Just Trivialities

After a long silence, she still did not flee as directly as she had imagined. She was someone who had sworn to shoulder everyone's fate herself.

In other words, a hero.

And a hero could never flee in disgrace!

"Otto? There's nothing worth saying about that man. I don't make a habit of badmouthing people behind their backs."

The young man smiled but did not elaborate.

"Besides, that hollow man has already chosen his own guillotine. Even if no one intervenes, he will walk toward self-destruction."

He merely gave his adopted daughter a gentle hug. Durandal initially wanted to struggle, but seeing the wistful look on the man's face, she could not bring herself to do so. In the end, she stopped and returned the embrace, hugging the man who called himself her godfather.

It was a picture of fatherly love and filial devotion.

Damn, forget being a mine owner. You should become an actor.

Three years for Best Actor, five years for Lifetime Achievement.

Even the Prompt Device was dumbfounded.

I sent you to tattle to The Penguin, and now you're practically talking The Penguin into becoming your adopted daughter.

Aren't you afraid that one day The Penguin will come to her senses, pick up a halberd, and send you to meet Chancellor Dong?

Russell merely rolled his eyes at that.

No, he was not from the Honkai world.

No matter how strong The Penguin was, could she really cross worlds to hunt him down?

The Penguin, held in an embrace, clearly had no idea that her godfather—who resembled the tragic second male lead in some melodramatic soap opera—had thoughts as lively as a whipped Nigel.

The girl in his arms raised her head, looked at her godfather, and could not help feeling a little puzzled.

Come to think of it, her godfather took far too good care of himself. He looked so young that one might think he was her peer.

"...So, Godfather, what did you come to see me for?"

Her godfather did not seem to be here to settle scores with the Bishop.

Then why had he come here?

"While passing through Changkong City, I encountered a few people closely connected to you. I originally wanted to take them in and raise them myself, but considering your connection to her, I felt it would be better to leave them to you."

The young man smiled faintly.

"Closely connected?"

Durandal was a little surprised.

No matter how close the connection was, could it be closer than the aunt from the Saniyat family?

"Yes. After all, she is a girl who shares your name."

The young man said with a smile.

"Besides that—there are also two very boring people there. One is Cocolia, an Anti-Entropy executive trying to create a Great Eruption there. The other is Gray Serpent, a World Serpent executive providing her with the technology."

"I've told you too much today. You probably won't sleep well tonight. If you really can't sleep, go clean things up. Beating up evil people is rather good for relieving stress."

As he spoke, the young man's figure gradually faded away.

Durandal remained alone, lost in the dream.

The next instant, she opened her eyes.

"Godfather, blood relatives, the Bishop's darkness, an artificial Great Eruption..."

The girl murmured these words.

Just as Russell had said, all sleepiness had vanished from her.

Since she could not sleep, then she would not sleep.

The world's strongest goose grabbed at the air, and a spear appeared in her hand the next instant.

She did not even change clothes. Wearing only pajamas, she strode out of her room.

"Lord Durandal, what is this?"

The Valkyries along the way were all stunned. They simply could not understand why the strongest person at headquarters looked so frantic.

"Prepare a battleship for Changkong City... No, notify the organization near Changkong City to receive me."

The girl's beautiful face now bore a resolve as hard as diamond.

No matter what—

Criminals against humanity had to be eliminated!!

Nothing But Trivial Matters

March 2014.

A minor incident occurred within Schicksal.

For example, the vice-captain of Schicksal's Blade of Immortality had captured a spy with furry traits, then disappeared.

This caused vice-captain Rita to lose face.

At the same time, a few minor incidents also occurred in Changkong City.

For example, Anti-Entropy's executor Cocolia and her ally Gray Serpent were sent flying into the sky by an unnamed The Penguin with a single spear thrust, then smashed into Cocolia paste mixed with Gray Serpent paste.

The Anti-Entropy faction that Cocolia had originally unified became as chaotic as the African region.

However, none of that had anything to do with Russell.

After all, those events had been done by Raikou Ryoma's distant grandnephew, Six Evening Su, and Durandal's honorary father, Luo Fengshi.

They had nothing to do with him, Russell.

Russell sat in the hall, elegantly raising a glass of red wine and swirling it beneath the suggestive lighting.

Thanks to The Penguin, Raikou Ryoma had successfully escaped from prison.

She had promised Russell a sum of support money. Once she confirmed that Cocolia was dead, Raikou Ryoma paid up without hesitation.

