"Are you okay with not receiving anything?"
As I made my way out of the church, Gramps suddenly spoke up.
It was probably because of the way I had answered the bishop just a moment ago.
When the bishop offered a reward, I had responded with,
"Why would I accept something from a pathetic worm like you? It’s bound to be useless anyway. Plus, I bet whatever you give me is going to smell like old man."
Gramps seemed concerned about that.
"You did save someone they call a saint, so they probably would have offered a generous reward."
‘Yeah, I guess so.’
Considering the status of the person and what I had done, I probably could’ve gotten quite a bit if I had tried to take advantage of the situation.
But right now, I don’t really care about conventional rewards.
If I need something, I can ask Alsatine or the Newman family to get it. Why bother here?
It’s better to decline everything and leave the bishop feeling indebted to me.
The bishop is one of the few people in the Church of the Principal God who has a conscience. If I leave him owing me, it might help when Faybi’s storyline progresses.
"I doubt a bishop who you just called a 'worm' will think highly of you."
‘...Please don’t hit me with the truth like that.’
He’s a decent person. I’m sure he’ll think, She’s just a naive, but kind-hearted girl.
"You can only spout nonsense for so long before it becomes unbearable, child."
‘Please stop hitting me with facts, Gramps.’
It’s not like I’m denying reality on purpose.
I know my image is bound to be tarnished, but I’m just trying to patch it up however I can!
Sigh. This Mesugaki skill makes maintaining relationships so difficult.
I’m actually a polite person, but because of this one skill, I’m forced to act rude, cocky, and like some brat who needs a reality check. It’s so unfair!
Ding.
Just as I was mentally venting my frustrations, another message popped up.
What now, lousy god? Are you planning to retaliate because I cursed you earlier?
Come on... Actually, please don’t.
You know how people get emotionally worked up when their hopes are crushed, right? I was just like that earlier.
It’s been tough dealing with the Mesugaki skill for so long, and my emotions got the better of me. It’s only human nature, right?
Hey, didn’t Faybi say that Aramadi believes your actions after you’ve made a mistake are more important than the mistake itself?
I’ll do better in the future, so how about forgiving me? Please!
I desperately made excuses to the lousy god, hoping nothing too harsh would come up, but a message appeared before me nonetheless.
[Faybi’s favorability has exceeded 70!]
Huh? What?
The contents of the message were completely different from what I had expected. I blinked and rubbed my eyes before rereading it.
Faybi’s favorability exceeded 70?
I wasn’t completely clueless about why that happened.
After all, I had just returned from saving her in her mental world.
It’s not surprising that her favorability would increase.
And there was even a hint earlier.
Last time, when Joy’s favorability exceeded 70, I started speaking informally to her. This time, I began speaking informally to Faybi after entering her mental realm.
It’s still just a theory, but it seems like my tendency to drop formal speech is related to someone’s favorability level.
...70 favorability, huh?
Realizing that Faybi sees me as someone precious made me smile.
Despite all the twists and turns, I finally succeeded in what I wanted.
As expected, I’m amazing! There’s something special about being a veteran of Soul Academy!
Thinking back on it, Nakrad played a big role both times.
I exceeded 70 favorability with Joy by saving her from Nakrad, and now I’ve done the same with Faybi.
Seriously, Nakrad!
You may hate Aramadi’s apostle, but your actions are pretty straightforward, aren’t they?
By creating crises, you’ve helped me complete quests given by the lousy god!
Thanks to you, my party is now complete!
Joy will handle ranged attacks from the back!
Faybi will take care of healing and buffs!
And I’ll be tanking at the front!
No matter who else joins, the base of the party is solid, so there’s no problem!
Whoever comes next, my party is already tier 1!
Man, I really should thank Nakrad, but thanks to the Mesugaki skill, I can never say thank you to anyone.
Oh, wait. If my intention is to annoy him, I might actually be able to thank him, right?
Hmm. That might just work. I should definitely tell Nakrad next time that I’m really grateful for everything. I bet he’ll be absolutely furious.
As I imagined Nakrad trembling in anger, a few more messages popped up.
[Quest Clear!]
[You’ve successfully exceeded 70 favorability with two academy students!]
[Reward: Ruel's Divine Close-Combat Technique]
[A new quest has been issued.]
[Savior of Menestel]
I’ll deal with the new quest later. For now, Ruel’s Divine Close-Combat Technique, huh?
That’s the one.
It’s the technique Gramps, the hero who once saved the world, used in combat, channeling divine power into martial arts.
In the game, it was a passive skill that increased damage based on your divine stat.
It was a good skill, but it wasn’t very efficient to learn, so I didn’t bother with it much.
