Is Something Wrong with a Mining Company Doing Foreign Trade?

Was this fucking thing here to raid my own home?!!

"...What happened?"

Megumin seemed to notice that something was off about Russell's expression.

—Because she had been isolated, she was very good at noticing changes in other people's emotions.

Huihui and Naruto were also supposed to be good at observing others' emotions, but these two kids were genuinely dirt poor. They had never seen much good food before, and right now they were too busy stuffing their faces to look around.

At that moment, the young lady quickly noticed that Russell's state of mind had developed a small problem.

"It's nothing. Just a few minor changes."

Russell said this with a smile, doing his best to remain calm.

A true warrior had to face the life of being strung up on a streetlamp and confront the blood-soaked reality of being dragged into a basement.

So—

Let me see what enemies are outside.

Russell stood up and looked outside.

In his field of vision, a silver-haired beauty in military dress stood at the front of the formation, with a chubby otaku girl beside her.

Behind the chubby otaku girl stood a monster as massive as a mountain.

At the monster's side, heavy-shielded warriors stood in formation like iron towers, carrying the force of a landslide.

He was screwed.

Russell quickly reached that conclusion.

Black Snake's heir—Talulah.

The leader of the Snowflake Squad—Frostnova.

The last pureblood Wendigo—Patriot.

Setting aside a certain chubby otaku girl who was only there to make up the numbers, the other two were unquestionably genuine royal bloodlines. In a world where Bloodline theory clearly existed, that made them especially troublesome.

Patriot in particular—at the height of his power, that old man could conquer an entire city with just two of his kin covering him.

Though he had no kin with him now, behind him stood the Shield Guards who had rebelled from the Ursus military alongside him.

"...Boss, your complexion doesn't look too good."

Even Huihui, who had been focused on eating, sensed that something unusual was happening.

She wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve. Her slightly baby-fat cheeks looked incredibly adorable.

"I'm just surrounded by an armed force capable of besieging a city."

Russell said it frankly.

Megumin: "!!"

Huihui: "?!!!"

Naruto Uzumaki: "??"

They all looked at Russell, their faces full of disbelief.

No, bro, what kind of unforgivable atrocity had he committed for an army capable of taking a city to surround his business?

Had he broken some heavenly law?

Or torn up the Book of Life and Death?!

"Should we run?"

Mages thought quickly. Huihui directly struggled to lift the pot full of stew beside her, packed it into a red packet, sent it to herself, and then sent every group member directions to Crimson Demon Village.

When in doubt, run.

As long as I run fast enough, no problem can catch up with me!!

Russell deeply agreed.

To hell with the mine, and to hell with the beast-eared girl club. He didn't want them anymore!!

I'm going to Crimson Demon Village right now!!

Great Lord! Talulah of the Zhenghuo Movement is here! She is the crown heir of Victoria. Recruit her at once! Recruit her, and you will gain the qualification to become Victoria's Regent King!

Furthermore, you will receive one chance to draw a card!!

This Surplus Value Prompt Device actually had the function of issuing missions.

Russell was stunned, then immediately clicked the X.

Fuck.

I'm about to get nailed to a church by Patriot's spear and turned into Jesus, and you still want me to become Lü Buwei?

If you want to change hosts, just say so.

There's no need to imitate the Ming Dynasty's drowning inheritance method.

Oh, my friend, I mean, is there perhaps a chance that they don't actually... want to fight?

?

Russell froze.

The Reunion Movement was mostly made up of pitiful people whose every asset had been drained by Nobles before they were casually discarded.

Wasn't his identity as an aristocratic mine owner enough to draw hatred?

No, your social classification does not fall within the Reunion Movement's attack range.

The Prompt Device stated a certain fact bluntly.

?!!!

You spent an astronomical sum purchasing Originium mines, only for a massive explosion to occur before they could be developed. Your tragic story has already become a legend in Ursus's business circles. Everyone loves watching people high above fall into the mud, don't they?

