There are three main ways to increase favorability in Soul Academy.

The first method is to spend time together in everyday life.

During free time, you talk to the character and explore Soul Academy together.

The most efficient way to do this was by visiting the cake shop.

You’d eat cake with this person, then with that person, to the point where you’d wonder if the protagonist would die from diabetes with how much cake they were eating. It was the most effective way to increase favorability.

But now, I can’t even do that if I wanted to.

How on earth did the game’s protagonist make friends just by talking to them?

When I try to talk to people, they turn into enemies!

That protagonist must have been carrying some kind of hypnosis app or something.

Otherwise, it doesn’t make any sense!

The second method is to clear dungeons together.

As you fight through battlefields together, your favorability gradually increases.

Of course, this is difficult for me as well.

Who would want to go into a life-and-death battlefield with someone they don’t even want to talk to?

Sure, the story might change if I’m a particularly useful party member, but honestly, the chances aren’t high.

The last method is to complete character-related quests.

By progressing through quests related to specific characters, you can increase their favorability.

This is something I can manage, even in my current situation.

My plan is as follows:

First, I’ll complete related quests to raise the base favorability level until I can call them a friend, more or less.

Then, I’ll spend time with them, go on dungeon runs, and complete quests together, gradually raising their favorability to 70.

If I can successfully set up the first step, it’s entirely possible.

That’s why I’m heading to Alsetine’s Tavern, putting everything on the line.

I need to obtain an item from Alsetine that will trigger a character-related quest!

"My lady, this seems dangerous."

Carl spoke with concern as we stopped at the entrance to the tavern, hidden away in a back alley.

"Not confident?"

"What’s wrong, idiot? Are you saying you can’t protect me?"

"It’s not that, but it’s always best to avoid danger when possible."

"It’s okay to admit if you’re not confident."

"Come on, just admit it. ‘My lady, I’m a weak idiot and can’t go inside,’ and then I might reconsider."

Unable to withstand my taunting, Carl finally fell silent.

He must have some pride as a knight.

He can endure most insults, but call him weak, and he reacts immediately.

"Carl…"

"Idiot, are you not going to declare yourself a weakling?"

"No. I’ll earn your trust by protecting you, my lady."

So, you’re not going to stop me from going in?

I turned my gaze away from Carl’s determined face and grabbed the tavern door.

As soon as I opened the door, the people inside turned their gazes towards me.

Most of those looks were wary.

In the game, no one cared who walked in, but it’s different now that this is real.

Well, it’s not surprising. It would be strange not to be on guard when a kid like me walks into a tavern hidden in a back alley.

As I stepped inside, a man sitting at a table near the entrance sneered and spoke up.

"Little noble lady, this isn’t a place for someone smelling of milk like you."

"Then…"

"So, it’s a place that only accepts trash that smells like you? That’s a problem. I can’t be a pathetic loser like you."

"What did you say, girl?!"

The man’s frown deepened, and Carl shouted in alarm, almost simultaneously.

Hmm, I didn’t mean to be this harsh, but the Mesugaki skill is really going all out today.

"Puhaha!"

"For a noble lady, you’ve got a sharp tongue!"

"So even the little lady thinks this guy’s a loser virgin, huh?"

"Who are you calling a virgin, you bastard?!"

The people in the tavern were laughing, but it wasn’t out of goodwill.

I could see it clearly in their eyes as they laughed and glanced at me.

They had designated me as someone to be wary of.

Well, this is off to a bad start.

"So, what brings a noble lady like you here?"

A man drinking in the distance asked me with a sly tone.

As soon as he spoke, the others fell silent. It seemed that this man had considerable influence in this place.

"I’m here to meet someone."

"I’m here to find an idiot."

"A noble lady like you wouldn’t have anyone to meet in a place filled with trash like this."

His tone made it clear that he was suggesting I leave before things got rough.

Ha. Does he think I’ll get scared? Does he think being the leader of these lowlifes makes him something special?

I’m not interested in trash NPCs like you.

"I want to meet Alsetine."

"I’m here to meet the owner of this rundown tavern."

"Didn’t I just tell you there’s no one for you to meet here, noble lady?"

"I wasn’t talking to you."

"I wasn’t talking to some old geezer whose life achievement is leading a bunch of losers."

"...I was trying to be polite."

As the man stood up from his chair, the other patrons in the tavern began to rise one by one, as if waiting for this moment.

Each of them had a knife in their hands—typical of the back alley crowd.

At the same time, I heard a sigh from behind me.

"My lady, did you receive a revelation for this as well?"

