Make Sure Our Guest Is Well Taken Care Of

Ririko stormed out of the dining room.

So Jerome's older brother had given him that Clown Doll.

That idiot must have handed her something he didn't like without even taking a proper look at it.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. As she rounded a corner, she nearly crashed into a wall.

"Whoa?!"

Ririko stepped back and realized she had bumped into Butch.

Butch rubbed his broad chest.

His shirt sleeves were rolled up, and he held a shovel in his right hand, its blade smeared with dark soil.

Ririko knew he must have been disposing of some poor bastard in the garden.

Butch looked at her and asked in confusion, "You okay?"

Ririko crossed her arms and lifted her delicate chin. "Why is Jerome here?"

Butch glanced toward the staff dining room and said flatly:

"That guy's got something wrong with his brain."

He paused, apparently tallying up all the trouble Jerome had caused lately.

"We sent him to fight, and he robbed the hot dog stand next door, then treated the other side to hot dogs...

We sent him to collect a debt, and he killed the guy before he could pay. Didn't collect a single cent...

We told him to watch the door during a deal, and he literally just stared at the door while letting the cops in... Now he eats here and does odd jobs."

Having finished listing Jerome's "crimes," Butch walked off with his shovel.

Standing in the hallway, Ririko became even more certain that Jerome wasn't playing dumb. He really was an idiot.

She put the idiot out of her mind. Her main priority here was making money. Money was her best friend.

As she worked out how to raise Oswald's infatuation value faster, while also finding a way to escape the lounge, a system notification suddenly popped up:

[Core character: Edward Nygma]

[Identity: Iceberg Lounge tax consultant]

[Current infatuation value: 0/100]

Ririko paused midstep.

Edward Nygma?

She had heard of this legendary figure but had never seen him in person.

He had always kept his identity hidden. Other villains murdered people and set fires; his idea of villainy was brainteasers...

She could meet the Riddler, who had given even Fruit Bat Man trouble, today without paying a cent?

Curiosity drove her to prowl along the hallway.

She searched everywhere, but she couldn't find Edward in either the staff area or the lounge.

Finally, she reached the hallway leading to Oswald's private room.

If he was within a ten-meter radius, this room was the only possibility.

She hid around the corner and poked her head out to look at the closed door.

Two guards in black suits stood outside.

She drew back and waited patiently.

About fifteen minutes later, the door opened.

A tall, slender man emerged.

He was very tall, but his frame was slight and his shoulders level. He looked like a sword with its edge concealed.

He had short, dark brown hair and wore a dark green suit, his forest-green tie tied in a perfect Windsor knot.

Ririko's gaze lingered on his face.

He was handsome, but that wasn't the point. The point was that one look at him told you he was smart.

"In short, the tax issues need to be resolved as soon as possible, or they'll affect the election campaign."

Edward calmly laid out the key points, his tone as matter-of-fact as if he were reading an official document.

Oswald came out to see him off.

Ririko had never seen the bird man look like this-

His chin was raised as he looked up at Edward, who stood more than half a head taller. His shoulders had dropped, and even the little finger of his hand holding the umbrella curved slightly upward.

His eyes crinkled with a smile devoid of scheming or businesslike fakery. There was even a hint of bashfulness in it.

Ririko finally understood. The bird man's infatuation value wouldn't rise not because he was highly resistant, but because she wasn't the target of his affections.

His pool of infatuation had barely a soybean's worth of capacity, and this pretty boy occupied it all. Only the tiniest drop was left for her.

Oswald was about to say something to Edward when his alert gaze darted toward the corner of the hallway.

Ririko pulled her head back, but her flowing hair gave away her position.

His eyes narrowed, and he took out his phone and opened the tracking app.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"How much longer are you going to stand there spying?" Oswald shouted down the hallway.

Ririko emerged from around the corner.

She glanced at Oswald first. He was angry, of course.

She chose to ignore that and shifted her gaze to Edward.

Edward turned curiously to look at the unfamiliar woman with flowing hair.

His green eyes flickered as he caught that fleeting glimpse of her.

[Current infatuation value: 2/100.]

Ririko raised her eyebrows.

Apparently, the bird man's romantic stirrings were entirely one-sided. This tall pretty boy felt no spark with him at all.

She lifted a hand and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Boss, I just came to see if there was anything I could do to take care of this pretty... this handsome gentleman."

At being called a "handsome gentleman," Edward's lips twitched.

He gave a shy smile, as though he had picked up on something.

That made Oswald panic.

He planted his umbrella against the floor and stepped forward, putting himself between Edward and Ririko.

"We don't need anything here. Get back downstairs and do your work!"

Oswald screeched like a bird whose tail had been stepped on.

Ririko found his look of facing a mortal enemy utterly amusing.

She drew out her words, her tone two parts pity, three parts mockery, and five parts nonchalance. "All right, boss. Then let's talk tonight."

Edward's brow creased slightly.

His gaze shifted from Ririko's face to Oswald's.

Was there something between them besides "boss" and "employee"? The kind of relationship that involved "talking" at night?

Embarrassed and angry, Oswald told Edward, "Don't listen to her nonsense. She came out of Arkham!"

Edward's frown deepened.

He told Oswald patiently, "Even if she came out of Arkham, make sure you follow the proper hiring procedures. Pay all five social insurance contributions and the housing fund."

Oswald's mouth formed an O.

He hadn't expected Edward to lecture him on lawful employment practices.

Edward put on the bowler hat he had been holding and gave Oswald a slight nod.

"I'll be off, then. We can discuss the taxes next time."

As he passed Ririko, that shy smile appeared on his face again.

Oswald shot her a vicious glare, then turned and slammed the door.

He trembled with anger. For all his cleverness, he had managed to bring two walking headaches back from Arkham.

Angry as he was, he still followed Edward's advice and set about resolving his tax issues promptly for the sake of his mayoral campaign.

The problem was that he had a large amount of wealth he couldn't disclose, and he needed to launder that dirty money as soon as possible.

He limped over to his desk and called Butch.

"'That person' is coming to the lounge for a meeting tomorrow. Make sure our guest is well taken care of. Nothing can go wrong."

After hearing him out, Butch promised to handle everything.

He hung up and stood there thinking for a while.

The boss had assigned Ririko to receive VIP guests, and just now he had said, "Make sure our guest is well taken care of," and, "Nothing can go wrong."

His meaning was clear.

Butch turned and went upstairs to find the duty manager. Ririko absolutely had to be on the reception roster for tomorrow night...