"Alright, guess you're hired." Then he turned to the dishwasher. "I've never seen an owner so careless before."

  "H-how did you know?"

  "I didn't. You just told me."

  "…. -_-' "

  "There's no way these two waiters would dare do something like that without permission. Anyway, it was delicious. How much do I owe you?"

  "It's on me if you answer a single question. What line of work are you in? I've seen many people but never someone just like you."

  "Like me?"

  "Somehow, this guy apparently just met you, yet he wants to work for you and is 100% convinced you're some kind of bigshot." He pointed at the embarrassed beggar, with the two intently listening.

  "Pro-Gaming." Jack honestly answered.

  A few pleasantries later, the three took their leave, the owner inviting him back whenever. He was a pretty nice guy, one that was perhaps just a bit too bored.

  The Jack before his regression would have never been able to interact casually with such a man, and yet there he was. Perhaps sometimes all one needed was confidence…


  "Boss, what are you recruiting me for, by the way?"

  "Oh, I'm establishing an assassin organization. I need people that no one will notice if they disappear." He offhandedly remarked.

  "W-what?!!" This time the man had lost all composure. It wasn't an acting gig?! But that's when he saw Jack's teasing smile and finally calmed down.

  "To be honest, I'm not sure myself. I just feel like you could be useful in the future." He shrugged. "Alright, let's grab some stuff and then get you cleaned up."

  The beggar nodded but then raised his voice once more:

  "Boss, about the whole 'look like a beggar, smell like a beggar, but don't act like one'. Did you come up with it?"

  "Why do you ask?"

  "You're the only one I know that could say that with a straight face. I feel like there's a story behind this. I'm just wondering…."

  "I already said that I was a pro-gamer, right? Let's just say that I had to do something similar in the past." He sighed.

  "Back then, I was the head of a large faction. Think millions of credits in revenue. Anyway, I had to act the part of a wise and benevolent leader, even if it was bullshit at times." Jack confided.

  "M-millions?!" Holy shit! The two weren't in the same fucking league! No wonder he had a special aura around him!

  "Even in the new game that I'm playing, something similar happened."

  "Yes?!" His eyes looked so damn shiny.

  "Well, I look like a player, sound like a player, yet do not act like one— or so people say."

  "What?"

  "Well, they think I'm some sort of hidden last boss…."

  "How's that possible?!"

  "How is it possible to go into a fancy restaurant without a single credit and yet receive personal service from its owner?"

  "….I see. I understand!" That's when everything clicked for the beggar. His new employer was so freaking godly!

  He glanced at Jack with a reverent gaze. He would learn from this man and reach the top. What did getting the top even mean? He wasn't sure himself, but who cared!!

  As for Jack, he had related this to acting to encourage the new guy, but even he wasn't sure why this had happened.

  Still, he could think of a few reasons:

  1. He had disabled the system's automatic assistance. Perhaps the system had used this criterion to discriminate between players and NPC.

  2. Maybe it was all thanks to the rumors that had gained popularity. He wasn't sure which dumbass had started it, but he had heard about that.

  3. The system could also be straight-up confused by his latest achievements. In theory, a player wouldn't have been able to realize half of what he had done.

  4. Perhaps the system had suddenly awakened and decided to troll him. While it was improbable, it wasn't impossible.

  But the true question wasn't why it had happened but how he would deal with it. He brought his new subordinate to grab some groceries as he kept pondering.

  People were frowning at them, with some employees already about to call for help to drive them out.

  "Someone do something. This isn't a place for their kind!"

  "How shameless! They should get a job!"

  "Tch— Those guys are parasites."

  The new guy instantly adopted his charming prince persona, eager to get them out of this predicament.

  "Don't worry, boss! I got this!" He was like a kid that had just learned a new trick and wanted to show off.

  "Yeah, screw that. No need to waste any time."

  Jack simply removed his old jacket, revealing the nice clothes underneath. Heck, some of the bastards criticizing him couldn't afford similar stuff!

  After all, he had pretty much disregarded the price tags while shopping. All he had cared about was how comfortable and durable the clothes were.

  Many looked like they had eaten shit. Some gave embarrassed looks, and others started calling Jack a saint. He was so generous to bring this beggar for a meal!

  The new guy kept chuckling on the side as the two speed-ran the grocery shopping. Jack was just putting whatever looked tasty in his cart.

  He especially grabbed a lot of the most expensive but hella delicious chocolates. Oh, and he had bought enough snacks to feed an army. Those were non-perishables anyway.

  Many couldn't help but stare and even whisper curiously at the checkout.

  What the heck?! What was a homeless guy doing with a man that could afford a freaking rent worth of sweets?! Why were they walking side by side?!

  "Boss, they sure like to gossip."

  "Meh, just ignore them."

  The improbable duo then quickly left, Jack buying a gift card for Lilly. They made their way home with so much loot that people glanced at them strangely.

  All this time, Jack had been pondering about his current situation, with people thinking he was an NPC.

  Deny and prove otherwise. —> How boring!

  Embrace the misunderstanding —> Now that was more like it!

  Countless plans were already swirling in his head.

  1. How long could he make himself pass for an NPC?

  2. What could he get the players to do? Probably a lot. After all, chain quests didn't always give rewards instantly. ??

  He quickly sent detailed instructions to Pancakes. he was eager to see what would come out of this endeavor.

  New Leaf would just be the start….

  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━


  [A/N] Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! ??

  Day 9: Stealing puddings is evil! (4/4) ??