Chapter 4: Melina
[Title: Good Person]
[Effect: When performing “friendly” actions toward targets whose Affection is below 0 (such as apologizing, giving gifts, or offering praise), there is a 5% chance of triggering the “We’re Not Compatible” event, forcibly interrupting the current interaction and causing the target to flee.]
[Note: The kindness you cannot contain is itself a powerful weapon.]
Loran stared at the description of the title for a very long time.
What exactly was this supposed to be?
A… highly unconventional survival skill?
“…Let’s go,” Loran finally said, breaking the silence.
“Go where?” Kiro asked.
“Somewhere we can level up first.”
Loran’s gaze drifted toward the ruins beyond the gate ahead.
“Otherwise, next time we won’t be nearly as lucky.”
The two walked one behind the other.
Kiro deliberately kept a distance of several steps between them.
Head lowered, she kicked pebbles along the road one after another, as though trying to vent the frustration bottled inside her chest.
She still couldn’t understand how Loran’s brain functioned.
No normal person would ever do something like that.
Meanwhile, Loran silently sorted through the information he had gained.
The title [Good Person]—
a seemingly useless skill that might unexpectedly save his life at a critical moment.
And the -250 Affection—
which had completely erased any hope of obtaining the Pureblood Knight’s Medal from Varré.
That meant—
if he wanted to reach the Mohgwyn Dynasty—
he would need to find another route.
The Site of Grace near the gate now stood directly ahead.
Compared to the others, this Grace shone slightly brighter.
Soft golden light flowed gently outward, dispersing the cold, oppressive atmosphere surrounding the ruins.
Just as Loran stepped forward to touch the Grace—
golden Rune fragments suddenly began gathering in the air like fireflies.
Melina.
The companion entrusted with the player’s most important mission.
But the Melina standing before Loran now—
looked completely different from the mysterious, tranquil figure from the game’s cinematics.
The UI above her head clearly displayed her status.
[Name: Melina]
[Identity: ???]
[Affection: 0]
[Status: Confused / Surprised / Evaluating]
The girl’s gaze swept over Loran—
then stopped on Kiro behind him.
“…A Finger Maiden?”
She looked at Kiro.
Then at Loran.
A slight crease formed between her brows, as though something about this situation differed severely from her expectations.
Kiro visibly stiffened beneath the scrutiny and instinctively straightened her posture.
[Kiro Affection: 0 → -1 (Toward Melina)]
Melina ignored the hostility completely.
Her eyes returned to Loran.
“You…”
“You already possess the guidance of a Finger Maiden?”
She paused briefly.
“But… this isn’t what we agreed on.”
The words made something buzz sharply inside Loran’s head.
Agreed on?
Agreed with whom?
In the game—
Melina’s appearance was a transaction.
She formed a pact with the player:
in exchange for being brought to the foot of the Erdtree—
she would grant them the power to turn Runes into strength.
But now—
the phrase “what we agreed on” revealed something shocking.
Her appearance had not been random.
It was part of some prior arrangement.
And Kiro’s existence—
had disrupted it.
“Who the hell is his Finger Maiden?!”
A sharp protest ripped through Limgrave’s heavy silence.
Kiro practically exploded.
She lunged out from behind Loran and planted herself directly between him and Melina, hands on her hips like she was moments away from starting a fight.
[Kiro Affection: -1 → -10]
[Status: Offended / Guarded / Territorial Declaration]
[Affection Target: Melina]
Loran noticed immediately—
this dramatic Affection drop was directed specifically toward Melina.
Meanwhile—
he himself had temporarily become little more than background scenery in their confrontation.
“Get your facts straight,” Kiro declared, chin raised high, stubborn fire blazing in her lilac eyes as she glared directly at Melina.
“I am not this guy’s Finger Maiden.”
“Don’t lump me together with some support-class job!”
She jabbed a finger rudely toward Loran—
then immediately pointed at herself.
“Listen carefully!”
“I, Kiro, am also Tarnished!”
“The one who’s gonna become Elden Lord—”
“is me!”
Melina showed no anger toward Kiro’s rudeness.
Her expression remained perfectly calm.
She simply observed the silver-haired girl silently—
evaluating her.
[Melina Affection: 0 → +5]
[Status: Curious / Evaluating / Reconstructing Information]
[Affection Target: Kiro]
Her Affection toward Kiro—
had actually increased.
