Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 174

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TL: ALT

Chapter 174 – Ahh! At That Time!

――Should I say hello to my neighbors when I move in, even if I live alone?

This seems to be a surprisingly difficult question, and there are differing opinions on the Internet.

I thought I had to do it somehow, but it seems that’s not the case these days.

Especially for women who live alone, it seems that sometimes they don’t say hello on purpose to avoid giving out unnecessary information.

As the saying goes, “When in doubt, ask Haitaniemon,” so I checked in advance via chat and…

“I guess it doesn’t really matter, but I would recommend it. The apartment is run by several guilds, so it’s possible that you’ll run into someone from your neighborhood in the dungeon or at the guild headquarters. If you don’t greet them in that situation, it might be a little awkward…”

…was the answer.

Even if the other person is a woman, it’s nothing to worry about.

It seems that only Paladin Knights and a few guilds can use this apartment and that basically all untrustworthy explorers can’t live there.

When she says it like that, I can’t help but worry about my own credibility.

If I’m seen as being too nervous and avoiding eye contact with my neighbors, it will reflect badly on Serika and Haitani-san.

So, I decided to introduce myself to my new neighbors, the people who live in the three apartments above and below me.

Fortunately, I only have one neighbor since I’m in the corner apartment.

The thing that caused me the most trouble was the gift.

My hometown, like many of the nondescript regional towns on the outskirts of Tokyo, doesn’t have many local specialties.

So I ended up giving them a set of detergents as a practical gift, but I wonder if that was really the right thing to do?

With this doubt in my mind, I visited the rooms above and below.

The room above was occupied by a female explorer who was a little older than me. The room below was occupied by a young male explorer who had just graduated from high school.

Both accepted the gift in a safe and polite manner.

The reason I left the next room last was because I thought it would be the most inconvenient if I failed.

After all, it’s the residents of the next room that I’m most likely to run into as I come and go.

After I’ve done my rounds in the rooms above and below, I’ll be ready to take on the boss.

This is the winning strategy I’ve prepared.

After successfully greeting the occupants of the rooms above and below me, I take advantage of the momentum I’ve built up and head up the stairs.

I stand in front of the door to the boss’s room, which is next to my own, and take a deep breath.

Just as I’m about to reach for the intercom,

“――Can I help you?”

I’m called from behind.

Oh no…

This wasn’t what I was expecting.

I had thought about the case where they were home and the case where they weren’t, but I hadn’t thought about being attacked from behind when I was about to ring the doorbell.

Haruka-san had said earlier that, as an explorer, you shouldn’t neglect your daily search for information, but I had completely forgotten about that.

“Ah, no… that means I’m the person who moved in next door.”

I manage to answer, confused by the unexpected turn of events.

I turn around and look at the person who called out to me.

She’s a woman in her mid-twenties.

She’s quite pretty, but she doesn’t wear much makeup, and she doesn’t seem to stand out in a crowd.

I don’t want to say this, but she doesn’t look like an explorer who does rough work for a living.

If anything, she seems like the kind of person who would work in an office in a normal company.

She’s a woman with no particular characteristics who could be anywhere.

I don’t think I have any characteristics that would allow me to judge other people.

However,

“Huh?

For some reason, I felt that I had seen this woman before.

But I can’t remember where.

I think I’ve met everyone I’ve seen before.

It’s not someone I’ve known since before high school like Junko Tozaki, and it’s not someone whose recognition is hindered like in the job world.

“Um… What’s wrong?”

The woman asks me suspiciously.

Oh no. If I keep acting like this, I’ll go from suspicious to distrustful.

“No, it’s nothing. I just moved in next door, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello.”

I say the prepared sentence I’ve been practicing.

“Oh, thank you.”

“This is just a little something…”

I give her a selection of detergents.

I think the phrase “It’s not much, but…” is used in a humble way when giving gifts, but actually, detergent is really not much.

Well, in this case, it’s better to give something that disappears than something that remains in form.

The only thing I want to remain is the fact that I said hello properly.

“Oh, thank you very much. … Hmm?”

The woman tilted her head as she accepted the gift.

She looked into my face and asked,

“Have we met before?”

To my surprise, she seemed to be thinking the same thing I was.

“I had a feeling…”

I couldn’t help but break into a formal greeting.

“It’s not your face… I feel like I’ve heard your voice before…?! No, it can’t be you…”

The woman opens her eyes wide and comes toward me.

“W-what’s wrong?”

“Um… I’m sorry if I’m mistaken… but aren’t you the person who helped us in the Hikarigaoka Park Dungeon?”

“Uh… ah, aahh!”

Certainly!

Now that she mentions it, it’s true.

I definitely saw her during the double flood (the shallow flood of the Shinjuku Station Underground Dungeon and the simultaneous flood of the Hikarigaoka Park Dungeon).

She was one of the survivors of the Rakan that was at the far end of the Hikarigaoka Park Dungeon.

I remember her well.

She begged for forgiveness on behalf of the guy who was about to have his level sucked by Junko Tōzaki, who was trying to force a reckless level drain, and later, when the coup against Junko Tōzaki happened, she tried to stop the other suit guys from killing her (or, more accurately, tried to get the boss to kill her).

After helping the few survivors, I defeated the dungeon boss, the Hobbit Sumo Wrestler, and ended the flood, then left the dungeon with them.

Outside the dungeon, I left the recovered body of the Rakan explorer and Junko’s items with her, said something cool, and left.

…Oh no.

I was wearing the “Crow Tengu Mask” at the time.

So, I could have pretended to be someone else right now.

“So you really are the Black Tengu from before, aren’t you?”

It seems she got confirmation from my reaction.

Still, what’s with the Black Tengu?

Come to think of it, Seiji Tozaki called me the Black Tengu as well.

It seems I’ve become famous for solving the Hikarigaoka Park side of the Double Flood incident without even realizing it.

…Well, never mind.

It’s not like I did anything wrong by being found out.

Besides, now that I think about it, the fact that I stopped the Okutama Lake Dungeon from collapsing and had Kudave intercept a ballistic missile in space is much more serious.

What’s more, it was done by a Paladin Knights Explorer without a mask.

Some of the more detailed people in the government know it was me.

When I think about it, it’s too late now that the Double Flood story has been exposed.

“I don’t want you to tell anyone else about this…”

“Of-Of course not. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything…”

She bows her head apologetically.

I get in trouble when she acts like this.

“I’m very sorry that I didn’t get a chance to thank you before. Thank you for what you did back then. Because you risked your life, many people, including me, were able to survive.”

She bowed even lower.

I knew she was a very loyal person, but I didn’t expect her to bow to me like that in the hallway.

“Oh, no… I did it for a reason…”

I open my mouth to reassure her.

But before I can finish,

“――You! What are you doing to my sister?!”

A young man’s voice comes from the hallway behind me.

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