chapter_0061

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
61

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
61

There are three main ways to
increase likability at Soul Academy.

First, spending daily life
together.

You chat with that character
during free time and walk around Soul Academy together.

The Cake Shop was the most
efficient method in this approach.

Eating cake with this person
and that person to the point where you wonder if the protagonist
would end up with diabetes was the most effective likability boost
method.

Now, I can’t do this even if I
want to.

How could the protagonist in
the game become friends by just talking?

If I talk, they become my
enemy!

That guy definitely had some
Hypnosis App or something.

Otherwise, it doesn’t make any
sense!

The second method is tackling
dungeons together.

As you wander around the
battlefield together, likability gradually increases.

Of course, this is difficult
for me, too.

Would you want to go into a
battlefield risking your life with people you don’t even want to talk
to?

Of course, if I’m particularly
useful as a party member, the story might change, but honestly, I
don’t think the chances are high.

Lastly, completing
character-related quests.

Increasing likability by
progressing through quests related to specific characters.

This is something I can do
even now.

My plan is like this:

First, carry out the related
quests to increase basic likability and reach a level where we can
somewhat be called friends.

And then, while going out
together, visiting dungeons, and occasionally doing quests in
between, I’ll aim to reach a likability score of 70.

If I can at least start off
well, it’s entirely possible.

That’s why I’m heading to
Alsatine’s Tavern, betting everything on this.

To get an item from Alsatine
that triggers a character-related quest!

“Miss, it seems
dangerous.”

Karl spoke worryingly as we
stopped at the entrance of the tavern in a back alley.

‘Are you not confident?’

“What? Sloppy. Are you
saying you can’t protect me?”

“That’s not it, but it’s
always best to avoid danger from the start.”

‘If you’re not confident,
just say so.’

“You’re making excuses,
but you’re not confident, right? If you say, ‘I can’t go in because
I’m a weak, sloppy person’, I’ll reconsider.”

Unable to bear the mockery,
Karl finally shut his mouth.

Maybe it’s his pride as a
knight.

He endures other criticisms,
but call him weak and he immediately reacts.

‘Karl…’

“Sloppy. Are you going to
declare yourself weak?”

“No, I will protect you
and earn your trust.”

So, you’re letting me go in,
right?

I took my gaze off Karl, who
was looking at me with a determined face, and grabbed the tavern
door.

As I opened the door, the eyes
of the people inside focused on me.

Most of those gazes were wary.

In the game, they wouldn’t
care who walked in, but in reality, it’s different. Well, it wouldn’t
make sense not to be on guard when a kid like me walks into a hidden
tavern in a back alley.

As I stepped inside, a man
sitting at a table near the entrance sarcastically commented.

“Noble lady. This isn’t a
place for someone like you, who still smells like milk.”

‘Then…’

“So, it’s a place that only
accepts garbage-smelling riffraff like you? That’s a problem. I can’t
possibly turn into a pathetic loser like you.”

“Miss?!”

The man’s brows furrowed, and
Karl’s startled shout came almost simultaneously.

Hmm. I wasn’t planning to say
that much, but the [Mesugaki] Skill seems quite bold today.

“Hahaha!”

“Quite a sharp tongue for a
noble lady, huh?!”

“So, even the Miss here can
see this guy looks like a virgin!”

“Who’s a virgin, damn it!”

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

I could clearly see them
gauging my face while teasing the man.

Right now, they’ve marked me
as a target of suspicion.

From the start, things are off
track.

“So, what brings a noble
lady here?”

A man drinking further away
addressed me in a sly tone.

As soon as he spoke, the
others quieted down, indicating this guy held a certain level of
authority here.

‘I’m looking for someone.’

“I came to find a sloppy
piece of trash.”

“There wouldn’t be anyone
as noble as you among this riffraff.”

His tone clearly suggested he
wanted me out before things got rough.

Ha, does he think I’ll get
scared? Just because he’s the leader of these riffraff, does he
think he’s something?

I’m not interested in a
commoner NPC like you.

‘I want to meet Alsatine.’

“I’d like to meet the
owner of this shabby tavern.”

“Miss, didn’t you hear me?
I said there’s no one here for you to meet, Miss.”

‘I wasn’t talking to you.’

“I wasn’t speaking to an
old-timer whose life achievement is leading a bunch of riffraff.”

“…I tried to be nice.”

As soon as the man heard me,
he got up from his chair, and the people in the tavern began standing
up one by one, almost as if they had been waiting for this moment.

