Causality Law: Thousand Years of Death

But now, he had displayed a terrifying amount of wealth and resources. It was hard for Talulah not to think that this guy was a vicious wolf pretending to be a husky.

Hmm.

Actually, half the listed price was profit.

Besides, I was pretty tempted by you too.

Whether it was the card draws mentioned by the Prompt Device or your looks.

If someone capable of reading minds had been here, their expression would surely have been indescribable.

Russell's thoughts were as lively as a husky leaping around everywhere, yet his face bore a calm, inscrutable smile.

"You're worth it."

"Red Dragon... Of all the Red Dragons I know of, only four remain. You're one of them."

A flicker of understanding instantly appeared on Talulah's face.

Just as expected.

Victoria was a nation ruled by two monarchs.

The Red Dragons and the Lions were its sovereigns.

During an earlier upheaval, the Lions' king had killed nearly all the Red Dragons in a coup, becoming Victoria's sole royal family.

However, the deaths of the Red Dragons left the positions of power they had controlled to be seized by dukes outside the royal family. The rising dukes sent that monarch to the Guillotine and carried out a Great Purge of the royalist faction.

In the current Kingdom of Victoria, the throne had no monarch.

Talulah happened to be qualified to ascend it.

"Investing in me... isn't a good choice."

The girl relaxed slightly.

The vicious wolf beneath its sheepskin was coming for her, rather than intending to exploit everyone in the Reunion Movement.

"There's never been such a thing as a guaranteed profit in investments."

The boy's tone was somewhat frivolous.

"If I really lose everything, I can choose between the Guillotine, a rope, or a rooftop, start a new game, and invest again in a new life."

"..."

Talulah stared into his eyes. The emotions within those magnificent ice-blue eyes were truly impossible to fathom.

After a long while, she spoke.

"So... you and your faction want to support me as queen?"

She did not think she could become queen, but if accepting someone who called himself her subject could get enough supplies to keep the Reunion Movement fed and clothed, it was an extremely worthwhile deal.

Russell rolled his eyes internally.

Damn it.

If I go be your lackey, the Prompt Device won't give me a chance to draw cards!

Even if you're gorgeous, if you make me lose my chance to draw cards, I won't let you off!!!

I only came here for one thing!!

That was to take you in as my little sec—ah, no, little brother and secretary!!

While Talulah waited, the boy slowly spoke.

"Why not have you support me as king instead?"

It was as if electricity surged through her veins. Talulah abruptly raised her head and looked at Russell.

"You don't have the bloodline of the Red Dragons or the Lions."

She said.

Russell was not royalty.

The boy was still smiling, but beneath that placid smile hid a blazing greed like fire.

"He who commands mighty soldiers and strong horses is Augustus."

"Talulah, my dear friend, do you understand what I mean?"

Talulah remained silent for a long time.

She seemed to recall history.

Victoria had not always been a closed and friendly independent kingdom. The Draconic race—the Red Dragons—had once been the sole rulers of this land. Later, the Lions who migrated from a distant country went to war with the Draconic race.

The Red Dragons had been forced to yield half the throne.

That was right.

Her ancestors had become Victoria's monarchs because they were powerful.

The Lions had seized the throne because they possessed the violence that had forced her ancestors to compromise.

Russell could certainly become king.

As long as he could defeat Victoria's Eight Great Dukes and fight his way into the royal palace of Londinium, all anyone else could do was condemn him.

If she were the one to crown him... then even those condemnations would lose their legal basis.

He would become Victoria's king.

The plan sounded as absurd as a madman's dream, yet it was somehow feasible.

Talulah looked at Russell once more. The strength he had displayed so far was nothing more than that of a tiny shrimp before the Eight Great Dukes.

But this guy seemed somewhat different.

For one thing, now that the Red Dragons had been declared extinct, he actually knew the whereabouts of three of her kin whom even she did not know about...

Such an ability clearly required an enormous intelligence network...

Perhaps he truly could recreate a piece of Victoria's history.

She was silent for a long time before speaking.