"Oh, my friend, you must have made quite a fortune this time. Have you turned into an oil tycoon?"

Valmont poked Russell in the chat group.

"Yes, hello."

The young man who had just returned from the Honkai world had somehow acquired a piece of cloth over his head.

He clearly had an East Asian face, and the backdrop was Siberia.

Yet, the moment he proudly said yes, the whole world seemed to turn into a desert bubbling with crude oil.

"Shouldn't you treat the whole group to a feast?"

Huihui, still in Crimson Demon Village, poked her head in.

She had no idea what had happened, but bringing up a feast at a time like this was definitely right.

"A feast?"

Russell burst out laughing.

"Too small-minded. Everyone who sees it gets a share."

For a moment, Russell seemed to awaken the bloodline of a camel and directly sent red packets to every group member.

His current life was connected to all his fellow group members.

Since he had become wealthy, naturally he had to give his friends a hand.

He was not so immoral that he would become rich and then kick the people who had supported him back into the slums.

Huihui accepted the red packet and found that it was a safe.

When she opened it, she found a pile of colorful paper inside.

With a solemn expression, Huihui picked up a banknote, held it high, and carefully examined the pattern on it.

An old man named Franklin was smiling at her from the paper.

—Though she did not know who the old man on the banknote was, Huihui had always held anyone printed on money in reverence greater than that reserved for gods.

"Are these colorful papers the currency from Sister Mei's world?"

"Mm, a currency with rather stable purchasing power."

Valmont, a wealthy man who had not yet gone bankrupt, explained the purchasing power of US dollars to the child from another world.

"However, for people from a magical medieval world, even if I tell you the dollar is stable, you probably won't understand. You might get a more practical sense if we convert it into supplies, so let's talk about rice prices."

"American quotes remain at 760 US dollars per ton; Uruguay's export price is 575 US dollars per ton; Vietnamese rice costs 460 US dollars per ton, while Indian white rice remains the world's lowest at 435 US dollars per ton."

"If you don't mind the taste of white rice, one banknote in your hand could buy roughly 450 jin of food in Miss Raiden's world."

"Gasp—"

Huihui drew in breath after breath.

For this slum girl, who sometimes went three days without solid food, that price was simply outrageous!

She tried to lift the safe, but after raising it only a little, her lack of arm strength made it fall back down, nearly crushing her toes.

"I had someone weigh them. My red packet is about 210 jin, so yours should be around that amount too... Good lord, that amount of money could buy a luxury apartment in Manhattan."

Even Valmont, a Mafia member, could not help clicking his tongue.

He had gained an entirely new understanding of the profession of prophet.

Damn it, this was robbery.

No, even robbery was not this fast!

"By the way, won't giving everyone such large dividends affect you?"

Huihui, who had nearly had her foot crushed by the safe, suddenly noticed a blind spot.

"It's fine. The share I kept for myself is twice the total of all your red packets."

The young man looked utterly proud.

At the same time, he was gradually beginning to understand why the Prompt Device had always egged him on to pursue Megumin.

Raikou Ryoma's stockpile of gold coins was truly astonishing.

And that was after Anti-Entropy's mechs had all been dismantled by the invincible goose. Otherwise, he might have been able to switch careers and become a Zaku pilot starting today.

"Boss, awesome!!!"

Knowing that it would not have much impact on Russell, Huihui accepted the money with a clear conscience and immediately shouted.

That was how the world worked.

With a monthly salary of 2,000, boss, I'm your father. With a monthly salary of 10,000, the boss might be a little wrong, but I won't say anything. With a monthly salary of 50,000, 996 felt as natural as breathing. As for a whole safe of US dollars...

"You should call me invincible under heaven."

Russell corrected Huihui's improper wording.

"Yes, Boss is invincible under heaven!!"

Huihui practically transformed into a lackey. If she had a tail, it would probably already be wagging.

For a boss who handed out US dollars by the jin, even his farts smelled sweet. If he set her house on fire, she would still need to stand beside him and praise him for making the flames look beautiful, saying they had warmed her heart.

Huihui understood this very well.

"But come to think of it, why are only the three of us talking?"

The girl who made magical tools in Crimson Demon Village realized that today's group chat was rather quiet.

"Mm, for a small reason, I asked Skadi to investigate Victoria and Kashimir's mansions."

Russell did not hide his determination to die peacefully in comfort at all.

Who cared what happened to this land?

Lord Russell only wanted to experience the depth of the swimming pool and the heat of the barbecue grill in the courtyard.