"Mr. Jiang Ge, I must apologize for my past insolence and for running up such a large tab."
"Mr. Jiang Ge, I shouldn't have called you a bookworm. Please find it in your heart to forgive us!"
Looking at Nicole and Billy, who had suddenly bowed their heads and were sincerely apologizing to him, Jiang Ge, who had just sat down, finally understood why they had made those expressions earlier.
Although the Cunning Hares had indeed often joked around with him quite familiarly in the past, Jiang Ge never really minded it.
"Alright, no need to be so nervous. Please, have a seat first," he said, deciding to calm Nicole and Billy down before discussing serious matters. He then instructed Corin, who was standing beside him, "Little Corin, could you please serve tea for our three guests?"
"Certainly, Mr. Jiang Ge."
Hearing Jiang Ge's words,
Corin, who knew Jiang Ge was currently discussing important business, carefully picked up the teapot and poured tea for Nicole, Anby, and Billy's cups, trying her best not to make any mistakes.
Seeing Corin like this, Jiang Ge suppressed the impulse to pull another check from his pocket to give to her. He just coughed lightly to get the attention of the three guest and said with a slight smile,
"Everyone, there's no need to be so formal around me. We're not strangers, but old friends, aren't we? Let's interact just like we used to."
"Haha... ahaha... Mr. Jiang Ge is right."
However, even though Jiang Ge said this, Nicole still seemed restrained. In fact, it had the opposite effect; when Nicole heard "like we used to," she visibly shuddered, and her voice sounded somewhat trembling when she replied to Jiang Ge.
It was clear that Nicole thought Jiang Ge was just being polite.
In response, Jiang Ge wasn't impatient and simply proceeded unhurriedly slowly continued.
"Nicole, do you remember our first meeting?"
"Our first meeting? Let me think... Ah, right!" Nicole didn't know why Jiang Ge suddenly brought this up, as it was so long ago, but she still tried hard to recall and soon remembered. "Back then, we had just accidentally messed up a commission and were on the street, worrying about how to cut down on food expenses, and then..."
"And then?"
"And then you, Jiang Ge, appeared and asked us if we were from Cunning Hares..."
With Jiang Ge's prompting, Nicole gradually recalled her first meeting with him.
Back then, the Cunning Hares were on the street, lamenting that they would have to cut back on food expenses for the next few days. Just then, Jiang Ge suddenly walked up to them and asked if they were from Cunning Hares. Nicole, of course, didn't deny it. Jiang Ge, smiling, applauded and began praising them for their efforts. Nicole was momentarily swept up by the flattery and felt quite pleased. Then Jiang Ge asked why they looked so glum. Nicole, who had just been lavishly praised, immediately pulled a long face and sheepishly replied that they were just having some temporary financial difficulties.
Then, to her surprise, Jiang Ge enthusiastically invited the entire group to a restaurant for a meal, insisting that he would cover all expenses and that they should order whatever they wanted without hesitation.
At first, Nicole was skeptical that such good fortune could just fall from the sky. But given their tight finances, she figured there was no harm in going along with Jiang Ge to see what would happen.
What Nicole didn't expect was that Jiang Ge was genuinely treating them. That meal turned out to be arguably the most satisfying one that they ever had. They ate so much they could barely walk afterwards, and Jiang Ge even called a car to take them home.
The next day, Jiang Ge showed up again, inviting them once again for another meal. This time, Nicole felt a bit embarrassed, but his hospitality was too pressing to refuse. So, they enjoyed what became their second most satisfying meal ever.
Though she didn't understand why Jiang Ge was being so generous, Nicole quickly found herself losing all sense of direction amidst the daily feasts.
And so it went on the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day...
...slowly, more and more days passed.
"So, Nicole, why do you think I, as a member of 'Good Enough,' kept treating you all?"
"Yeah, why was that? Could it be... that you, Mr. Jiang Ge, had taken a liking to Cunning Hares from the very beginning?"
"Hmm, yes, that's exactly it."
In a way, that wasn't entirely wrong, because Jiang Ge did indeed see something he liked in Cunning Hares.
However, what Jiang Ge fancied certainly wasn't their capabilities. If Jiang Ge's judgment were that poor, forget about comfortably enjoying Corin's service here, and "Good Enough" would soon be ruined, and he'd end up living a life similar to the Cunning Hares.
Actually, in the beginning, the reason Jiang Ge treated them was simply because, while strolling down the street, he accidentally overheard them worrying about how to cut down on food expenses the next day. He was momentarily moved by a charitable impulse. After all, as a player, he still held some fondness for the characters he had "played through."
After managing "Good Enough" for so long, Jiang Ge was no longer short on Denny, so he planned to cover their food expenses for a few days, until they successfully completed their next commission.
But Jiang Ge didn't expect that after confirming Cunning Hares had finished a few commissions to get Denny. He intended to stop his support, but somehow they were back at their usual spot discussing how they had no means to cover the next day's meal expenses.
So out of curiosity Jiang Ge circled to eavesdrop and even heard Nicole suggesting to trying to find him again to continue mooching meals.
Truly Nicole, her cheekiness reached terrifying levels.
Jiang Ge was sweating bullets. How was it that Cunning Hares, unlike others, ended up deeper in debt the more work they did?
So, by the 23th day, it was them actively seeking out Jiang Ge for meals.
But what Nicole said earlier wasn't wrong. What he saw of value was the atmosphere of the Cunning Hares. Jiang Ge quite liked having a lively bunch like them around, their noise and chatter making his life a bit more entertaining.
But that didn't mean Cunning Hares could continue freeloading meals off him indefinitely.
So, Jiang Ge devised a plan. He would allocate a portion of resources from "Good Enough" to create a subsidiary organization. This sub-organization would handle less important commissions—the ones Jiang Ge couldn't be bothered to take on personally—by accepting them and then subcontracting them to Cunning Hares.
This way, even if they messed up a commission, there would be no worry about damaging "Good Enough's" reputation. They also wouldn't have to worry about receiving negative reviews, as the subsidiary organization would bear the brunt of it all.
Of course, Jiang Ge was the only one who knew about this plan.
He had originally been pondering how best to bring Cunning Hares on board, but he didn't expect Nicole to bring up the subject herself. So, he decided not to stand on ceremony.
However, the fact that the reason for creating a subsidiary organization was concern over the inadequacy of his subordinate agents was rather lamentable.
But Jiang Ge hadn't expected Nicole to be so frightened due to the owed meal money and the bold claims she'd made in front of him before. In that state, the meeting couldn't proceed properly.
Therefore, Jiang Ge had to guide Nicole into thinking that "Good Enough" had taken a liking to Cunning Hares capabilities all along. Although he succeeded, even Jiang Ge himself found it a bit hard to keep a straight face.
Moreover, the effect seemed a little too good.
"So that's how it is... 'Good Enough,' in the form of Mr. Jiang Ge, had its eyes on us all along? Oh my, how embarrassing."
Even though she said she was embarrassed, Nicole didn't look embarrassed in the slightest. If anything, she seemed a bit smug and carried away.
"As expected of Boss, to be able to lead Cunning Hares and attract the attention of 'Good Enough'!"
Looking at the two who had returned to their usual selves, Jiang Ge simply smiled without saying a word. Compared to Nicole and Billy, he was more concerned about Anby beside him.
Just why was Anby still looking at him with such a wary expression?
-------
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