"Publicly, I won't acknowledge myself as your subject... At the very least, I won't acknowledge it until you enter the royal palace of Londinium."

She did not like schemers.

But she clearly could not stop the plan of the man before her—he knew where the other three Red Dragons were...

He had likely come to find her first only because she was in the most difficult situation and needed outside help the most.

Refusing was meaningless.

Using this opportunity to obtain some food and supplies was the best outcome she could achieve.

"Of course."

Russell's expression became extraordinarily delighted. In Talulah's eyes, it looked exactly like a schemer's sinister grin.

So what was this schemer really thinking?

"Awesome!!!"

"I can draw cards now!!!"

The husky wearing wolfskin grinned foolishly in delight.

Causality Law. Thousand Years of Death

Miss Talulah traded her verbal title and 200 grams of Red Gold for thirty tons of flour.

Valmont had helped purchase the goods.

—When there was profit to be made, this Mafia member was quite a reliable partner.

You have gained Talulah's allegiance through performance and food.

"I keep feeling like the boss is actually an incredible person."

Off to the side, Huihui, who had been waving flags for half the day, wiped the sweat from her face. Looking at the man whose bearing had once overwhelmed Talulah, the Crimson Demon Tribe's distinctive Red Eyes practically glowed.

"'He who commands mighty soldiers and strong horses is Augustus.' That sounded really extraordinary."

"Oh, that wasn't original. I copied it from somewhere else."

"The original was—'The Son of Heaven? He who commands mighty soldiers and strong horses should be one. Is there such a thing as noble blood?'"

Russell seemed to have heard Huihui's sigh and spoke.

Huihui's expression instantly collapsed.

Well then.

She had thought the boss who could say something so imposing had some hidden super-boss setting.

In the end, he was just copying someone else's writing?

"By the way, who in the group has good luck?"

Without warning, the boy asked the group members who were still together.

"Why are you asking that?"

Skadi's expression instantly turned vigilant, and there was even a faint trace of killing intent leaking out.

She looked around, like the ruler of the seas arriving in Antarctica, searching for seals and ending their sinful lives with the Whale Slaughtering Fist.

That display made Russell's fondness for Skadi soar.

A fellow villager from the Unlucky Tribe!!

What a pity she was a woman.

Otherwise, he would surely chop off their cocks, burn yellow paper, and swear brotherhood with her!!

"My luck is great!!"

Naruto Uzumaki immediately raised his hand high, completely failing to notice that a certain orca's eyes seemed to be glowing red.

Huihui silently put some distance between herself and Naruto Uzumaki, as though afraid blood might splash onto her.

The group's strongest fighter and most scheming person both had the faces of Unlucky Tribe members, yet at a time like this, he actually jumped out to say his luck was good. Was he not afraid of being dispatched to Antarctica to establish a branch office responsible for finding Polar Bears?

"My luck is average."

Miss Huihui remained untouched amid the killing-intent jungle of the Unlucky Tribe.

"As for me, it's not very good..."

Miss Raiden did not have so many thoughts and chose to tell the truth—her luck truly was not great. Her father had been captured, Cocolia had her sights on her, and there was also another girl pestering her body.

"Why are you asking?"

The quick-witted Huihui looked at the card that had somehow appeared in Russell's hand.

There was a trace of curiosity in her expression.

Russell was the most unusual person in the group. Anyone who was not an idiot could see that.

And he had been playing with that card for a long time, his face full of delight.

It was difficult not to suspect that the card held some special significance.

"Hmm, for various reasons, I seem to have gotten a rather unusual card."

Russell did not lie. He took out the card in his hand, which looked like a Scratch Card.

This was the item he had gotten by fooling Talulah.

It was said to correspond to an unknown prize pool.

"It's a very Schrödinger sort of thing. In short, before you scratch it open, anything could be inside."

"If you're lucky, you might even get a Star Creation Chart representing a universe. If you're unlucky, you'll probably only draw a Portable Compressed Toilet?"

Those words made everyone in the group reveal interested expressions. Even Megumin, who had barely spoken the entire time, seemed eager to give it a try.

"I'll do it, I'll do it!!"