In the world of Soul Academy, any forest of significant size is ho to beings that can be called its rulers.
In the distant past, these beings were considered gods. Their abilities far surpass those of ordinary creatures, and they sotis grant blessings to those they deem worthy.
Naturally, these forr gods do not grant an audience easily. They will only reveal themselves to those they believe are worthy.
Each spirit has its own conditions, and in the case of the Silver Wolf of the Silup Forest, it’s strength that matters.
In the ga, you could et the Silver Wolf after reaching a certain level, which signified that you were a promising enough individual to warrant its attention.
Because of this, I wasn’t worried. I had been leveling up consistently and felt sure I’d be able to et the Silver Wolf.
I also didn’t think it would be difficult to gain its recognition. After all, even by the ga’s standards, my current strength was in the top tier.
Fighting the Silver Wolf would be much easier than dealing with Nacrad.
But now, there’s been an unexpected twist!
“I just found out as well. They decided on Saitil Forest instead.”
‘Why?!’
“Loser. Why the change?”
Saitil Forest?!
That’s where we’re supposed to go in the second sester!
Why did the forest order suddenly change?!
“From what I heard, it’s a matter of safety. With all the incidents that have happened at the academy this year, they’ve decided that Saitil Forest is a safer environnt for students than Silup Forest.”
Ah. That’s the reason?
Karl added that he didn’t know all the details, but I think I get it.
Simply put, the ruler of Saitil Forest is more cooperative than the Silver Wolf.
If the goal is to keep the students safe, Saitil Forest is a better choice.
If it’s a matter of safety, there’s no changing the decision now.
Damn. This is a real problem.
Can’t I just et the ruler of the new forest and gain recognition?
In theory, yes.
But think about it: I’ve been playing this ga long enough to morize exactly how to et the rulers of each forest and earn their recognition.
So why am I so troubled?
The requirent to et the ruler of Saitil Forest is charm.
To put it simply, beauty, grace—those kinds of qualities.
To raise this stat, I can’t just keep mindlessly fighting battles like I’ve been doing.
I would need to start focusing on my appearance, attending social events to build grace, and possibly even hire a personal tutor.
And what have I done in that regard so far?
Nothing.
All I’ve done is raise my level and combat stats to prepare for battles.
I haven’t done anything to raise my charm stat at all.
In other words, my charm stat is still the sa as it was when I created my character!
What do I do?
At this rate, I won’t be able to gain the recognition of the ruler of Saitil Forest.
Sure, I could take Faybi or Joy along, since they have high charm stats and could secure a eting. But if I don’t get recognized by that vain fox myself, it’s aningless!
No. I can already feel the nuisance god’s harassnt crawling toward .
“Miss? Are you okay?”
‘Be quiet.’
“Loser. Keep your mouth shut.”
“Yes, understood.”
Think. I can’t just sit back and do nothing.
I don’t know what the penalty for failure is, but I’m sure I don’t want to find out.
The situation isn’t all that bad, though.
I still have debt tied to Alsatin, and I can use the Neumann family as I please.
I have enough ans to work on increasing my charm stat.
The real question now is how high I need to raise it.
After pondering for a mont, I looked up at Karl.
The easiest way for to check my charm stat without access to my status screen is to observe NPC reactions.
Their responses change based on how high your charm is.
Specifically, if your charm stat is low, their reactions are cold, and if it’s high, they respond favorably.
‘Karl. Do you think I’m pretty?’
“Loser. Do I look pretty to you?”
“Why would you even ask such a thing? You possess a beauty as if descended from the heavens. Your skin is...”
‘That’s enough.’
“Disgusting. Stop it, you loser lolicon.”
Right. I expected that kind of answer from Karl.
For whatever reason, he’s overly fond of . I don’t know why he likes so much when I’ve done nothing to earn it.
Who would give a more objective opinion?
Most NPCs won’t give a straight answer because my reputation precedes .
As soon as they hear the na Lucy Alrn, they wince. What’s the point in asking them if I’m pretty?
Joy has a high favorability score with , so she wouldn’t be objective.
Frey would just give so strange answer.
Faybi would only say nice things, so she’s no help either.
Bishina and Avery Alsatin would give sugarcoated answers to stay on my good side.
That leaves Arthur, I suppose.
Hmm. He seems like a decent choice.
