1 Unsurprisingly, I'm Overpowered but not the Protagonist. (1.1)

"Hikigaya-san." You know something I never fail to find impressive? The fact that Japanese customs and titles transferred over into this world. The fact that all the gods and people of a world would speak Japanese really conveys the fact that I'm undoubtedly in some Light Novel I'd never gotten the chance to read. Unsurprisingly, the time taken up by studying and education continues to haunt me to this day. If only if I had the sense to not care for my grades, then I would be much better prepared for this. "I would very much appreciate it if you listened to me instead of becoming lost in thought, Hikigaya-san!"

"I am listening, Sophie-san." No, I hadn't been. I knew by heart, the words that were coming out of my Guild Advisor's mouth. No need to listen to a lecture after it's been memorized. By all means, I, Hikigaya Hachiman, no longer paid any attention to Sophie Vanna for the first ten minutes when she speaks to me. I harnessed the powers passed onto me by my corporate slave parents, the skill to pay attention without paying attention, to its fullest extent. Thank you, corporate slave parents, may you be happier without a deadbeat son. I leave everything I own to Komachi. Still, only hand over Laptop-chan and Vita-chan once you've wiped their hard drives, thank you very much, I can now die in peace. "Here, I already have the payment for trespassing on the Middle Floors. I apologize for the extra paperwork."

"Hikigaya-san, I'm telling you that you can't keep doing this. It's illegal for Level 1 adventurers to go into the Middle Floors. Even if you say your skills let you do it… you'll be overwhelmed sooner or later." I'd have put more stock in Sophie's words if she didn't just accept another ten percent of my day's earnings. Once upon a time, I'd been charmed by her cute, elfin features, but I rapidly realized that no matter her cuteness, she was as rotten as everyone else I'd met in this world. Always out for a quick buck to make their lives easier. I'd checked the cost of the fines in the Guild register. Unsurprisingly, my beloved Advisor has me paying more than I should. I kept track of every 'Valis' that she overcharged me with in secret. Blackmail, especially on a Dungeon Advisor, is very difficult to get. Hmmm… what was that? I'm a hypocrite? Well, I never said anything about not being rotten myself! I simply didn't like it when my territory was being intruded upon! "Please try to level up soon, you'll make me very happy if you do! I'll be much less worried about you, and I'm sure your Deity will be happier as well!"

"They'll be fine with it." Waving her concern away, I stood and made sure everything I had was in place. Too many damn thieves in Orario. The number of urchins running around looking to steal my items is too damn high. Unfortunately, despite my rotten disposition, I can't stand the thought of handing the clever brats their asses. Besides, they were probably running for some bigshots with heavy armor and massive swords. Even if they're compensating for something, I didn't want the trouble that came with tangling with a dozen assholes. Finding all my things where they're meant to be, I turned and gave Sophie a backwards wave. "See you next week, I'll keep out of your hair until then."

"I suppose that's all I can ask you to do." Sophie sighed. My Advisor must have shook her head and smiled in that particularly cute way. For the sake of keeping myself from exposing any weak points, I kept my head staring towards the door. Unlike many giant monsters, I preferred to not get hit by massive damage. "Oh, and the Hecate Familia has offered you another invitation! I know that you're very loyal to your god, and that they're the private sort, but please consider working with them for your own sake!"

I kept quiet after giving a grunt, but I was lying and I'd admit that. As always, being quiet solved a lot of problems.

While I managed to get ignored and unnoticed in my former world, the first and strongest of my 108 skills 'Stealth Hikki,' has evolved into an active skill in my new realm.

No longer is it limited to just blending into the environment, with a slight chance of detection by hopelessly energetic girls, but it also now inflicts status effect: Wrong Conclusion!

By staying quiet, I'd allowed an entire history for me to be created by the imaginative, cunning minds of my fellows! Truly, silence is a fearsome weapon indeed!

Suffice to say, I had no god. No Kami-sama as many other adventurers do. I handled things like updating, housing, and feeding myself on my own. No one else knew my abilities or skills, and that's how I liked it. If I'd been anything but the consummate loner that I am, I'm sure that I wouldn't have seen the advantages of my position.

That was how it started when I awoke in the gutters and that's how it still remains.

No god meant no gossip about me and no knowledge of my abilities and skills making their way across the city. For that level of anonymity, having no Familia or a chance for a 'title' was a decent price.

Besides, it's idiotic to believe that I'd put my life in the hands of other people. There's only a single person I'd entrust my life to here and that's me.

Ahh… enough with the depressing thoughts. I'd managed to get a few hundred thousand Valis, inched my stats upwards, and Sophie's amount of embezzling has reached a million Valis. I have a sizeable chunk of extra money, more power to leverage, and solid blackmail. In the standards of this world, I was a success.

By all means, it was a good day.

So, it's not to my surprise that the doors burst open before I reached them, and an idiot covered in blood tumbled into me headfirst.

