Will I Eventually Become a Capitalist Tycoon?

The nobles, who thought so highly of themselves, how could they possibly conduct trade with infected people who were worse than serfs?

Just as she was about to give up on that idea, Russell appeared in her field of vision.

A noble at the end of his rope probably couldn't afford to be as proud as before.

Talulah pulled a fairly bulging money pouch from her pocket—this was all the cash the Reunion Movement had on hand at the moment.

Then, she glanced at the companions following beside her, her expression helpless.

For trading grain, bringing a dozen or so people would have been enough.

But the sheer lack of virtue and morality among the Ursus nobles was deeply ingrained in everyone's minds.

At first, it was just Yelena who insisted on coming along because she was worried.

Then Patriot came too.

And after that, a squad of Shield Guards followed as well.

"Talulah, even though we've come this far, I still hope you'll turn back."

The rabbit girl beside her stared ahead at the distinctly noble-style building, speaking very seriously.

Nobles were despicable and cunning, shameless and brutal.

Dealing with nobles was undoubtedly extremely dangerous.

Talulah: "..."

She looked at the long line of people behind her, her expression subtle.

"I hope this doesn't scare them off."

The dragon girl took a deep breath and walked up to the main gate of the small manor.

In the dim sunset, the decaying gate forged of black iron exuded a heavy aura.

Through the gaps in the fence, the manor was pitch-dark, not a single light showing in the twilight, looking eerily desolate and dilapidated.

She tried to ring the doorbell, standing at the gate and signaling the attendant to press it.

Unexpectedly, the gate burst open with a crash, dazzling light blooming from behind it, followed immediately by the thunderous roar of celebratory gunfire.

Even the Miss Red Dragon couldn't help but have her vision completely stolen by the sight before her, as if the world had turned into color.

That wasn't a metaphor.

It was because colored confetti was literally plastered right onto her face!!

Talulah wiped her face vigorously.

She had rehearsed her meeting with the fallen noble countless times.

In the favorable scenarios, she would complete the trade smoothly, even forge a friendship, allowing for future transactions.

In the unfavorable ones, she would face severe discrimination, part on bad terms, or even be reported to the Ursus army.

But in none of her deductions had she ever imagined getting a face full of confetti from celebratory gunfire!

What the hell was that Russell guy trying to do?

Talulah took a deep breath, pushing her senses to their absolute limit, trying to locate Russell.

Then, she spotted a little girl dressed like a wizard from a story and a young boy with yellow hair and fox-like whiskers waving strange flags ahead, the words "Warm Welcome" fluttering in the wind.

Off to the side, a very tall young lady was covering her face, while an even taller silver-haired beauty was holding a watermelon, focused on enjoying the frozen fruit.

What the hell was going on?

This dragon young lady felt like her brain was about to crash.

No, she wasn't the only one crashing—Frostnova, standing at the gate, and Patriot and the Shield Guards further back were all equally dumbfounded.

They had prepared for a smooth trade and leaving with grain, and they had prepared for the noble's bad attitude and a full-on assault, but they had never imagined how to handle this scene.

"Oh, my dear God, have you finally deigned to grace the mortal world?"

A slick, translated accent, tinged with a merchant's opportunism.

While the Reunion Movement members wondered if they had run into the Zhenghuo Movement, a rather handsome fellow strolled over and warmly shook Talulah's hand.

"Come, come, have a seat!!"

The boy hastily pulled a chair from who-knows-where, then called for Naruto to split off a Shadow Clone to serve tea and water.

The enthusiastic scene left Talulah in a daze.

Was this an Ursus noble?

Was she sure this wasn't a Victoria profiteer?

Talulah's thoughts were a bit scrambled.

"...Old stubborn... what is that Russell up to."

At the main gate, Frostnova looked at her adoptive father with a complicated expression. She had grown up on the Ice Field and had never seen Ursus high society.

In comparison, her adoptive father was the best field commander in all of Ursus and a Royal Court Descendant, with far broader experience than hers. Maybe he could understand the situation...?

The massive man fell silent.

What could he say?

He had never seen such a situation before!

Confusion, incomprehension—a jumble of strange feelings made Talulah's hand, holding the teacup, tremble slightly.

