Praise Spam in a Romance Fantasy World (2)
I praised her, but instead of gaining points, I lost them. Marong looked terrified.
Why did it turn out like this?
“I-I’m truly sorry for showing such an unsightly pair of eyes to someone from a ducal house… From now on, I’ll make sure to live without ever catching Sir Liam’s attention again….”
Ah, right.
This was a romance-fantasy world.
Marong had completely misunderstood my compliment, assuming I was being sarcastic or implying something else.
Ding!
Praise of Power (Mythic)
〈Rules〉
1. Praise Points are proportional to the joy the target feels upon receiving the praise.
Praising someone could earn me points.
But if the person felt only a little happy, I’d receive only a little. If they felt great joy, I’d receive a lot.
And what if the person ended up feeling worse because of my praise?
It would go into the negatives. Regardless of my actual intention.
If it’s proportional to the negative emotion, then yeah, that makes sense.
Okay. I could accept that.
Ding!
〈Rules〉
2. Additionally, sincere praise grants bonus Praise Points.
So genuine praise gives big points, while half-hearted praise gives small ones.
That was straightforward enough.
Of course sincere praise should be worth more than something tossed out carelessly.
Then if I give fake praise and it makes the other person feel bad… Wait a second.
If fake praise caused displeasure, then the negative and the negative would multiply—
Ding!
〈Rules〉
3. However, if false praise causes the target discomfort, all remaining Praise Points will be forcibly set to zero.
That didn’t work.
It’s not as simple as I thought.
I’d assumed I could just spam compliments at anyone and watch the points multiply, but there were actually much stricter conditions.
The difficult part was this:
This world is both an open-world subculture game and a romance-fantasy novel at the same time.
Backstabbing.
Scheming.
Betrayal and alliances.
In a romance-fantasy world where all of that was everyday life, the female lead had reigned supreme by being the most cunning of them all. She had conquered the academy in this very setting… but she wasn’t the only one like that.
This was a world where indirect speech, sarcasm, and political maneuvering were the norm.
If I just hurled out compliments without thinking, it could easily backfire.
Just like how Marong had gotten scared a moment ago.
Then the ideal strategy I should take here is obvious.
Thoroughly calculate the other person’s condition and mood, then deliver praise only at the perfect moment—only the kind that would genuinely make them happy.
However.
If I were the kind of person who could do that, I wouldn’t have suffered so much at that female-dominated company in the first place.
The ideal strategy? Yeah, I knew what it was.
But I couldn’t pull it off. I genuinely couldn’t.
Therefore, Rule 1—I would do my best, but I wouldn’t expect much.
Of course I wasn’t going to say something like “Your scalp looks so shiny and nice” to a bald person and call it a compliment. That wasn’t a matter of social awareness; it was just common sense.
But Rule 2.
The part where sincere praise gave points proportional to that sincerity.
That, I could do.
And even if they misunderstood at first and felt uncomfortable, if I kept praising them sincerely, eventually my feelings would get through.
That was my strategy.
So now, time to put that strategy into action.
“…Sir Liam?”
Even after being so startled, Marong spoke to me again.
Or maybe it was the opposite.
She was startled, so she was talking to me.
“Miss Marong.”
“Y-yes….”
Marong’s eyes welled up with tears.
“There was no hidden meaning in what I said earlier. I simply said what I truly felt.”
“!!”
The target feels anxious.
Praise Points: -10 (0→0)
I ignored it. I’d decided to ignore it.
Anyway, my current balance was zero.
A man with nothing to lose had nothing to fear.
“It was sincere before, and it’s sincere now.”
I looked straight into her eyes so my heart would reach her clearly.
“Miss Marong. I think those eyes of yours are as unique as they are charming.”
“!!”
Marong’s irises changed color again. This time, they turned violet.
“I found them fascinating from the first moment I saw them. But the more I look, the more I find the way they change color with your emotions to be incredibly attractive.”
This was something I had thought about constantly while reading the original story, whenever Marong mocked herself.
“My eyes? Haha… They’re monstrous, aren’t they? So hideous….”
Marong Clearias hugged her own arms.
Her body language made it painfully clear just how much she hated herself.
But that shouldn’t be the case.
When you actually looked at them, they were quite beautiful.
“It seems you don’t like your own eyes, Miss Marong.”
To emphasize my sincerity, I leaned slightly toward her.
“Let me say it again.”
Looking directly into her eyes, enunciating each word clearly.
“I think your eyes are truly beautiful.”
“….”
“….”
“….”
“….”
Strange.
Why wasn’t there any reaction—
The target feels flustered yet happy.
Praise Points: +1 (0→1)
You have acquired your first Praise Point!
I had finally succeeded.
Even if it was only one point.
Marong slowly turned her head to the side.
The ear visible to me was bright red.
“….”
