As for the disagreements over whether the MC is a dick or realistic, I think you have to think about these things in terms of what the story is going for. Idealistic heroic stories where the MC is a good guy who saves the day, defeats the villains and everyone ends up happy is enjoyable in one way, and grittier stories (like this one) where the protagonist is an antihero who makes rational self-interested choices are interesting in a different way. This story is going for the latter (at least for the time being), and it does so in a pretty well-written way so far, so I'm having a good time with it, but I also like the more idealistic stories too. Also, as much as the MC is not too heroic, at least he's not acting like a smug and superior asshole like some antihero MCs (looking at you Arifureta).