The Hierophant Social Link is one of the earliest bonds you can make in Persona 3 Reload, represented by the elderly couple that owns the Bookworms store in Iwatodai Strip Mall. This is by far the easiest non-semi-automatic Social Link in the game, but be careful not to neglect it.

The Hierophant Social Link can be started from 4/25 onward by visiting Bookworms in Iwatodai Strip Mall. Your classmates will inform you about its reopening during the morning, so use your time after school to meet Bunkichi and Mitsuko Kitamura there.

Once you first visit, they will mention a Persimmon tree in your school. The tree is in the Corridor past School Building 1F. Interact with it to receive a Persimmon Leaf, then return to the couple to start their Link.

You can stop by the bookstore every day except Mondays, including holidays.This makes the Hierophant Social Link your lowest priority since it’s also available during school breaks and weeks before tests(when most other Links are unavailable).

Always have a Hierophant Persona such as Omoikane to get extra points from your dialogue options. This will make you rank up quicker, and you’ll have more time to spend with the many other Links you have. If you get the “I feel like I might grow closer to the elderly couple soon…” message when interacting with the door, your next meeting is a guaranteed rank up.

Completing this rank allows you to start the Temperance Social Link if you have Academics Level 2.

Completing the Hierophant Social Link awards you with the Persimmon Fruit, which allows you to fuse the ultimate Hierophant Persona Kohryu. You’ll probably be already by the end of the game when you’re able to do it, but not only it’s strong enough by itself and is also used for many of the even stronger late-game fusions.

What Happens if Bunkichi is Lost in Tartarus?

Elizabeth occasionally informs you of humans wandering into Tartarus.One of them happens to be Bunkichi on 9/12. The Social Link will be temporarily unavailable until you rescue him.If you fail to rescue him before the next Full Moon, you won’t be able to complete his Link for the rest of the game.

Even if you’re done with Hierophant, you should still take a night to rescue him for the rewards. Also, leaving the poor old man to die feels way too creepy, so do what you can to save him. The Social Link will be immediately available the following day.

Patrick Souza

Patrick has been working for Prima since 2022 and joined as a Staff Writer in 2023. He’s been interested in gaming journalism since college, and that was the path he took once he had his degree in hands. Diligently ignores his ever-growing backlog to keep raiding in Final Fantasy XIV, exploring in Genshin Impact or replaying some of his favorite RPGs from time to time. Loves tackling hard challenges in games, but his cats are still the hardest bosses he could ask for.