“…Miss Marong?”
“….”
“I really do think they’re beautiful eyes.”
“….”
The target feels happy.
Praise Points: +3 (1→4)
She said nothing.
But the Praise Points kept coming.
She wasn’t a toy that spat out points when you pressed her, but a person.
IF praise → +P
IF not praise → 0P
“I think they’re beautiful eyes.”
“….”
The target feels great joy.
Praise Points: +10 (4→14)
“The fact that they change with your emotions is charming in itself, but each individual color is beautiful too.”
“….”
The target feels even greater joy.
Praise Points: +30 (14→44)
“And above all, they go so well with your smile—”
“You there! Pay attention in class!”
The female professor suddenly shouted in anger.
Oh no.
I’d gotten so absorbed that I completely forgot we were in the middle of class. I obediently apologized.
“I’m sorry.”
“You were already late on the very first day of class… Tsk.”
The professor clicking her tongue was named Kadisha Flareheart.
Long blue-silver hair.
Slender legs wrapped in black stockings.
And a face that looked far too youthful for her age. Those were her most striking features.
“You’re Gilliam from the Everchess ducal family, correct? Let me make this clear in advance. No matter how high-ranking a noble you are, I do not allow any interference with grades. There will be absolutely no special treatment!”
That wasn’t actually true.
Even if the academy claimed to be fair on paper, it was impossible not to consider the influence of nobles.
But if there was anyone who could say those words, it was Professor Kadisha.
Because she was the one person who actually lived by what she had just said.
And as a result, she fell from grace.
“You want me to manipulate grades? I can’t do that.”
Even in the heavy atmosphere of the director’s office, Kadisha did not yield.
“Professor Flareheart, this isn’t just a matter of your own conscience. It concerns the entire academy. Can you not imagine what would happen if the crown prince were held back?”
“Even so, what I cannot do, I cannot do. If you must have it done, dismiss me and bring in someone else to do it.”
“…It seems I misjudged you.”
The director let out a sigh.
“You truly won’t listen unless I dismiss you?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then get out of my sight at once.”
“…Pardon?”
The director spoke with clear anger in his voice.
“I will truly dismiss you. And do not think that will be the end of it. I will make sure you learn just how small and narrow this academic world truly is.”
In the end, Professor Kadisha struggled to find new employment, became a villain harboring a grudge against the academy, and launched an attack.
Ultimately, she was ‘executed’ by the crown prince—the male lead—and Kadisha Flareheart’s life came to a tragic end.
And what happened to the crown prince who caused it all?
He cried in front of the female lead, saying “So it was all my fault,” put on a whole show, and that was it. The female lead comforted him with “It wasn’t your fault,” and everyone moved on.
Of course, there was never any mention of punishing the crown prince.
It was one of the scenes I hated the most.
“Professor Kadisha.”
“Since when do students call professors by their first—”
“This may sound sudden, but there is something I would like to praise you for.”
“…Huh?”
Professor Kadisha looked at me as if I were crazy. How unfair.
“We only met today, didn’t we?”
That was true.
“I heard about you.”
“Hah… Yes, you heard.”
Professor Kadisha frowned.
Why was she reacting like that?
“I was planning to be lenient since it’s the first day and simply give a warning, but you just had to escalate things, didn’t you?”
The students in the classroom began to whisper.
“Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?”
“Is he trying to pick a fight on the very first day…?”
“Tsk, how uncouth.”
All eyes turned toward me. Half sharp, half curious.
And among them, the sharpest gaze of all came from Professor Kadisha herself.
“Then go ahead and speak, Gilliam of the Everchess family—who holds the ducal title of Rotland, the marquisate of Kschul and Fiore, and countless other minor titles.”
She was being incredibly sarcastic.
“What exactly did you hear about me? It must have been something very pleasant, I’m sure?”
“Yes.”
“Right, then let’s hear just how—”
“I heard a great deal about how fair and upright Professor Kadisha is.”
“…?”
Professor Kadisha froze.
Blink.
She blinked again.
“What are you even saying right now? No, after creating this whole situation, you’re telling me—”
“I am being completely sincere.”
“That’s not the issue here—”
“What could possibly be more important than sincerity? Isn’t it true that you refuse to tolerate injustice, and that you would never agree to something like grade manipulation even if you were asked?”
“G-Gilliam!”
The target feels happy.
Praise Points: +5 (44→49)
“Then if someone asked you to manipulate grades, would you do it?”
“Of course not, but that’s not what I’m trying to say—”
“Professor Kadisha, I am being sincere.”
Even with some distance between us, I looked straight into her eyes.
“You are an outstanding educator. I believe you should take pride in that fact.”
Professor Kadisha’s face turned as red as tomato sauce.
“H-hwaaa…?”
The target feels immense fulfillment.
Praise Points: +100 (49→149)