I'm Trying To Go Broke, So Why Do I Keep Getting Richer?!-Chapter 165: Don’t Worry Boss

The goblin landed on the chair with a soft poof, looking significantly more official than he did when he was dancing with Leo like it was a party.

He pulled oversized spectacles from thin air, placed them on his nose, and began to crack his knuckles with a sound like dry twigs snapping in a forest.

"Stand back, amateur," the goblin said. "Watch me perform my magic!"

He reached out toward the keyboard. He began to type on the keyboard that made loud mechanical clack-clack-clack sounds. His tiny green fingers moved as if he was really experienced when it came to using his old computer.

"Let’s see here... cross-referencing the Alpha Bank distress signals... bypassing the Alpha Labs firewall... filtering the Alpha Clothing revenue..."

The goblin stopped. His eyes widened behind the lenses. He leaned in so close to the screen his long nose actually poked through the holographic display.

"I see..." the goblin whispered, his voice dropping a little. "Hmm. Ho-ho! So that’s it. It’s all so clear now. The sheer audacity of it."

Leo felt a surge of hope. He leaned over the goblin’s head, his silver hair practically standing on end. "You found it? You found the problem? Is it a bug? Is it a rounding error? Tell me it’s a rounding error of 2.4 trillion credits!"

The goblin turned slowly in the chair. He took off the glasses, wiped them on his skin which only made them greasier, and gave Leo a look of disappointment.

"Did you know they were doing something like this? How can they do it?"

"What did they do?" Leo asked, his expressions growing more solemn.

"They are having a party today? And they didn’t even invite us? Is it not absurd?" The goblin asked, his eyes almost widening in disbelief.

"They are also spending so much on the food," he further added. "They are so irresponsible. They should’ve negotiated to bring the food price down. How can they earn profit like this?"

"You..." Leo’s lips started twitching. "I didn’t ask you to audit their food bill, or their staff parties! Tell me where the freakin 2.5 trillion came from? Which branch of Alpha Corp screwed me over this time?"

"Oh that?" The Goblin clicked his tongue.

"Yes, that’s the thing I asked you to do?" Leo repeated. "Did you find anything about it?"

"Nope. Didn’t find a thing," the goblin said cheerfully, shrugging his shoulders off the responsibility. "I searched everything, but couldn’t find a single trace of that extra money anywhere."

Leo froze. The silence in the room was so heavy you could have used it to anchor a ship.

"You... you just said ’I see,’" Leo mumbled, his voice trembling on the edge of a breakdown. "You said ’So that’s it.’ You made the ’Aha!’ face! You even did the dramatic whisper!"

"Oh, that?" The goblin hopped off the chair and started stretching his hamstrings.

"I just realized that I’m actually quite hungry. And ’So that’s it’ was me realizing why I felt so grumpy after I punched you. It was low blood sugar."

He looked at the 2.5 trillion credit profit on the screen and patted it like one might pat a stray dog that just bit them.

"As for your money? It must be there... Somewhere. Doing... money things. Anyway, are you also hungry?"

Leo stared at the goblin, then at the screen, then back at the goblin. He slowly raised his hands to his face and let out a sound that was half sob, half maniacal laughter. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Yeah, I’m also hungry. I’m craving for a fried goblin. I wonder where I can find one? Do you see any goblins nearby that I can eat?" he asked.

The little goblin looked around, like he was genuinely trying to help Leo find a goblin to eat, completely forgetting that he was one as well.

The other manager flew across the room, and even looked under the table.

"I didn’t see any..." In the end, he returned empty handed. "A real shame."

The goblin sighed, sounding genuinely disappointed for Leo’s stomach. "I hear they’re quite chewy. Very high in iron."

He hopped back onto the desk, narrowly avoiding a swipe from Leo’s trembling hand. The 2.5 trillion credit profit stayed there, glowing on the screen like a bright sign mocking Leo’s very hopes.

"Okay, look," Leo said, trying his hardest to calm his breathing. "If the money isn’t in the Bank, and it isn’t in the Lab Account, and it isn’t from the clothes... then the system should be hallucinating."

"Or," the goblin interjected, holding up a single green finger. "Maybe you’re just too good at this? Maybe you’re too talented at earning money without realizing it?"

"Talented at earning money?! I am trying to lose money!" Leo exclaimed. "I gave out loans to people who don’t even have shoes! I funded a lab that spent three billion credits on a self-peeling banana that doesn’t even work! How am I failing at failing?!"

The goblin tapped his chin, then suddenly dove back into the holographic screen, his head disappearing into the lines.

After a few seconds of muffled cursing, he popped back out. "Yeah, there doesn’t seem to be any hallucination. It’s strange indeed. Then again, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before you find out where that money came from, or where that money is now..."

"Cheer up, dear customer!" The goblin started bouncing on Leo’s back like it was a trampoline. "There’s always next month."

Leo didn’t know how to react. He was even feeling a headache as he walked back to his chair, taking a seat.

He placed his head flat on the table before him like a lifeless doll. "Am I cursed or something? Everything was aligned so well this time. Who screwed me over? I swear I’ll thrash them when I find out!’

....

Meanwhile on an unknown planet, a middle aged man who looked quite young for his age, was sitting on a boat, holding a fishing hook.

"Don’t worry, boss. Fishing is going well... I won’t disappoint you."