On Huskies and North American Gray Wolves

How could Nobles, so full of themselves, possibly trade with the Infected, who ranked below even serfs?

Just as she was about to give up on the idea, Russell entered her sight.

A Noble at the end of his rope probably could not remain as proud as before.

Talulah pulled out a fairly plump coin purse from her pocket. This was all the cash the Reunion Movement currently possessed.

Then she looked at the companions who had followed her here, her expression helpless.

A dozen people would have been enough for a grain deal.

But Ursus Nobles' utter lack of morals was simply too deeply ingrained in everyone's minds.

At first, only Yelena had decided to come because she was worried.

Then Patriot came as well.

And after that, a squad of Shield Guards followed.

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

The rabbit girl beside her looked at the distinctly aristocratic building ahead and spoke with great seriousness.

Nobles were vile and cunning, shameless and cruel.

A deal with Nobles was undoubtedly extremely dangerous.

Talulah: "..."

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

"Let's hope we don't scare them."

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

Under the dim evening sun, the decaying gate of black iron exuded an imposing heaviness.

The estate beyond the fence was dark. Not a single light shone beneath the sunset, making it appear exceptionally bleak and dilapidated.

She tried to ring the bell, signaling for an attendant to press it.

Unexpectedly, the main gate burst open with a thunderous crash. Blinding light bloomed from behind it, followed by the deafening roar of party poppers.

Even Miss Red Dragon could not help having her entire field of vision stolen by the scene before her, as if the whole world had turned colorful.

That was not a metaphor.

Confetti had literally been plastered all over her face!!

Talulah scrubbed her face hard.

She had imagined countless times how she would meet that down-and-out Noble.

In the smoothest possibility, she would complete the transaction easily and perhaps even forge a friendship, allowing for future trades.

In the less smooth ones, she would be severely discriminated against, part on bad terms, or even be reported to the Ursus military.

But none of her scenarios included getting a face full of confetti from party poppers!

What exactly was Russell trying to do?

Talulah took a deep breath and pushed her senses almost to their limit, trying to find Russell.

Then she spotted a little girl dressed like a wizard from a storybook and a blond-haired boy with fox whiskers, waving strange flags with the words "A Warm Welcome" fluttering in the wind.

Off to the side, a tall-looking girl covered her face, while an even taller silver-haired beauty held a watermelon and focused on enjoying frozen watermelon.

What was going on?

This dragon lady felt as though her brain was about to crash.

No, she was far from the only one crashing. Frostnova at the gate, along with Patriot and the Shield Guards farther back, were all staring dumbfoundedly.

They had prepared for a peaceful trade and a departure carrying grain. They had also prepared for the Nobles to be hostile and for the whole force to charge in. The only thing they had not prepared for was how to handle this scene.

"Oh, my dear God, have You finally deigned to visit the mortal world?"

The words had an exceedingly smooth, translated tone, carrying a merchant's vulgar shrewdness.

While the Reunion Movement wondered whether they had run into the Zhenghuo Movement, a handsome-looking fellow strolled over and enthusiastically shook Talulah's hand.

"Come, come, sit down!!"

The young man hurriedly dragged a chair out from who knew where, then called for Naruto to make a Shadow Clone Jutsu to serve tea and pour water.

That overly enthusiastic scene left Talulah bewildered.

This was an Ursus Noble?

Not some unscrupulous merchant from Victoria?

Talulah's thoughts were in disarray.

"...Old man... what is that Russell fellow 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.

By comparison, her adoptive father was the finest battlefield commander in all of Ursus, as well as a Royal Court Descendant. He had seen far more than she had, so perhaps he could understand the situation...?

In response, the massive man fell silent as well.

What could he say?

He had never seen anything like this either!

Confusion, incomprehension, and all sorts of strange feelings made Talulah's hands tremble slightly as she held her teacup.

She had no idea what was happening, but Russell seemed to have learned that she had come to buy cheap grain. She had lost the initiative, and it felt rather as if she had fallen into a trap.