"Yes!"

"Yes, I did."

"Then I have no choice but to give it my all."

With that, Carl drew his sword.

Immediately, the thugs, who had been exuding a murderous aura, hesitated and began to back away.

What’s this? Carl hasn’t even done anything yet, so why are they backing off?

<He’s suppressing them with his mana.>

Is it something like killing intent?

Carl really is strong, huh?

He can intimidate these lowlifes just by standing there?

<But, child, did Armandy truly tell you to provoke these people?>

"Yes, that’s right!"

<I see. Despite serving Armandy for so long, I still can’t understand his will.>

Actually, Armandy didn’t say anything!

He’s been stealing credit for my achievements, so it’s only fair that he takes some of the blame too, right?

As the standoff between Carl and the thugs continued, a voice came from above.

"Put down your weapons if you don’t want to die, idiots."

The owner of the voice was a rugged-looking man with a scar near his eye.

Just as he appeared in the game—Alsetine.

The thugs, recognizing Alsetine, hesitated before lowering their weapons.

Alsetine descended the stairs and, instead of greeting me, delivered a punch to the thug leader’s stomach.

Thud!

The sound echoed through the tavern, and the thug leader collapsed to his knees.

In the now subdued atmosphere, Alsetine approached me and bowed deeply.

"My apologies, Lady Allen. My subordinate was out of line."

Seeing this, Grandpa let out a sigh of admiration.

<He’s a clever one.>

"Why?"

<Your life was put in danger by his subordinate’s actions, which could have given you grounds to take issue with him. But by immediately showing punishment before you could say anything, he’s demonstrated his innocence and created a situation where it’s difficult for you to bring it up. Making such a decision in a short time requires a lot of experience.>

So, everything Alsetine did from the moment he appeared was intentional?

Given his character as someone with influence in the underworld, it makes sense.

Wow, I’m impressed by both Alsetine’s quick thinking and Grandpa’s instant analysis.

I could never keep up with either of them.

Politics isn’t for me in this world.

"I’m Alsetine, the owner of this tavern."

"Hello, Alsetine."

"Nice to meet you, info broker."

An info broker?

He mostly deals in black-market goods and information, but couldn’t I have found a less blunt term?

Saying something like that right off the bat isn’t going to put him in a good mood!

Look! Alsetine’s smile just stiffened slightly!

I don’t want to get on his bad side since I’ll need to deal with him frequently in the future! Damn it!

"I am Alsetine."

"Yes, I know…"

"Yeah, I know, info broker. Got a problem with that?"

"...No, not at all."

Ugh, whatever.

There’s no way he’d try anything crazy with Benedict right behind me, right?!

Whatever happens, happens!

"I heard you came to see me. Let’s talk inside."

"Lead the way."

"Lead the way."

I followed Alsetine to a room on the second floor, where he offered me a seat.

Once I sat down, he closed the door and returned to his seat before speaking.

"As you may know, I’m a merchant who buys and sells anything. What brings you here?"

"I’m here to buy something."

"Info broker, can’t you figure it out from the fact that I came to this dump? Obviously, I’m here to get something."

Even after hearing the Mesugaki-inspired insult, Alsetine’s smile didn’t waver.

He has superhuman patience, typical of an underworld merchant.

Usually, when people talk to me, their expressions start to crack eventually.

"May I ask what it is you’re looking for?"

"A necklace with the Barrow family crest on it. Specifically…"

"A necklace with the Barrow family crest. It has a ruby, and if you open the locket, there’s a family photo of the Barrow family inside. You’ll find it if you dig through the black market."

There are many characters within Soul Academy, and the difficulty of raising their favorability varies.

For example, a character like Joy, whose life is relatively smooth, is easy to befriend, while someone like Arthur, who has numerous ups and downs, is extremely difficult.

Among them is Jacal Barrow.

A character commonly referred to by the community as the "Inferior Prince." For him, raising favorability is relatively easy if you meet certain conditions.

That condition is triggered by the quest involving the "necklace with the Barrow family crest."

Before that, Jacal Barrow is so self-absorbed that it’s hard to even talk to him, but once you clear that quest together, he starts to show interest on his own.

I don’t particularly like Jacal Barrow.

His character’s performance is mediocre, and his personality is arrogant, so I neither dislike nor particularly like him.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have given this character any attention, but things are different now.

In a situation where I don’t know what will happen if I don’t make at least two characters with a favorability level of 70, Jacal Barrow is like a beacon of hope.

So, for the sake of my survival, I absolutely must get that necklace.

Absolutely.