Though she didn't know what was happening, it seemed Mr. Russell had learned of her plan to buy low-priced grain. Losing the upper hand, she felt as if she had fallen into a trap.

Thinking this way, she could almost understand why the man before her was so enthusiastic.

After all—

Who doesn't like a fat sheep to fleece?

With that thought, Talulah instantly grew alert. Reunion Movement was far too poor to withstand a swindler's exploitation.

"Mr. Russell, This Humble One still has matters to attend to..."

She spoke gravely, rising at once, much like Huihui had when preparing to flee. No, that wasn't right—Huihui was a mage with no physical strength, but this one was a Red Dragon. Her escape speed was far faster than Huihui's!

In the blink of an eye, she was nearly out the Main Gate.

Watching her swiftly retreating figure, Russell was stunned. How could she run so fast?

Could learning fire magic come with a bonus specialization in the Study of Escape?

[Stop daydreaming! Catch her now—don't let her get away!!]

In his vision, the Prompt Device flashed frantically, like an anxious eunuch watching an emperor neglect his consorts.

"I don't need you to remind me. Even if it's just for the lottery, I won't let her escape!!"

Gripping a staff embedded with Originium, Russell activated his Originium Arts without hesitation.

Common Sense Distortion.

Through mental interference, he twisted the target's language, actions, and intentions.

Turning strikes into pushes, advances into retreats, escapes into charges... A sinister and bizarre Originium Art.

Its only flaw was an absurdly high consumption, making its duration extremely short.

But sometimes, a second or two of cognitive error was enough to change the situation.

For instance—

The Red Dragon girl slammed into Russell. She looked up at his handsome face, her own filled with disbelief.

"You are far too enthusiastic."

"But an unmarried Lady should not abruptly embrace a strange man. It might harm your reputation."

Under the Dragon Girl's incredulous gaze, he spoke like a gentleman, his expression tinged with mild distress.

"However—an enthusiastic Lady is always a pleasure."

"Seeing how passionate you are, I am more than happy to provide you with all the goods you need."

The boy elegantly placed a glass of champagne and a list of goods into her hands, chuckling softly.

"All goods."

Chapter 7: On the Husky and the North American Gray Wolf

Anything...

Talulah fell silent.

She did not pick up the champagne, but she did take the commercial list.

Flour, clean water, table salt, canned goods, antibiotics, cotton coats, Originium...

These things were readily available to anyone living in modern society.

But to Talulah, currently wandering the snowy wilderness of northern Ursus, they were incredibly precious.

Aside from the absence of Oripathy inhibitors, everything Talulah needed was printed on it.

"..."

Talulah remained silent.

The items listed on this sheet were astonishing, and the prices marked beside them were equally low.

Two hundred grams of Red Gold could be exchanged for fourteen tons of flour.

That was an astonishing number.

If all that flour were steamed into one-hundred-gram buns, it would amount to roughly 210,000.

In northern Ursus, this was utterly unimaginable.

"..."

"What do you want?"

Talulah fell silent once more, looking at Russell again, her eyes filled with unprecedented caution.

She had thought that Russell, knowing she was short on supplies, would bleed her dry.

But, as things stood, she seemed to have run into a philanthropist.

There is no goodwill in this world without reason.

Behind every abrupt kindness lies the gaze of desire.

Talulah deeply disliked her adoptive father, yet she had to admit that many of his words carried a certain truth.

[Go on, get her! The petty thief is hanged, the great thief is crowned a lord!!]

[Hustle her over to your side, best to bed her or wed her—then you'll have the qualifications to become Regent King or even King!!]

The Prompt Device kept chattering, spouting lewd suggestions.

Russell rolled his eyes directly.

This damn Prompt Device was nothing but a capitalist blinded by greed, seeing only profit, never risk.

Never mind whether Victoria actually wanted this crown princess back—the girl herself still carried a vengeful spirit on her hands.

If it weren't for the fact that dragging her into his camp would net him a gacha pull, Russell would have shown her the door long ago.

"Please state your intentions."

The Red Dragon girl fixed her gaze on the man busy sneering at the Prompt Device in his mind, her expression growing more solemn.

"A price close to giving it away... that's not the way of Ursan nobles. What exactly are you after?"

She used honorifics.

Rumor had it that Russell was Batman's archenemy, the Red Nose Baron.