Alastor was stunned silly as he looked at the magical parchment paper. He wasn’t sure just what to do to express the sheer shock he was feeling right now. He merely sat silently, processing the dozens upon dozens of thoughts flitting through his mind.

Chaos Points:

12

Soul Points:

1

I gained… ten chaos points from a single interaction? Even Raven only gives me thirteen points when I cure her sister, doesn't she?

Ten points on their own weren’t all that surprising. What made Alastor react so violently was the sheer potential that social interactions contained.

All things considered, Hecate isn’t all that important of a NPC in the wider scale of things. In that case, if I could gain points from the ordinary public too…

Till now, he had always solved problems he knew would occur before they’d occur. And well, he was somewhat of a trouble himself, to the general public. Massacring whichever world he set his sight on didn’t really help his reputation. Either way, he never popularized the occasional good deeds he did – no, I’ve not really done any good ‘good’ deeds in the past resets, have I..?

But it shouldn’t be hard this time. If this works how I think it does… First rank won’t be a distant dream any more.

He was pretty sure he gained points from interactions based on positive emotions by now. The only alternative was negative emotions, and that only led to being hated in the past resets. He would’ve reached the first rank a long time ago if the interaction system worked on the basis of emotions such as hate.

Of course, this is assuming interaction points would be gained from all NPC’s. What if only core characters able to influence their worlds are considered? I mean, it’s a convoluted worry, but this is Chaos we’re talking about.

Maybe I should go out onto the streets and do some good deeds—

“A—are you okay?” Raven asked, hesitation clear on her face.

A wry smile spread over Alastor’s face when he realized how he must have looked. He’d basically been staring into the abyss, his mouth fully open, after all. It wasn’t like Raven could see the hovering magical parchment paper, so her concern was valid.

“I’m fine.” Alastor replied, causing the girl to nod back shakily. She had been pretty cautious with him after he returned, probably because Severine told her something.

A peaceful, well, awkward, silence set over the room after he said so. Raven resumed reading the book in her hand, occasionally looking at him, while he returned to his magical parchment, pondering about what to do next.

Hmm. Staying in this room feels like a waste of time. Might as well go out onto the streets and experiment.

“Raven, shall we go outside? Staying in this room feels stifling.” Alastor asked. His eyes widened slightly when he realized she hadn’t told him her name yet.

Raven didn’t seem bothered by the slip of tongue. “Alright. I’ll ask the Vice Head for permission.” It was probably because she assumed Severine told him already.

Alastor nodded. “Oh also, ask her if it's possible to give me my monthly allowance early.”

Raven seemed surprised that he even knew about the monthly allowance, but nodded nonetheless, “I shall.”

—

Three gold coins?!

Alastor almost gasped when he saw the amount. He didn’t know all the details, but two gold coins should be more than enough to buy a house in the capital itself. He was also sure that not even the best performing candidate would be given three fucking gold coins.

Hecate’s face popped up in his mind, a holy halo over his head.

My god, the dude seemed to really like my replies. He might just end up becoming my deity angel at this rate, seriously.

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Closing the leather pouch containing his pocket money, he turned towards Raven. She had been watching him with a stoic expression. “Do you want me to take you to good tourist spots?” she suggested. “What kind of places do you like? We have cat cafes, a concept created by the First Hero, and also ‘manga’ stores—”

“I’d like to visit the slums.” Alastor interjected.

“The slums?” Raven stared at him with shock. “T—that, are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Raven remained silent for a few seconds before raising her hand. A green ball of mana gathered in her palms, which she pushed towards the ground. In an instant, it expanded to cover both of them, seamlessly helping them teleport. In just a split second, the slums, in all its poverty-stricken glory, welcomed them with the sight of a dingy alleyway.

“Where do you want to go, in the slums?” Raven’s eyes narrowed at him.

He couldn’t really blame her. It wasn’t like he could just say, ‘I’ve come here to help the residents of the slum!’

No, wait. That’s exactly what I can say.

“I’ve come here to help those that I can.”

Raven’s eyes widened at his reply. She flapped her mouth open and shut, before settling for a terse nod.

