Chapter 29

Then, when I tell you that I've completed all my commission tasks for today, please say, [Thank you for completing today's commissions. This is your reward.]

Finally, when I say goodbye to you, say, [Goodbye. Thank you for your contributions to the Adventurer's Guild, Adventurer]."

Aoyama Nanami was stunned for a long while before carefully asking:

"That's all my work every day? Those aren't additional requirements?"

Wasn't that far too easy?

With work like this, you could grab any elementary school student off the street and they'd complete it with ease, right?

Yin Kong nodded and confirmed:

"That's right. Your job is simply to say these three lines to me every day as [Catherine], nothing more."

All he needed was that sort of formality.

As for distributing the remaining rewards, that was entirely the system's domain.

Yet his answer only made Aoyama Nanami even more uneasy.

Just as Yin Kong had said, the requirements were strange, but not difficult at all. If anything, they were absurdly simple.

Aoyama Nanami almost wished Yin Kong would make some improper demands instead.

Otherwise, she didn't feel quite at ease taking such a high salary.

"I get it now. So Yin Kong likes role-playing." Sonoko suddenly realized, pondering aloud, "That's not a bad idea. Should I find someone to play Kid-sama and feed me every day too?"

This man was far from such a simple creature.

Unlike Sonoko, who had already sunk into her fantasies, Conan stared fixedly at Yin Kong, his brows tightly furrowed.

He was certain that Yin Kong had a deeper purpose for doing this. It could not possibly be as simple as Sonoko made it sound.

Yet no matter how hard he racked his brains, he could not figure out the meaning behind it.

Having only just become smaller, Conan truly did not know how to restrain himself.

Even without deliberately sensing it, Yin Kong could not possibly ignore Conan's undisguised, almost blatant gaze of suspicion.

If he really were a member of the Black Organization, this little brat would probably already be on his hit list.

Should he find an opportunity to teach him an unforgettable lesson?

Conan instinctively shuddered. He suddenly felt as though a deep "malice" had locked onto him from somewhere unseen, giving him a premonition that disaster was about to strike.

"All right, Aoyama. Have you made up your mind? Are you willing to accept this job?"

"Yes, I accept."

After hesitating again and again, Aoyama Nanami finally gritted her teeth and agreed.

Even if Yin Kong was hiding some kind of scheme, it should be fine as long as she remained careful, right?

Yin Kong nodded slightly and suggested:

"In that case, try it on first."

Naturally, Aoyama Nanami did not refuse. After taking the outfit to the changing room, Yin Kong suddenly turned to Conan and asked:

"So, little Conan, was the recruitment interesting?"

Conan's heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly hid his suspicious expression and raised both hands, putting on an innocent look.

"It was really interesting! Big Brother Yin Kong is amazing!"

Yin Kong nodded.

"As long as you found it interesting."

But Conan seized the opening, putting on the expression of a curious child.

"Still, Big Brother, what exactly do those lines you asked that Aoyama sister to say mean? What are [Towards the Stars and the Abyss] and the [Adventurer's Guild]?"

Stars, abyss, Adventurer's Guild...

Those must have some special significance, right?

Unfortunately, he still lacked crucial information, so he hoped to pry more out of Yin Kong.

Yin Kong revealed a mysterious smile as well.

"Actually, little Conan, I'll tell you a secret too."

Conan immediately pressed him:

"What secret?"

Yin Kong immediately lowered his voice and whispered:

"Actually, Big Brother here is a world-famous great adventurer. I once slew the Silver-haired Banshee, the Eight-headed Sea Serpent, the Abyssal Evil Dragon..."

Adventurer's Guild

"This maid outfit—"

In the changing room, Aoyama Nanami had already changed into Catherine's clothes and felt very strange as she looked at herself in the mirror.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with this "employee outfit." On the contrary, it was almost too good.

Not only were the craftsmanship and fabric high-end, it felt exceptionally comfortable to wear. More importantly, both the overall size and measurements fit her unexpectedly well.

Was it merely a coincidence?

But wasn't that too much of a coincidence?

The dress fit so perfectly, it was practically as though it had been tailored specifically for her.

Yet it didn't seem likely that Boss Yin Kong had prepared it for her in advance.

After all, she had actually already found another part-time job, though she was still wavering because the pay was too low.

It had been a coincidence that she passed by the entrance of this apartment building today in the first place. Noticing the recruitment notice outside and coming in had been even more accidental.

Under those circumstances, how could Yin Kong have prepared for her beforehand?

Besides, his request was extremely strange.

Aoyama Nanami could guess that Yin Kong wanted her to play some nonexistent virtual character, but... [Catherine]?

If she had the chance, she could ask some industry veterans about which [Catherine] this was...

If someone was willing to pay such a high price for just three lines of dialogue, then she must have been a rather famous and popular character, right?

"Silver-haired Banshee, Eight-headed Sea Serpent, Abyssal Evil Dragon..."