Thinking about it that way, she could seemingly understand why the man before her was being so enthusiastic.

After all—

Who did not like a fat sheep?

At that thought, Talulah immediately became alert. The Reunion Movement was desperately poor and could not withstand an unscrupulous merchant's exploitation.

"Mr. Russell, I still have some matters to attend to..."

She spoke seriously and immediately rose to her feet, just like Huihui when she had been preparing to Study of Escape. No, that was not right. Huihui was merely a powerless mage, whereas this woman was a Red Dragon. She could run far faster than Huihui!

In the blink of an eye, her entire body had nearly shot out through the main gate.

Russell was rather stunned as he watched her fleeing figure. Why was she so fast?

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

Stop overthinking it! Catch her already, don't let her get away!!

In his vision, the Prompt Device was frantically issuing prompts, like an anxious eunuch watching an emperor refuse to visit his consorts.

"You don't need to remind me. Even for the draw, I won't let her get away!!"

Russell gripped an Originium-inlaid cane and activated his Originium Arts on Talulah without hesitation.

Common Sense Distortion.

Through mental interference, it distorted the target's speech, actions, and intentions.

It could turn a strike into a shove, forward movement into retreat, escape into a charge... an extremely sinister and bizarre Originium Art.

Its only flaw was its outrageous consumption, which made its duration exceptionally short.

But sometimes, one or two seconds of cognitive error were enough to change the situation.

For example—

The Red Dragon girl slammed straight into Russell. She raised her head to look at his handsome face, disbelief written all over her own.

"You are truly too enthusiastic."

"However, unmarried ladies should not suddenly embrace strange men. It could affect your reputation."

Under the dragon girl's incredulous gaze, he spoke like a gentleman, looking slightly troubled.

"Still—enthusiastic ladies always bring people joy."

"Given how enthusiastic you have been, I would be delighted to provide every product you require."

The young man elegantly handed her a bottle of champagne and a goods list, then smiled softly.

"Every product."

On Huskies and North American Gray Wolves

Anything...

Talulah fell silent.

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

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

To anyone living in modern society, these things were readily available.

But to Talulah, now wandering the northern snowfields of Ursus, they were exceedingly precious.

Other than an Oripathy inhibitor, nearly everything Talulah needed was printed on it.

"..."

Talulah remained silent.

The goods listed on that sheet were too astonishing, and the prices beside them were remarkably cheap.

A two-hundred-gram bar of Red Gold could be exchanged for fourteen tons of flour.

That was an astonishing figure.

If all that flour were steamed into one-hundred-gram buns, there would be roughly 210,000 of them.

In northern Ursus, that was utterly unimaginable.

"..."

"What do you want?"

Talulah fell silent, then looked at Russell again, her eyes more cautious than ever before.

She had thought Russell, knowing she lacked food, would ruthlessly fleece her.

But from the looks of it, she seemed to have encountered a philanthropist.

There was no kindness without reason in this world.

Behind every sudden act of kindness lay the gaze of desire.

Talulah disliked her adoptive father very much, but she had to admit that many of his words made sense.

Move already! Petty thieves get executed, while those who steal nations become Vassal Lords!!

Hurry up and trick her onto your side. Better yet, just seduce her or sleep with her. Then you'll qualify to become the Regent King, or even the King!!

The Prompt Device continued chattering away, offering lewd advice.

Russell directly rolled his eyes.

This damned Prompt Device was truly a capitalist blinded by profit, caring only about gains and not risks.

Putting aside whether Victoria even wanted this heir to the throne, this woman herself still carried a vengeful spirit.

If dragging her into his camp did not offer him a draw,

Russell would have shut the door and sent her away long ago.

"Please state your purpose."

The Red Dragon girl stared at the fellow busy internally despising the Prompt Device, her expression growing increasingly grave.

"Prices that are practically a giveaway... this is not how Ursus Nobles operate. What is it that you truly desire?"

She used honorifics.

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