They all had a knife or dagger
hidden in their clothing, showing they were definitely back-alley
people.

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

“Miss, was this also part of
the prophecy?”

‘Yes!’

“That’s right.”

“In that case, I have no
choice but to take action.”

With those words, Karl drew
his sword.

Suddenly, the once-aggressive
riffraff began to falter and retreat.

What’s happening? Karl
hasn’t even done anything yet—why are they reacting like this?

Is it like bloodlust?

It’s clear Karl is really
strong.

Can he overpower these
weaklings just by looking at them?

‘Yes, that’s what he
said.’

In truth, Armadi had said
nothing at all!

Until now, he’s taken all
the credit for my work, so it’s only fair he also takes the blame,
right?

As the standoff between Karl
and the riffraff continued, a voice came from above.

“If you don’t want to die,
put down your weapons, idiots.”

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

Just like in the game.
Alsatine.

When the riff raff in the
tavern recognized Alsatine, they hesitated and lowered their weapons.

He came down the stairs and,
rather than greeting me, he struck the stomach of the man leading the
riff raff.

Thud!

The sound echoed through the
tavern, and the leader of the riff raff fell to his knees.

In the now subdued atmosphere,
Alsatine walked up to me and bowed deeply.

“I apologise, Lady Allen. My
underling has been disrespectful.”

Seeing this, Grandpa made a
remark.

‘Why?’

So everything Alsatine did
right after showing up was intentional?

Considering Alsatine’s
character as an influential figure in the underworld, it made perfect
sense.

Wow. Both Alsatine who made a
quick decision in that short moment and Grandpa who interpreted it
immediately.

Both are too amazing; I can’t
keep up with them.

This world of politics isn’t
for me.

“I am Alsatine, the owner of
this tavern.”

‘Hello, Alsatine.’

“Nice to meet you,
Information Seller.”

Is Alsatine really an
Information Seller?

His job mainly involves
selling items or information in the underworld, but couldn’t it
have used a more refined term?

Saying something like that
upon first meeting isn’t going to make him feel good!

See! Alsatine’s mouth is
slightly twitching!

I don’t want to offend him
since we’ll be dealing frequently in the future! Damn it!

“My name is Alsatine.”

‘Yes. I know that.’

“I know. Information Seller.
Got a problem with that?”

“…No. No problem.”

Ugh, whatever. Is he really
going to do something crazy with Benedict right behind me? Whatever
happens, happens!

“I heard you came to see me.
Let’s go inside and have a talk.”

‘Please lead the way.’

“Lead the way.”

Following Alsatine, we went
into a room on the second floor, where he offered me a chair.

After watching me sit down, he
closed the door and returned to his seat before speaking.

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

‘I want to buy something.’

“Information Seller. Can’t
you guess why I came to this shabby place? Obviously, there’s
something I want.”

Despite the critical tone of a
Mesugaki, Alsatine’s smile remained unwavering.

He has a superhuman level of
patience, fitting for an underworld merchant.

Usually, people’s
expressions start to twist when talking with me for a while.

“May I ask what that item
is?”

‘A necklace with the Burrow
Family emblem. Specifically…’

“A necklace with the Burrow
Family emblem, embedded with a ruby. If you open the pocket, there’s
a family photo inside. You might find it in the black market.”

Within Soul Academy, there are
numerous characters, and the difficulty of raising their likability
varies greatly.

A character like Joy, who has
a smooth path in life, is relatively easy to befriend. On the other
hand, a character like Arthur, who has many pitfalls along the way,
is extremely difficult to approach.

Among them is Jack Burrow.

Commonly referred to by the
community as an inferiority complex son, he is surprisingly easy to
increase likability with once certain conditions are met.

The condition is the quest
triggered by that ‘necklace with the Burrow Family emblem.’

Until then, Jack Burrow is so
full of himself that it’s hard to even start a conversation. But
after clearing that quest together, he starts showing interest first.

I don’t particularly like
Jack Burrow.

I wouldn’t say I hate his
personality, which is both arrogant and strangely skilled, but he’s
certainly not a favourite either.

Normally, Jack Burrow would be
a character I wouldn’t give the slightest bit of attention to, but
circumstances have changed.

Given that I don’t know what
might happen if I fail to get the likability of two characters up to
70, Jack Burrow, who is relatively easy to win over, is like a beacon
of hope.

Therefore, for my own
survival, I absolutely had to get my hands on that necklace.

Absolutely.

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