…

"I know that you are being very reasonable, Hikigaya-san, but I'm afraid Cranel-kun cannot afford to recuperate you for the loss of your Salamander Cloak." Eina Tulle, a half-elf Guild member, bowed to me. I'd have been embarrassed if she was doing it in public, but I was in the shadow of one of the booths. "He has barely begun adventuring, and he's only reached the fifth floor! According to him, he was just attacked by a minotaur and was saved by a higher-ranked adventurer! Everything was merely a massive accident!"

"…It's not much to buy a new Salamander Cloak, Tulle-san." Shaking my head, I rejected the plea without mercy. Minotaur blood ruined Salamander Cloaks. They might be good for defending against the Lower Level's 'light' monsters, but Minotaur blood stains them and attracts more of the stupid meatheads. I needed to replace it if I didn't want to attract the walking bulls. Besides the matter of lost money, it didn't sit right with me to have another person apologize for someone else. 'Cranel-kun' must be quite the womanizer to have a Guild Member working in his favor. This world has no shortage of dangerously attractive people. "I'll even offer him one of my better deals."

"Ah, you're very kind, Hikigaya-san. However I must continue to ask you to forget about this matter." Tulle's smile became more strained. How attractive was this fellow? Was he a charmer like Hayama? Anyone who complained about that 'Perfect Boy' would've had a bloodthirsty legion of fangirls after their neck. This girl was seriously giving me the vibe that 'Cranel-kun' truly did no wrong. Basically she wanted me to find some goodness in my heart to just let bygones be bygones. No, thank you. "After such a harrowing experience, I doubt that Cranel-kun would wish to return to the Dungeon anytime soon. Though, I'm sure he'd benefit from having such an experienced adventurer such as yourself at his side! All your clients have nothing but praise for you!"

"The number of adventurers who've left the dungeon after a near-death experience can be counted on one hand, Tulle-san." I answered curtly, puncturing the base of her argument without qualm. Watching Tulle's smile fall elicited no reaction for me. Cute girls know that they're cute. In both this world and the last, I know for a fact that they don't hesitate to use their looks to their advantage. I had no problem just crushing their arguments. I've had plenty of practice. Also, leaning against the shadowed wall while doing so kinda made me feel cool. "If Cranel-san is a decent adventurer, he'll be going to the Dungeon every day. I'll skim off his profits until he pays off my Salamander Cloak. He'll learn his lesson and I'll get a new Cloak. You know it's better than what could have happened if he bumped into someone else."

"…I see." Tulle's face is stony as she raises her head. The brown-haired hybrid pushed up her glasses, the light glancing off them. Did you practice that? It would be intimidating if I hadn't seen it in a dozen anime series. With an otaku of my level, your action only wants me to beg you to teach me how to do it myself. Thankfully, society has successfully instilled in me a proper amount of shame for being an otaku, unlike a certain, wishy-washy Zaimokuza, so I can refrain from doing so. Your attack was respectable Tulle-san, but I was trained from birth to hate my life choices. "Then… I suppose you'll only listen to Cranel-kun's own words. Please excuse me then, I will find him and show you that he is truly terrified of going into the dungeon."

"You should let him handle himself. You didn't ruin my property, he ruined my property. I can shake him down for everything he owns and I'll be in the right. " In a normal world I'd have been reproached for my choice of biting, harsh words. In this one? Tulle could only look away in shame, chewing at her lower lip. It was obvious that the brown-haired hybrid was coddling the new adventurer. "I'm offering a chance for him to be stronger, pay off a debt, and gain experience… and you're going to try and use me to frighten him away from the Dungeon? You should be ashamed of yourself."

"You're right, I should be." Tulle, surprisingly, speaks up and agrees with me. The brown-haired hybrid's features eased into a sad smile. It painfully reminded me of a mother's smile. I chose to look somewhere on her face, instead of the sickly smile that gave me pangs of homesickness. After nearly two years, you'd think that I'd have a semblance of peace, but that wasn't the case. The bespectacled Guild Member brushed her hair behind her ear, giving a nod and a light huff. "…I'll recommend him simply taking up a debt to pay you back, but I won't speak against your own proposal. I don't want Cranel-kun to rely on you like your other customers."

"Oi, don't say it like I'm running a racket." Huffing, I turned away and stuffed my hands into my pockets. Still, Tulle was surprisingly respectable for a Guild Member. Not enough to trust, of course, but definitely someone I can go to 'express my concerns' about Sophie's embezzling of me. "I'm the best at what I do, and it isn't my fault if my clients think they're ready for floors they aren't skilled enough for."

"And then you save them from their mistakes out of the goodness of your heart. It's a mere coincidence that you're making sure that you have a steady stream of clients to train in the Lower Floors." Tulle rolls her eyes and attacks with her own, scathing barb while walking away. I'd heard it hundreds of times before, so I snorted at her words instead of ignoring them. "You stay there, Hikigaya-san, I'll go and see if Cranel-kun has finished scouring the Minotaur blood off himself."

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