The next afternoon.
Inside a rather inconspicuous small bookstore on Tenth Street.
The interior of the bookstore followed a minimalist style, with walls made entirely of bookshelves filled with books collected by the owner since the store's founding. Aside from the checkout counter, three sofas were placed in the middle of the store, allowing customers to sit and read.
However, on ordinary days, very few customers actually visited. Not that the owner needed them anyway.
The bookstore was named "March Bookstore," and Jiang Ge was its owner.
At that moment, Jiang Ge had reverted to his original appearance—a handsome young man with black hair—sitting on the sofa and reluctantly reporting the previous night's events to his client.
"Yes, Miss. I sincerely apologize for the situation. It was entirely due to my subordinates' incompetence..."
"Don't worry, I guarantee that the follow-up work won't involve you anymore. Yes, yes... Please rest assured"
After spending a great deal of effort finally convincing the wealthy young lady on the other end of the phone that the events from earlier in the morning would no longer affect her, Jiang Ge put down his phone, let out a yawn, and muttered a complaint.
"What a troublesome hassle for so little pay."
Earlier that morning, after emerging from the hollow, Jiang Ge immediately began arranging the follow-up work. He would personally take away the Bumble (the target of the client's search), while the rest could be left for the Cunning Hares to handle the rest of the bangboos—whether returning them to their owners or other accommodations for them. In any case, it must not be linked to "Good Enough."
But to his surprise, upon waking up, he found that the Cunning Hares had leaked the matter to the media, causing further distress to the client.
However, setting aside what happened later, in the end, Jiang Ge gave the Cunning Hares the code phrase, turned around, and hurried off to drop the role-playing.
[Good Enough, we are good enough.]
This was the code phrase.
But now Jiang Ge's wandered back to the workings of the system system.
When Jiang Ge draws a role and starts role-playing, his personality is simultaneously influenced. At that point, his thinking and behavior are affected by the role.
At first, Jiang Ge didn't think much of it—until one time he drew an overly "joyful" role that actually believed "she is not him, I am not me," and then, purely for "fun," planted a hidden "bomb" for himself.
When the "bomb" was detonated, it triggered a series of incidents. Especially catching the attention of Hollow Special Operations Section 6, who insisted on inspecting his bookstore for a full week.
You have to understand, at that time the bookstore was still located in Lumina Square. But because of that incident, it was forced to relocate to 10th Street.
Since then, Jiang Ge has become extremely cautious. Even now, there are still people keeping an eye on him. Moreover, "Good Enough" is no longer a small organization, and most of the commissions they receive come from those "high-net-worth individuals." Therefore, Jiang Ge cannot afford to be careless in any matter.
However, in New Eridu, there are still people who know about his identity with "Good Enough."
"Mr. Jiang Ge, your, your afternoon tea... Ah, these pastries are also from the shop you like... Please don't worry..."
"Thank you, little Corin."
Looking at the somewhat timid twin-tailed maid who had brought him black tea and pastries, Jiang Ge's mood finally improved a little.
Corin Wickes, a maid belonging to Victoria Housekeeping.
Initially, both sides wanted to uncover each other's backgrounds, but in the end, neither succeeded.
Jiang Ge still didn't know who Victoria Housekeeping truly served, and Lycaon also admitted to Jiang Ge that Victoria had been unable to find any information about Jiang Ge's past or any of the agents under his command.
The reason Lycaon was so frank with Jiang Ge was that Jiang Ge later took an interest in the services of Victoria Housekeeping and became their long-term employer.
And Corin was hired by Jiang Ge to take care of his daily needs.
"Mmm, so good. Thankfully, Corin is here. The fact that I'm still alive and well is all thanks to Corin."
Picking up a cookie and placing it in his mouth, the crispy texture made it clear it was freshly baked, bringing Jiang Ge great satisfaction. After returning home in the morning, he had slept until noon. Upon waking, he had spent a long time going back and forth with the client. Apart from a glass of water, Jiang Ge hadn't had anything else in his stomach.
Seeing Jiang Ge satisfied with her service, Corin felt a little happy, but soon became somewhat embarrassed by his praise.
"N-Not at all... Corin isn't as amazing as Mr. Jiang Ge says..."
"I'm not exaggerating at all. Here, little Corin, have a piece too."
"Th-Thank you, Mr. Jiang Ge."
As Jiang Ge spoke, he handed a cookie to Corin. After hesitating for a moment, Corin chose to accept it. Logically, as a maid, she should politely decline her employer's offer, but Corin had been serving Jiang Ge for quite some time now, so she knew a little about his peculiar preferences.
Thus, after accepting the cookie and nibbling away at it until it was finished, Corin saw Jiang Ge wearing a thoroughly satisfied expression.
"M-Mr. Jiang Ge... Corin has finished eating..."
"Thank you, Corin."
"Eh? Why is Mr. Jiang Ge thanking Corin?"
Faced with Jiang Ge's sudden thanks, Corin was very flustered.
"Because every time I see Corin eating, I feel very comforted."
"Really now... I just don't understand this side of Mr. Jiang Ge..."
Corin blushed and turned her head away. She couldn't tell whether Jiang Ge was teasing her or praising her, but either way, she couldn't quite grasp it.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing little Corin," Jiang Ge chuckled and said, "We'll have a few guests coming over later. Could you please prepare some extra cups, Corin... Hm?"