You are both a Noble and a major merchant, yet you owe a debt equal to Chernobyl's GDP for two years because of an accident. You are simply too suitable as a punchline.

The Reunion Movement came here only because they thought you might be poor enough to sell off your assets now, and they wanted to take this opportunity to buy some cheap food—they were not bored enough to publicly denounce a super-debtor, or rather, the first of the Digital Four Heavenly Kings.

Russell: "..."

His expression could no longer be described as merely savage.

So he didn't even qualify to be publicly denounced?

As a Noble, as a mine owner... he did not even qualify to be publicly denounced.

What kind of humiliation was this?

Fuck you, fuck you.

Russell pointed one hand at the sky and silently cursed the damned heavens for assigning him such a clownish identity.

"...Boss, aren't we running?"

Huihui's voice interrupted Russell's accusations against the heavens.

She tugged at Russell's sleeve, signaling for him to make a run for it.

"We're not running."

"Are we going to fight?"

At that moment, Skadi, who had remained relatively silent, spoke.

"The enemy's main fighting force consists of one Wendigo, one Red Dragon, a group of Shield Guards, and one rabbit."

"If Huihui uses magic to bombard them once, she should be able to deal with the Shield Guards and weaken the remaining three... I can deal with the injured Wendigo and rabbit. Russell should be able to deal with the injured Red Dragon too."

"If we attack before they have time to spread out, victory will be ours."

Was this what one would expect from an Abyssal Hunter?

Skadi's combat instincts were extraordinarily sharp. She quickly calmed down and completed a basic tactical plan.

If she had said that a minute ago, he definitely would have considered it.

After all, he was a Capitalist Tycoon. He had to defend his assets.

But now, there was no need.

Because—

He realized he did not actually have any assets worth protecting.

"No, there's no need to fight."

Russell vigorously rubbed his cheeks, making his smile as gentle and approachable as possible.

Huihui: "???"

Skadi: "???"

"We're not fighting?"

Skadi was a little lost.

"Who told me to be nothing but a bankrupt mine owner?"

Russell gritted his teeth and settled on future plans for mining and cross-world trade.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river!

Never mock a poor mine owner!!

A Mining Company Doing Foreign Trade—Was Something Wrong Here?

Talulah looked at the house ahead, her expression somewhat hesitant.

Russell.

A legend in Ursus's financial world.

From Chernobyl's upper society to the low-ranking officials in northern villages, everyone knew his name. Even some of her subordinates had heard of him.

In her spare time, she had once tried calculating Russell's debts, only to be horrified by the result.

—The debts this man owed were comparable to Koschei's territory's annual harvest.

"If this man jumped from Chernobyl's walls, government officials and bank presidents would stack rescue cushions higher than the walls themselves."

She firmly believed this, and could not help developing some ideas.

For example—

Could they buy food, cloth, and edible salt at low prices?

In the past, obtaining enough supplies to sustain the Reunion Movement often required them to travel through more than a dozen villages.

It was not because Talulah's disguise was poor and the villagers recognized her as an Infected, driving her away and refusing to trade.

The main reason was that Ursus Nobles governed their territories somewhere between human and inhuman.

To them, sustainable exploitation might even count as praise.

Because they usually preferred to exploit everything dry immediately, and did not mind digging three feet into the ground.

Under the rule of these Nobles, who could swear brotherhood with the various overlords of the African region, the villagers had little left that could support trade.

Sometimes, Talulah had to travel dozens of miles just to exchange for a little salt.

This sometimes made Talulah think that it would be nice if there were a fixed trading point.

If there were a fixed place to exchange resources, the Reunion Movement's situation might improve dramatically. At the very least, they would not have to travel dozens of miles for a little salt.

But—

Anyone capable of providing the Reunion Movement with stable resources would not be a commoner.

Only Nobles had that capability.

Unfortunately, in Ursus, discriminating against the Infected was political correctness, even national policy.

Ursus Nobles all believed that the Infected should spend their entire lives in mines, have every last bit of value squeezed out of them, and die miserable deaths.