Loran frowned slightly.
The logic governing this Affection system was far more complicated than he had imagined.
It wasn’t as simple as:
Polite = positive.
Rude = negative.
Instead—
everything seemed to revolve around each character’s personal values and behavioral logic.
To Melina—
Kiro’s strong initiative and naked ambition might actually hold more value than a meek, obedient Finger Maiden.
“Is that so?” Melina finally said.
“Then tell me—”
“Without the guidance of a maiden, how do the two of you Tarnished intend to realize your ambition of becoming ‘Lord’ in these lands?”
With remarkable smoothness, she avoided arguing about Kiro’s identity altogether—
and instead threw out a far more practical question.
A question directed at both of them.
Kiro scoffed.
She shot a disdainful glance toward Loran beside her.
“Don’t mind the idiot over there,” she said dismissively.
“There’s something seriously wrong with his brain.”
As she spoke—
she reached into a pouch hanging from her waist—
a pouch that seemed to materialize from nowhere, almost like part of her clothing itself—
and pulled out a handful of faintly glowing fragments.
Runes.
Obtained from defeated enemies.
“I’ve got Runes,” she said bluntly, holding them out toward Melina with complete confidence.
“Level me up.”
The tone sounded less like a request—
and more like someone ordering food at a fast-food counter.
“If you can turn these Runes into strength,” she declared proudly, “then I’ll acknowledge you as a proper partner.”
“How about it?”
“Not a bad deal, right?”
Loran remained silent.
He simply watched.
And he noticed—
the moment Kiro called him brain-damaged—
her Affection toward him quietly rose by one point.
Returning to [-89].
[Status: Mild Contempt / Superiority]
I see.
The system could even detect tiny emotional fluctuations like this.
To Kiro—
lowering Loran’s status in front of Melina had given her a sense of superiority.
And that satisfaction slightly loosened the negativity in her Affection.
Melina looked at the pitifully small amount of Runes in Kiro’s hand.
Then at the arrogant expression on her face.
Her own expression, however, remained entirely unchanged.
“Very well,” she said with a nod.
“Then touch the Grace, Tarnished.”
“I shall turn your Runes into the strength you seek.”
As she spoke the word Tarnished—
her gaze subtly drifted between both Loran and Kiro, almost as though intentionally emphasizing the universality of the title.
Kiro gave a smug snort, looking like she had just won a major battle.
She walked over to the Grace without hesitation, sat cross-legged beside it, and reached toward the floating golden light.
[Melina has activated the “Rune Conversion” function.]
[Target: Kiro.]
Golden particles rose from the scattered Runes in Kiro’s hands and spiraled into her body.
A gentle layer of golden light wrapped around her.
Her silver twin tails floated softly in the air despite the absence of wind.
Loran continued observing the Affection panels.
Melina’s Affection toward Kiro remained fixed at [+5], completely unchanged.
Meaning—
from Melina’s perspective—
this was nothing more than an equal exchange.
A standard fulfillment of an agreement.
No personal emotional investment involved.
Meanwhile—
Kiro’s Affection toward Melina changed the instant the level-up completed and the golden light faded.
[Kiro Affection: -10 → +5]
[Status: Satisfied / Acknowledgment / Slight Dependence]
From negative to positive.
A critical turning point.
For Kiro—
the fastest path toward building trust was simple:
practical benefit.
With nothing more than a basic level-up—
Melina had effortlessly gained her initial trust.
Perhaps even a trace of:
This support NPC is actually pretty useful.
Kiro stood up and stretched her body.
A satisfied expression spread across her face.
She could clearly feel fresh power flowing through her limbs.
“Did you finally fix that missing point of Intelligence?” Loran asked.
Kiro’s expression instantly froze.
Like someone exposing her weakness in public.
She glared viciously at him.
“What’s it to you?!” she snapped.
“What’s even the point of leveling that stat?!”
“What difference is there between 9 Intelligence and 10?!”
“Is it gonna magically let me understand one more word? Solve one more math problem?”
[Kiro Affection: -89 → -91]
“I leveled Faith,” she declared proudly, chin raised high.
“What, you got a problem with that?”
“I’m going full Prophet build.”
“Flames—”
“grant me strength!”
As she spoke, she dramatically mimicked the starting pose of an incantation from the game.
Naturally—
absolutely nothing happened.