“Who do you think I can help right now?” Alastor asked, his face morphing into a kind smile. He had a few ideas of his own, but he wanted to appeal to Raven as much as possible. Every point is important.

Raven hesitated as she pondered about his question deeply. Eventually, she replied, “Everyone in the slums do need help. However,” she sighed, “a fleeting act of mercy here and there will not be able to rescue them. If you want to enhance your reputation, or if you just want to satisfy your desire to do good, I suggest you help someone in the general public, instead of targeting the slums.”

Hm. Your idea is well structured and all, but desperate people give MORE points. Especially if I do manage to liberate them!

Alastor’s smile turned sinister, “That is true. But it is not the reputation that I am seeking. If I manage to rescue at least a single person from such unrelenting circumstances, that will be enough to satisfy me.” Either way, getting ten points from a single person is better than getting one point from five different people.

Raven stared at him with a complicated expression, her mouth half open. Biting her lower lip, she replied, “If that is the case, I think… you’d be able to help the children of the orphanage.”

Bingo.

His very first idea had been the orphanage. He usually killed everyone in the orphanage during his speedruns. It was an easy source of soul points, and it wasn’t like anyone could rescue them anyway, but that wasn’t something he would allow this time. He could gradually save each person in there one by one, and each one of them would give him a ton of ranking points.

Alastor looked at her solemnly, “Please lead the way.”

Raven nodded and walked out of the murky alleyway, Alastor tagging behind closely. They soon entered the slums proper.

The place was as dark and dreary as ever, the smell of unwashed bodies, excrement, and rotting food wafting in the air. Most of the houses were made of wood, and many had holes in the roof. There were some who didn't have roofs at all; their homes were just wooden boxes in the middle of the road.

Raven waded through the countless narrow streets fluidly, unbothered by the fact that they had to step over shit every other second.

Finally, after nearly a few minutes of navigating through the rather deserted streets, they arrived at their destination: the orphanage. It was a small mansion located at the edge of the slums. An iron gate stood across the front entrance, and it was locked tight. Several dozen young children played around within the courtyard, their laughter unbridled and free. Some of them were dirty, their clothes torn, while others wore ragged uniforms that barely covered half of their skin.

Ah, kids who've not yet been assigned to a task.

One of the kids noticed their presence. He ran into the mansion, presumably to inform the staff. Soon, a woman came out of the building. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, held together by a ribbon with a blue gemstone embedded in it.

She had a stout build, and her face looked at least fifty years old, but her eyes sparkled with youthfulness. She wore a black gown with a white collar, making her look like a nun. Her expression was stern, but her eyes were filled with a kind light.

Alastor smiled at her kindly. Alea, the scourge of the slums. He remembered hating her with great passion during his first two resets. She had a pretty good reputation in the slums; only a few knew her true face. Even in the second reset, after he had painstakingly brought her into the palms of justice, she was able to escape with nothing but a slap on the wrist.

"Welcome. How may I be of service?"

Her voice was deep and strong, yet warm at the same time. Alastor took a step forward, bowing his head slightly in respect. "Hello. I have come here to adopt children."

Alea frowned, her hands clenching tightly. "Adopt? We do not offer any such services!" Pretending to be taken over by righteous indignation, she continued, “Adopt those on the streets, if you are truly so merciful! Do you think I do not know of the dirty nature of people like you?”

Thinly veiled disgust covered Raven’s face, but she turned stoic once more within a split second.

Alastor applauded internally, lauding her flawless performance. It had been quite a long while since he had last gotten to see her perform, after all. Amateurish, but effective tactics. She’d probably scare off most people with her vicious mouth alone.

Alastor shook his head, his eyes twinkling. He could practically feel the repulsion radiating off her. "You misunderstand, my lady. I know the guidelines." His smile only grew wider as he enunciated the secret code as clearly as possible, "I am no white eyed wolf, and am truly grateful to his Holy Highness."

Heh. You didn’t expect that, did you?

The woman stared at him blankly for a few seconds. Finally, she nodded stiffly, "Very well then. Follow me.”