Listening to Yin Kong proudly recount his glorious exploits, Conan's eyes immediately went flat and lifeless.

Was this guy really treating him like an elementary schooler and trying to humor him?

"What, Conan? You don't believe me?" Yin Kong gently shook his head, wearing the air of one reminiscing over a glorious past. "The sea of stars was dark, boundless, and lonely. Only when someone ignited themselves did the universe possess its first light. That was my ancient name, [Dumaini]. With its help, I was able to join the God of Fire in defeating the Ancient Dragon King, who had revived after being corrupted by the will of the abyss..."

Conan merely gave a dry chuckle and said nothing.

Although Yin Kong spoke as if it were all true, Conan clearly wouldn't believe even half a punctuation mark of it.

This was probably setting from some movie or anime he didn't know. Asking him to believe it was real would be even more absurd than asking him to believe Genta was actually the boss of the Black Organization.

"Looks like you won't believe me unless I show you something real." To Conan's surprise, Yin Kong actually picked up a wooden sign from beside the office wall. "See this? This is the Adventurer's Guild emblem."

He'd actually made a sign?

Conan froze, then watched as Yin Kong held up the sign and genuinely hung it in the most conspicuous spot outside the office entrance.

Could this guy possibly be... a chuunibyou?

Going this far clearly wasn't as simple as merely trying to fool him.

Conan carefully examined the Adventurer's Guild sign for a moment, silently committing the pattern on it to memory.

And that [Dumaini] as well. Once he got back, he planned to ask Professor Agasa to investigate their true origins.

Even if they were merely settings or lines from some movie or anime, at least that would tell him what works Yin Kong had watched.

Yin Kong paid no attention to Conan's reaction. After hanging the sign, he nodded in satisfaction.

This world clearly had no such thing as an Adventurer's Guild, which was undoubtedly a tremendous loss for him. Many important system functions had even become directly unusable.

Just like the Teleport Waypoints, the system had provided a remedy to make up for the loss:

Yin Kong could establish an otherworld branch of the Adventurer's Guild himself.

As long as it passed the system's evaluation, the system could unlock the corresponding functions and issue the appropriate rewards.

The system's criteria likewise had only three points:

First, its official name had to be [Adventurer's Guild Tokyo Branch].

Yin Kong could call his office [All-Purpose Office Usagi Kichi] for easier publicity and understanding.

But on the officially registered certificate, the office's name had to be [Adventurer's Guild XX Branch].

Second, it had to display the [Adventurer's Guild] emblem—the very sign Yin Kong had shown Conan.

Third, and most importantly, there had to be a Miss [Catherine].

Thus, when Aoyama Nanami finished putting on Catherine's outfit and emerged somewhat stiffly from the office lounge, Yin Kong heard the system notification.

From now on, according to the system's evaluation, this place was a true Adventurer's Guild.

Here, Yin Kong could submit and collect rewards for daily missions, while also assigning exploration dispatch missions to characters.

Unfortunately, he had only completed two daily missions today, so he couldn't submit a commission yet.

However, he could try the exploration dispatch function.

Yin Kong opened the system interface and immediately discovered that he could now dispatch any character he possessed to carry out an exploration dispatch mission in Beika Town.

Every twenty hours, he could obtain five thousand Mora.

Of course, even considering Yin Kong's current resource acquisition efficiency, five thousand Mora still wasn't much of a reward.

What he truly cared about was whether this function could grant the characters the ability to act independently.

"Towards the Stars and the Abyss, welcome to the Adventurer's Guild."

Aoyama Nanami watched Yin Kong's reaction nervously. If possible, she didn't want to lose this simple yet exceptionally well-paid job.

Yin Kong temporarily closed the system panel as well and pondered aloud:

"This tone is a little too sweet. It'd be better if it sounded friendlier."

Aoyama Nanami froze for a moment, Yin Kong's words instantly reminding her of her own audition experience.

After making a slight adjustment, she repeated Catherine's line once more.

Sure enough, this time it came much closer to what Yin Kong remembered.

"Aoyama, have you practiced voice acting before?"

Yin Kong was somewhat surprised.

Aoyama Nanami could alter her voice so easily. While she was clearly nowhere near as effortless as Kaito Kid, it was still not something an ordinary student could manage.

The brown-haired girl scratched her head sheepishly.

"Yes. My dream is to become a voice actress."

Yin Kong suddenly understood, then smiled.

"I see. Then I hope your dream comes true."

Seeing this, Mori Ran immediately stood up again to say goodbye.

After all, Mori Kogoro was still at home waiting for her to return and clean and cook.

This time, Conan naturally did not jump out to cause trouble again.

Once the two adults and one child had left, the office suddenly became much quieter.

Aoyama Nanami asked Yin Kong, "Boss, is there anything you need me to do?"

She was earning such a high salary yet just sitting around here doing nothing. It naturally made her feel guilty.