Abruptly diving into the heart of the matter while you're still having a normal conversation is a destabilization tactic commonly used in negotiation.
The cognitive disruption renders the victim of this technique unable to gather precise and effective arguments for a negotiation that came out of nowhere.
'As head of the HR department, I had to negotiate a ton with recruits about their starting salary and with my manager about promoting someone else... he's not gonna get me.'
Claude nodded toward Hermes, while his brain worked quickly to better understand his overall situation thanks to his knowledge as an otaku and department head.
Of course, Hermes continued his "assault" while the iron was still hot.
He wanted a champion, but the rules of the game [The Conquest] stipulate that the latter can always reject the offer so far.
If that happened, then Hermes would have wasted his free draw because of a simple refusal to cooperate.
A terrible situation.
'I gotta prevent him from rejecting my offer.'
For that, the Greek god of lies was going to use all his negotiation tactics.
"You want me as your champion? Can you explain things in detail, please?"
Even though Claude suspected the god of thieves and lies of wanting to scam him, he was a bit curious about this champion story.
After all, when would he get the chance to have a conversation with a pseudo-deity?
'At least, grandma must have reached paradise.'
The atheist otaku was happy for his grandmother, but he wasn't really planning to align himself with religion.
That wasn't his style.
"Oh yeah, that's right haha, I didn't even explain the nature of a champion or the inclinations of this job."
Hermes trivialized the scope of an eternity spent participating in a divine game for glory and to appease the gods' boredom with the simple word "job."
An element that Claude didn't notice because of a cruel lack of information, which Hermes exploited.
Even though Claude was a competent businessman, he was dealing with the god of merchants.
It was already praiseworthy that he didn't let himself get played.
It took about ten minutes for Claude to understand the strictly essential part from Hermes.
The cunning god had read the game rules very well, so he didn't hesitate to use loopholes in them to bait his champion.
"I accept being your champion, but I'd like to choose the High School DxD zone as my first game in this game."
After hearing the otaku's words, Hermes' last fear evaporated like water in the sun.
He sketched his fake professional smile, before making a notebook appear thanks to a magic circle.
"You can choose three talents based on my divinity here, after which you'll have a random power."
Claude simply nodded after hearing Hermes' words.
He accepted the deal largely because he had been able to confirm the cliché isekai event.
Who wouldn't want power, talents, and a quasi-infinite amount of life?
Claude had a decent life currently, but that's just what it was... it was decent, nothing more.
[Name: Hypocrite]
[Category: Talent]
[Description: You know how to play a role to hide your true nature from those around you.]
[Effect: A natural talent for playing a role.]
[Name: Traveler]
[Category: Talent]
[Description: A traveler is very often a loner, so you need to have a strong heart.]
[Effect: Mental resistance.]
[Name: Liar]
[Category: Talent]
[Description: Lying is a concept almost as old as intelligent life.]
[Effect: You have a talent for lying.]
"Oh... I see, I was a bit wrong about you," declared the god in a sincere tone.
Hermes had thought that getting Claude as a champion would be bad luck.
He just wanted to settle for him without great expectations.
However, Claude's choice of talents was a pleasant surprise in the messenger god's eyes.
'He didn't think about getting combat-related talents, but manipulation ones.'
Strength had never been champions' strong point at the beginning of their adventure, according to the information observed by Hermes.
Thus, the god had judged that it was smarter to get powers focused on survival at the start.
A path taken by Claude.
'I don't know what power I'll have then...'
He wanted to take the path of a mastermind, if he didn't have real strength at the beginning.
"Now, let's see your power."
A wheel appeared in a magic circle, before starting to spin rapidly.
A few minutes passed slowly, before the wheel slowed down and stopped on a card whose content was illegible.
Hermes materialized the cheat, before it disappeared into Claude's body.
He received a huge amount of information about the unknown object.
'Isn't this a guild card from Konosuba?'
Is this a good draw? Hard to say, since the essential function of a guild card could have already been obtained in the Konosuba universe.
The unique elements that this guild card possesses, unlike its counterpart in the Konosuba universe, are the following: it provides three skill points at each level up and not just one.
It also allows traveling to the nearest adventurers' guild thanks to a one-time teleportation function every 24 hours.
Of course, this teleportation option can be reversed to return to your previous location.
This "power" clearly embodies the traveler aspect in Hermes' divinity.
"Now that we've finished the formalities..." Hermes stopped his fake smile, before approaching to hold Claude's shoulder like a friend.
"Don't forget, try to win but don't kill yourself working... after all, this is your first world in The Conquest game."
Claude nodded to Hermes' advice, before disappearing in a magic circle.
During his disappearance, he remembered that he hadn't discussed with the lying god about his avatar in the new world.
Normally, the god must obligatorily waste part of his divinity to select a precise avatar in the zone.
Unfortunately for Claude, his god is just too cheap to pay in a game that could potentially improve his divinity itself.
...
In an office within Kuoh Academy, there was a man in his late twenties lying on his desk.
Anyone would think he was sleeping because of the huge amount of paperwork in front of him.
After all, a little break during work happens, right?
However, the truth is quite different.
Director Mikoto Suho had died from overwork because of the huge amount of work that Sona Sitri had entrusted him with for the high school entrance ceremony.
Usually, the burden of this work is distributed among the competent staff within Kuoh Academy.
But this school year encountered a small problem with staffing within the academy.
'Sona is scarier in real life, unlike her cute side with her older sister...' thought Claude, while he was still half confused because of the two memories in his head.
Sona's strict behavior had considerably increased the poor director's workload.
After giving the speech for the new students and repeating some usual refrains, the man had collapsed on his desk and died from overwork.
Normally, Mikoto Suho's story should end there, but...
"Damn it, Hermes..."
The body collapsed on the desk slowly straightened up, before starting to curse against the dishonest god.
It took about thirty minutes for the man in professional attire to finally regain his calm.
"*sigh*... I'd be lying if I didn't suspect Hermes of preparing a scam back then," he said after expelling all his rage through swearing.
'The essential thing now is to analyze the memory of the former Mikoto in my head and situate myself in the chronology.'
Mikoto Suho is a loner, like Claude in his past life.
The former director has no family because of his orphan status and doesn't maintain good relationships with his subordinates.
They are clearly indifferent to each other, except about work.
This situation within the academic staff isn't only due to Mikoto's introverted side, but also to Sona.
The young girl uses her authority not only on high school students during the day, but also on the staff.
No overly familiar relationship lasts long, since the subject ends up being fired because of pressure from a mysterious man with scarlet hair (Zeoticus Gremory).
That's why there's a real problem in Kuoh Academy's staff.
'A girl seriously addicted to work.'
This attitude isn't good news for Claude.
He came to DxD to have fun, so work again?
'That's out of the question.'
The first idea that came to his mind was to resign, but that was quickly rejected.
He couldn't make this decision because of an impulsive thought.
'Whether on Earth or here, I got bills to pay...'
Author's note: Zeoticus Gremory is the administrator of Kuoh High School.
So he is officially just above the protagonist in the hierarchy.
But that doesn't mean he's not the real boss within the establishment.
So... the protagonist's authority is inferior to his administrator (even though he's above officially), inferior to Sona and Rias but also, in a way, to their peerage.
Yet, he's effectively the person possessing the strongest authority in Kuoh Academy according to the country's law (Japan).