I probably only learned it to see the peak performance of the Paladin-type characters.
So, yeah, if I’m getting it for free, I’ll take it.
But there’s one thing I’m curious about. Since close-combat techniques involve moving your body to fight, won’t it be different in reality?
In the game, it was all implemented as a passive, but here it might work differently.
‘Gramps?’
"What is it?"
Right next to me was the perfect person to answer my question. The creator of the Divine Close-Combat Technique, Gramps.
‘What exactly is the Divine Close-Combat Technique?’
"Hmm? Why are you asking all of a sudden?"
‘Because Aramadi just gave me that technique.’
"...Is that true?!"
Gramps’ voice rose suddenly, filled with urgency, which was unusual for him. For a moment, I was caught off guard, but I nodded.
‘Yes. How else would I know about your technique?’
"Hold on. Yes. Channel divine power into your hand! You’ll understand immediately!"
Channel divine power into my hand? I had no idea what he was asking for, but I decided to follow Gramps’ instructions.
I trusted he had his reasons.
As soon as I willed the divine power within me to move to my hand, information began flooding into my mind.
It was just like when I activated the Iron Wall skill.
Just as Iron Wall guided my body on where to move the shield, something was now telling me how to channel divine power into my hand.
I followed the instructions, and as soon as divine power filled my hand, a radiant light appeared.
It was the same warm light I’d seen Gramps use to repel Nakrad earlier—a small sun in my palm.
"...Aramadi, I see. So that’s why you sent me to this child!"
‘Gramps?’
Why is Gramps suddenly acting like some kind of fanatical believer? You’re scaring me.
"Good! This is wonderful, child! Now I can pass down everything to you!"
Gramps’ voice, coming through the mace, was filled with excitement.
Oh no. I’ve heard this before. Forsell sounded like this when he was determined to make me a proper knight.
If Gramps is feeling the same way Forsell did back then…
‘Gramps, could you calm down a little?’
I mean, I’ve gotten into the habit of training a lot lately, but I really don’t want things to get even more intense.
I’ve finally made a few friends. I should be able to enjoy my time at the academy too, right?
Nakrad already exhausted most of his power, so things should be peaceful for a while, right?
"Come! Let’s return to the training grounds immediately! You were just in the middle of training, weren’t you?"
Ah. You’re not listening to me, are you?
Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just pretend I can’t hear Gramps for a while too.
As Gramps continued shouting with a level of enthusiasm that could rattle my brain, I distracted myself by checking something else.
Didn’t I just get a new quest?
[Savior of Menestel]
[The seal within Menestel’s dungeon is about to be broken! You must stop it!]
[Reward: ???]
[Failure: GAME OVER]
This is one of the quests from the game.
It was a side quest, and if you didn’t complete it within a certain time, the difficulty of the main storyline would increase.
If the time limit is the same as it was in the game, then I still have plenty of time.
I’ll clear it during summer break. I can help Alsatine find her master as a side mission.
Phew. Thank goodness.
For once, the lousy god gave me a proper quest.
I thought all the bad things I said about the lousy god would come back to bite me, but it seems like he’s more merciful than I thought.
Lousy god, you’re surprisingly generous, aren’t you?
But if that’s the case, why didn’t you give me something better than practice mode, you lousy god?
I took care of the quest you urgently gave me, so why is the reward so underwhelming?
If you keep this up, I’ll start ignoring whatever you say next time.
Well, I should at least check out how the practice mode works. It might be different from the game.
I’ll see if it’s useful, and if not, I’ll toss it aside. Thinking that, I tried to enter practice mode.
[Practice mode can only be used in your dorm!]
A warning message popped up. One that didn’t exist in the game.
Hmm. So there’s something different here, after all?
"Child? Are you listening? Hurry."
‘Gramps, sorry, but I need to stop by the dorm first.’
There’s something I need to check.
I returned to the academy dorm and immediately activated practice mode.
Suddenly, my consciousness became hazy, like when the vain fox covered me in mist.
Eventually, I regained my senses and found myself in another space.
It was a small training ground, like it had just been built, with no signs of wear and tear. In the middle stood a single, lonely training dummy, just like the ones I had seen countless times in the game’s practice mode.
What the...? There’s nothing different about it.
I expected something special, but this is disappointing.
If this is all practice mode has to offer, there’s no point in coming here.
"Oh-ho. What is this, child? Is this your mental world?"
Normally, Gramps’ voice would echo directly in my mind, but now I heard it right beside me. I turned my head.
There he was, a sturdy old man in full armor, clenching and unclenching his fists with a grin on his face.
He glanced around, taking in the surroundings, then walked toward me.
"This place seems perfect for training."
...Wait a minute.
Why is Gramps here?!