Chapter 360 - 360: Once I Build the Sons of Calydon's Business Empire...

"Why book a restaurant?"

"I wanted to celebrate passing the auditions... but if it's too late today, then I'll wait until I win the championship to celebrate. It's the same!"

Astra answered Wise with complete confidence, as if winning the championship were as easy as pulling something out of a bag.

"The auditions haven't even started yet... Astra, you're really confident," Belle said, sounding impressed.

"These are the accessories I designed. Passing the auditions should be a piece of cake, right?"

Everyone else seemed to think so, but as a contestant, Eous still wasn't very confident. He was afraid of making a mistake on stage.

However, with just a few words from Astra, he was once again swayed.

Seeing that the competition was about to begin and the crowd was growing, Evelyn, wanting to avoid trouble, persuaded Astra to return to the exclusive lounge.

Before leaving, she gave Wise a serious look.

Was she telling him to research their future opponents?

'Never mind. It's better to observe the situation in the hall first.'

Thinking this, Wise soon spotted two familiar faces, or rather, two familiar Bangboos.

Amillion from the Cunning Hares and Red Moccus from the Sons of Calydon.

'Why would they travel all this way just to participate in this event?' Wise felt a little curious.

He later learned that Burnice had heard about Nicole's plan from Billy and had Red Moccus enter the competition as well.

After entering the contestant waiting area, Burnice immediately noticed him. While enthusiastically greeting him, she didn't forget to share her brilliant ideas.

Not wanting to dampen her enthusiasm, Wise chatted with her for a while before heading over to Nicole and Lucy, who were currently talking together.

"What! Wise, you're quite early! Hmm~ Amillion did well this time!" Nicole said excitedly.

"What are you and Lucy discussing?" Wise asked, glancing at Lucy beside her.

The latter let out a huff before chuckling, having no intention of hiding her grand plan.

"I've also been considering the expansion of Leaps and Bounds lately. I'm thinking about how to further improve the utilization of our current assets..."

"Have you considered the cost issue?" Wise asked.

"Hehe, of course. Under the right conditions, I'll minimize my investment costs as much as possible."

After Lucy said that, Nicole, standing beside her, spoke in perfect sync.

"Which means~ first let our own Bangboo become famous on Ridu's Got Boo..."

"And then use that fame to attract financing!" Lucy continued.

"And use the investors' money to bring our business plan to life!" they both declared together.

"Hehehe... Using borrowed money to make money, that's the smartest thing in the world!"

The conversation between Lucy and Nicole left Wise momentarily unsure which of them had influenced the other.

One was a talented business scion from a major conglomerate, while the other was the incredibly shrewd founder of the Cunning Hares.

The two were surprisingly compatible.

"How about it, Wise? If you're interested in investing during the angel round, meaning right now, I can offer you some very favorable investment terms~"

Nicole had already started fantasizing about making a fortune, paying off her debts, and spending money to hire Wise's services whenever she wanted.

Although that wasn't much different from how things already were, that wasn't important.

Being happy was what mattered.

"Wait, Nicole, you're making a move already!? And your target is Wise?!" Lucy exclaimed in astonishment.

Wise didn't want to burst Nicole's bubble, but he still kindly reminded her.

"You do know this competition is highly random, right?"

"Of course I know. So what? What do I have to lose? As long as I sweet-talk Amillion a bit, it's a win-win with zero capital investment. Why wouldn't I gamble?"

Nicole said shamelessly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Wise didn't lend her any money.

"Also, a special reminder, Nicole. You absolutely cannot gamble on anything else."

"Alright, alright, I know... Hmph~ All in all, Gilded Carrot Day is a time to make money! If I don't earn a good sum before the end of the year, what am I supposed to use to pay for the prepaid expenses of my post-New Year vacation?"

Nicole's tone softened slightly after hearing Wise's warning, but she still refused to abandon her original plan.

"...If you don't have money, don't prepay."

"I've worked hard for a whole year! It's time to reward myself, isn't it?"

There was nothing he could do. Anyway, everyone from the Cunning Hares would probably be going together, so he could always lend Nicole some money later.

"Hmph, I'm not doing it for such shallow goals... Once I build the Sons of Calydon's business empire, oh ho ho..."

Lucy also began fantasizing about becoming a business magnate and gradually controlling the entire economy of New Eridu.

By then, who Wise chose to accompany would be entirely up to her.

"Lucy..."

"Ahem... However, setting aside the goal, Nicole's idea isn't entirely without merit~ To catch your attention, she really does have some skill..."

As they continued talking, the official event broadcast echoed throughout the venue, instructing contestants to find their assigned event guides and sign in according to their registration numbers.

According to the registration system, the event guide assigned to the siblings was a woman named Paige.

During the registration process, Wise quickly noticed one of Paige's hobbies.

Or rather, he didn't even need to notice.

The woman was a massive Bangboo fan.

What was unexpected, however, was that in the very first round of the competition, Eous was matched against Amillion.

Cruel as it was, the outcome was obvious.

"Lost... Lost to Eous, Amillion!"

It was unclear how much Nicole had hyped things up to Billy beforehand for his reaction to be this dramatic.

After accepting her defeat, Nicole realized that Eous's new accessories had clearly cost a lot of money.

Losing to someone who had invested heavily while she hadn't spent a single Denny didn't seem like something worth complaining about.

Just bad luck.

As for those prepaid vacation expenses she had mentioned earlier?

How could Nicole of the Cunning Hares ever be defeated by something as trivial as money?

"Hmph... There are still a few days left until Gilded Carrot Day. I don't believe I can't find a way to make money. If all else fails..."

Nicole seemed to have thought of a reliable backup plan. She glanced at Wise while speaking, but quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, where's that biker gang young lady? Did her Bangboo pass the auditions, Billy?"

"Lucy and their side of the competition doesn't seem to be over yet... Oh, oh, here they come!" Billy said, pointing ahead.

Looking over, they saw Lucy, Burnice, and Lighter walking toward them alongside Red Moccus.

Unfortunately, the result wasn't much better.

Red Moccus complained that city people simply couldn't appreciate the wild spirit of bikers, while Lucy, somewhat annoyed, told him to stop grumbling.

The business empire plan had ended before it could even begin.

"Ugh, of all the themes, why did I have to get that one...? I should've brought Caesar along. Her luck would be far more useful than drawing 'One Free Drink' bottle caps from Nitro-Fuel promotions!"

"Oh, right! I should've brought Piper along too..."

Burnice nodded in agreement.

But come to think of it, if Piper had been there, wouldn't the effect have been even better than having the two of them?

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