The next day, Shizuka Sakaki and Yoshino Koharu arrived at the detective office one after the other. After signing their one-month probation contracts, both girls—and Jiang Hang himself—felt a sense of relief.
"From today onward, both of you are official members of the Pioneer Detective Agency," Jiang Hang said.
He looked at Shizuka Sakaki first.
"Since you're working part-time, you'll start as the front desk receptionist. When I'm not in the office and a client comes in, you'll be responsible for greeting them and figuring out their request before I return."
Then he turned to Yoshino Koharu.
"You'll be my assistant. If Shizuka Sakaki isn't around, you'll handle reception as well. Normally, your job will simply be to maintain the office's daily operations."
In reality, "maintaining daily operations" mostly meant simple things like cleaning the office or ordering takeout around mealtime. If one wanted to add more responsibilities, it might include promoting the agency to the public.
After all, if Yoshino Koharu could help revive a declining rural tourist town, promoting a detective agency should not be too difficult for her.
Truthfully, one person could easily handle both of these roles. But since Jiang Hang had hired two people, he figured it was better to give each of them something to do.
After explaining their individual duties, Jiang Hang addressed them both again.
"Of course, besides being the receptionist and assistant, you are also my assistants in investigations. If any cases come up in the future, I'll bring you to the crime scenes for on-site investigation. If you feel uncomfortable with that environment, just tell me directly."
At this moment, neither girl would admit they might not be able to handle it. Whether they could or not would only become clear once they actually experienced a real crime scene.
After arranging their responsibilities and exchanging contact information, Jiang Hang glanced at the office bulletin board where various system-generated commissions were continuously appearing.
He decided not to waste any time.
"You two should take some time to get used to the office. I'm going out to see if I can pick up any commissions. If you get hungry at noon, just order takeout and charge it to the office account."
He continued casually,
"You can also buy groceries and cook in the office kitchen if you prefer. Just remember to keep the place clean. If you think the office needs anything, send me a message."
After saying that, Jiang Hang left the office, leaving the two confused girls behind while he headed toward the commercial district.
Watching Jiang Hang leave so effortlessly, Yoshino Koharu and Shizuka Sakaki looked at each other.
Both of them were deeply puzzled about this job.
They weren't stupid. It was easy to tell whether a job was busy or relaxed.
But according to Jiang Hang's explanation, their entire day would basically consist of sitting in the office and waiting for clients to arrive.
Isn't this job a little too easy?
The same thought flashed through both girls' minds.
When they thought about the surprisingly generous salary Jiang Hang had offered, they couldn't help but feel suspicious. If Jiang Hang hadn't left immediately after giving instructions, they might even have begun wondering whether he had hired them for some strange reason.
After a moment of silence, Shizuka Sakaki was the first to speak.
"Um… hello. I'm Shizuka Sakaki. It looks like we'll be working together from now on."
Yoshino Koharu quickly replied.
"Hello! I'm Yoshino Koharu. Please take care of me."
Two girls of similar age naturally found it easy to start chatting. With their boss absent, they quickly became more relaxed around each other.
Naturally, most of their conversation revolved around their suspiciously easy new job.
One of them was a fresh graduate who had failed thirty job interviews in a row, while the other had simply tried her luck while searching for a part-time job. After learning about each other's circumstances, they still couldn't figure out what kind of mindset Jiang Hang had when hiring them.
They came up with countless possibilities.
Perhaps Jiang Hang, as a detective, had sensed some hidden talent within them.
Or maybe he had simply hired two pretty girls to make the office look better.
Or—thinking even more suspiciously—perhaps Jiang Hang had hired them for less honorable reasons and simply hadn't revealed his true intentions yet.
But after all their speculation, there was one conclusion they could agree on.
Jiang Hang was definitely rich.
The luxurious decoration of the office and his generous attitude made that very clear.
"I heard the annual rent for this office alone is more than ten million yen," Yoshino Koharu whispered to Shizuka Sakaki.
"And the agency told me yesterday that our boss plans to buy the entire floor in the near future. That would cost hundreds of millions of yen. I could never earn that much money in my life."
For Yoshino Koharu, Jiang Hang's identity didn't really matter. As long as he paid her salary and allowed her to continue living in Tokyo, he was already her benefactor.
Her thinking was simple and straightforward.
Shizuka Sakaki, however, didn't think about it much. No matter how rich Jiang Hang was, it had nothing to do with her. Her dream was still to debut as a voice actress and someday create an anime together with her friends.
After chatting for a while and becoming more familiar with each other, Yoshino Koharu finally began thinking seriously about her responsibilities.
After all, Jiang Hang had mentioned that she would handle promotion and publicity for the detective agency.
Placing advertisements in newspapers or handing out flyers on the street would be the easiest and most effective methods. But Yoshino Koharu felt that she should explore other promotional strategies as well.
"Still, for a detective agency, no matter how much you advertise, the most important thing is the detective's own ability, right?"
Shizuka Sakaki's casual remark immediately struck the heart of the matter.
Yoshino Koharu deflated instantly.
Shizuka Sakaki was absolutely right. No matter how well an agency was promoted, if the detective himself lacked skill and couldn't solve cases, everything would be meaningless.
"But how are we supposed to know whether Jiang Hang is actually a good detective?" Yoshino Koharu said.
"I asked around. This detective agency only opened a few days ago, and Jiang Hang only recently started working as a detective."
Then she seemed to remember something.
"Oh right. Yesterday Jiang Hang mentioned that he helped the police solve a gang robbery case worth several hundred million yen."
Yoshino Koharu immediately pulled out her phone and searched for news about it.
Soon she found something.
"Here it is… the Maple Leaf Gold Coin robbery case. The gang members involved were arrested by the police the day before yesterday. But the police didn't reveal many details about the case."
She continued reading.
"It only says that three fleeing gang members were successfully captured with the help of a concerned citizen."
Yoshino Koharu looked up.
"If that concerned citizen was Jiang Hang… then maybe he really is an amazing detective."
Shizuka Sakaki, meanwhile, remembered the moment she first met Jiang Hang the previous day.
Those sharp, eagle-like eyes.
Someone with eyes like that probably wouldn't be a second-rate detective.
Still, until Jiang Hang actually took them to a real crime scene, the two girls could only continue speculating.