, mind you.”
‘Yes, I know…’
“I know. Information Peddler. Got a problem with that?”
“…No, none at all.”
Ah, whatever.
There’s no way he’d do anything crazy with Benedict behind me, right?!
Do whatever you want!
“I heard you came to meet me, so let’s go inside and talk.”
‘Please guide me.’
“Follow me.”
Following Alsatine into the room on the 2nd floor, he offered me a chair.
After I sat down, he closed the door and returned to his seat to speak.
“As you know, I’m a merchant who buys and sells anything. What is it you wish to accomplish by coming here?”
‘I want to buy something.’
“Information Peddler. You wouldn’t have come all this way unless there’s something you want.”
Despite listening to my critiquing about being a sloppy, Alsatine didn’t falter in the slightest.
An extraordinary patience characteristic of a merchant from the underworld.
Usually, when talking with me, his expression begins to drift, but not this time.
“May I ask what that item is?”
‘I’m looking for a necklace bearing the Burrow family crest. Specifically…’
“A necklace with the Burrow family crest. It has a ruby embedded in it, and when you open the pocket, there’s a family photo inside. It should turn up if you search the underworld market.”
Within the Soul Academy, countless characters exist, and the difficulty of raising their favorability varies.
Characters like Joy, who have no ups and downs in life, tend to be easy to befriend, while those like Arthur, who have ups and downs and are tough to get close to, are much harder.
Among them is Jack Burrows.
This character often referred to as the ‘Inferior Young Master’ by community users, is quite easy to raise favorability for once you pass specific conditions.
The trigger for that condition is that “necklace bearing the Burrow family crest.”
Before that, he was too wrapped up in his self-importance to even speak to someone like me, but after clearing that quest together, he became interested first.
I don’t particularly like Jack Burrows.
His character performance is mediocre, and his arrogant personality is not one I hate or like; just somewhere in between, I guess.
If it were before, I wouldn’t have given him even a tiny bit of interest, but now the situation is different.
In a situation where I might face consequences if I can’t create two 70-favorability characters, Jack Burrows, someone whose favorability is easy to raise, feels like a beacon of hope.
So, even to survive, I absolutely need to get my hands on that necklace.
Absolutely.