Thanks to that fight we had earlier, he probably doesn’t harbor any ill feelings toward , but his favorability score isn’t particularly high either.
His reaction should give the most accurate idea of my current charm stat.
Ever since his defeat by Joy in the midterms, Arthur had thrown himself into training.
He had never been one to slack off, but recently, his efforts had beco even more intense.
While he had grumbled and complained at the ti, in the end, a loss is still a loss.
If Arthur had managed to score higher in the midterms—if he had even surpassed Lucy Alrn’s score—there wouldn’t have been any issue.
Being mocked for his defeat by Lucy only strengthened his resolve. He was determined to not only defeat Joy next ti but also bring Lucy Alrn down a peg.
The problem, however, was that Lucy kept moving further and further ahead.
“The first person to clear the Academy Dungeon...”
In the long history of the academy, Lucy was the first freshman to achieve a dungeon clear in her first sester.
Lucy Alrn.
This was sothing that had been anticipated.
She had the entire dungeon in the palm of her hand.
For Lucy, the dungeon was rely a place she could clear whenever she wanted.
Her success was only to be expected.
“With that kind of talent, she could afford to relax a bit.”
Yet she continued to use her abilities to achieve even greater feats, as if she was running to a place no one else could follow.
“But one day, I will defeat Lucy Alrn.”
It might sound arrogant, but Arthur had never thought himself lacking in talent.
He was a star in his own right.
No matter how brightly Lucy Alrn shone, one day he would catch up.
And when that ti ca, he would ask her about the aning behind her words.
“? Oh, poor prince. You have such grand dreams for soone who’s always losing.”
Arthur clenched his fists as he heard a voice behind him, slowly turning his head.
There stood Lucy Alrn, dressed in the academy’s uniform, looking up at him with her usual half-lidded gaze.
“How much of that did you hear?”
“Everything. Pfft. Are you feeling inferior, poor prince?”
She had heard everything he said while he was lost in thought?!
Mortified, Arthur turned his face away to hide his blush.
“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to ask you sothing. Oh, poor little prince who feels inferior to a girl.”
“...Please, enough. I apologize.”
As a prince, Arthur was not accustod to being teased, and he had little defense against Lucy’s playful jabs.
Seeing Arthur’s blushing face, Lucy laughed before finally getting to the point.
“Hey, poor prince. What do you think of ? Am I pretty?”
“Huh? Where did that co from?”
Pretty?
Why was she asking sothing like that out of the blue?
“Just answer the question. Or I’ll reenact your monologue...”
“No! Wait! I’ll answer!”
Damn. She had caught him in an embarrassing mont he couldn’t afford to let her use against him.
What was her question again?
Oh, right. Was she pretty?
Arthur rubbed his face before glancing at Lucy.
Objectively speaking, Lucy was attractive.
Even Arthur, who had lived in the royal palace surrounded by beauties, could admit that.
Despite her intense training, which would scare off most knights, her skin was flawless and pale.
Her crimson eyes glittered like rubies, and her red hair flowed like silk, tempting anyone to touch it.
If she stood still and kept quiet, Lucy Alrn could easily be mistaken for a beautifully crafted doll.
Even in the entire high society, there were few who could compare to her.
It was an undeniable fact.
However, Arthur hesitated to tell Lucy that she was beautiful.
If he did, who knew what annoying things might co out of her tiny mouth next?
“You’re... decent enough, I suppose.”
“Really?”
Lucy looked noticeably disappointed by Arthur’s indifferent response.
Ah. Maybe he’d made a mistake?
Even if Lucy Alrn was annoying, she was still a noble lady. Saying she was ‘decent’ was hardly proper etiquette.
“I’m joking. You’re quite beautiful.”
“Hmmm. Really, poor prince?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. Then keep working hard. Though you won’t ever beat , poor little prince.”
“If you’re done, then leave!”
“Ahaha. Fine. I’ll go.”
Arthur sighed as he watched Lucy walk away with light steps.
Did she seriously just co here to ask that?
Hmm. Judging by Arthur’s response, my charm stat isn’t too low.
If he said I’m beautiful, then it’s definitely above average.
With a few items, I should be able to boost it enough.
Okay. I’ve got it now.
No matter how much the nuisance god tries to sabotage , I’ll break through!
That’s the power of a veteran!
Reviews
All reviews (0)