While giving instructions to Corin, Jiang Ge picked up the black tea on the table to quench his thirst, but he noticed that the tea in the cup had disappeared. Even a few cookies were missing from the plate.
So Jiang Ge looked at Ellen beside him, put on a solemn expression, and said:
"Hmm, something strange has indeed happened. The black tea is gone, and some cookies have disappeared too. Student Ellen, what do you make of this?"
Eileen was currently wearing a student uniform, lazily lying sideways on the sofa, holding a comic book and reading it with great interest, her large tail swaying back and forth. After hearing Jiang Ge's words, she sat up straight, looked at the "crime scene," and fell into thought.
After pondering for three seconds, Ellen quickly provided an answer.
"Reporting Detective Jiang, based on the sweet taste still lingering in my mouth, this case is very likely the work of Ellen Joe."
"I see, as expected of you," Jiang Ge nodded, agreeing with Ellen's answer. "In that case, if I propose touching the tail as punishment for the culprit would she accept it?"
"Reporting, Detective, she says no."
"I see. Thank you for your efforts, Student Ellen. You may go back to what you were doing."
"Okay, Detective."
With that, Eileen unceremoniously lay back down on the sofa.
Meanwhile, Corin watched their bewildering conversation, completely confused. But seeing Jiang Ge's "serious" expression, she thought he was angry about Ellen sneaking food and quickly picked up the teapot to refill Jiang Ge's cup while apologizing on Ellen's behalf.
"I'm really, really sorry, Mr. Jiang Ge. Miss Ellen has a sweet tooth, so... so..."
"Corin, I'm not angry. This is just a joke," Jiang Ge said, smiling reassuringly when he saw how flustered Corin was. At the same time, he pointed at Ellen's hand, which was reaching for another cookie. "I don't mind at all, and you don't need to be so polite either, Corin."
"I see, that puts Corin at ease."
Seeing that Jiang Ge wasn't angry, Corin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But as Jiang Ge watched Corin reaction, something stirred within him. He directly pulled out a check from his pocket, wrote a string of numbers on it with a pen, and handed it to Corin.
"Little Colleen, this is 100,000 Dennies. Please accept it."
"Huh? Wh-why? Is this also a joke?"
"No, I'm serious. It's because you're very cute, Corin."
"I really don't understand what Mr. Jiang Ge is thinking anymore..."
Corin let out a flustered cry, her face red as she ran to the inner room to prepare teacups for the guests.
Meanwhile, Ellen, who had been observing from the side all along, let out a dissatisfied "tsk."
"You really enjoy teasing Corin, don't you?"
"Not really? Anyway, you can have the rest of the cookies. I need to go prepare for work matters."
Thinking that Ellen was speaking up for Corin, Jiang Ge forced a dry laugh and turned to go to his office on the second floor.
All he heard from behind was another dissatisfied "tsk" from Ellen.
Ellen wasn't originally a maid hired by Jiang Ge. She just came along with Corin occasionally to hang out.
At first, Ellen thought that as the boss of "Good Enough," the top-ranked organization on the leaderboard, Jiang Ge must be extremely busy, which was why he needed to hire Victoria Housekeeping.
However, she soon realized that Jiang Ge actually led a very leisurely life. Although people did come into the bookstore, they weren't there to make purchases. Instead, they would place a book or a letter on an aerial shelf and quickly leave—likely clients of "Good Enough."
Other than that, there was no indication that Jiang Ge was the head of an organization at all After all he didn't give off leader-like vide at all.
Of course, that wasn't the main point. The key was that Ellen noticed Corin, who was hired by Jiang Ge, seemed to have a very relaxed time. After completing basic cleaning tasks and preparing three meals a day for Jiang Ge, she pretty much had the rest of the time off and could even be invited by Jiang Ge to sit down and enjoy tea together.
Most importantly, there were unlimited desserts.
"So, should I hire you too?"
"Please do."
Thus, after yet another visit to the bookstore under the guise of a customer to enjoy desserts, Jiang Ge successfully recruited another idle person.
However, one thing puzzled Ellen: despite being around Jiang Ge for so long, she had never seen a single one of his agents in the store.
This couldn't help but make Ellen curious.
But why should she care about these things?
It was much more comfortable to just have some cookies and take a nap.
Just as drowsiness set in, it was the perfect time to lie down comfortably for a while.
Ellen put down the comic book, stretched lazily, found a comfortable position, and closed her eyes. However, right at that moment, someone knocked on the bookstore's door.
"Huh?"
Ellen was puzzled. Why would someone knock?
This wasn't a private residence but a bookstore. If someone wanted to come in, they could just push the door open. Why bother knocking?
Just then, Jiang Ge's voice came from upstairs.
"Ellen, go open the door. My partner is here."
"Eh... Okay."
So, Ellen, who had just lain down, had no choice but to get up and open the door for the guest. However, when Ellen opened the door, she saw three people suddenly bow to her in unison while shouting loudly.
"Mr. Jiang Ge, we're very sorry for delaying your meal payment!"
What... is going on?
Ellen looked at the three people bowing to her and fell into confusion.
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A/n: While I am a new translator, I have a Patreon! While it may be a bit empty right now both this and the other book on my page has advanced chapters posted on patreon. Set up for my web novel will be 2 chapters for every book a day and if you go to my patreon you'll see the set up there.
patreon.com/deadlygoober