Will I Ultimately Become a Capitalist Tycoon?

But now, he was displaying terrifying financial and material resources—it was hard for Talulah not to think that this guy was a vicious wolf disguised as a Husky.

Hmm.

Actually, half of the price tag was pure profit.

Besides, I'm pretty interested in you.

Whether it's the gacha the Prompt Device mentioned, or your looks.

If someone capable of reading minds were here, their expression would be beyond words.

Russell's inner thoughts were bouncing around like a hyperactive Husky, but on his face was a calm, unfathomable smile.

"You're worth my investment."

"Red Dragon... as far as I know, there are only four Red Dragons left, and you're one of them."

A flicker of understanding crossed Talulah's expression.

So that's it.

Victoria is a nation with a dual-monarchy system.

The Red Dragon and the Lion are their sovereigns.

In a previous upheaval, the Lion king staged a coup, killing nearly all the Red Dragons and becoming the sole royal family of Victoria.

But the deaths of the Red Dragons also caused the power positions they held 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 royal faction.

Currently, the Kingdom of Victoria has no monarch on the throne.

Talulah just happens to have the qualifications to ascend.

"Investing in me... that's not a good choice."

That maiden felt slightly reassured.

The wolf tearing off its sheepskin was coming for her, not trying to exploit the Reunion Movement.

"Investment is never a sure thing, no such thing as a guaranteed profit."

That boy's tone was a bit flippant.

"If I really lose it all, I can pick between the guillotine, the rope, or the rooftop, start a new game, and reinvest in a new life."

"... "

Talulah stared into his eyes. The emotions in those magnificent ice-blue eyes were truly hard to read.

After a long silence, she spoke.

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

She didn't think she could become a queen, but if accepting a self-proclaimed subject could trade for enough supplies to keep the Reunion Movement fed and clothed, it was a pretty good deal.

Russell was rolling his eyes internally.

Damn.

If I go be your lackey, the Prompt Device won't give me gacha chances!

Even if you're good-looking, if you make me lose my gacha chances, I won't let you off!!!

I'm here for one thing only!!

And that's to take you on as my little secretary... ah, no, my subordinate and secretary!!

As Talulah waited, that boy slowly spoke.

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

It was as if an electric current surged through her veins. Talulah snapped her head up, staring at Russell.

"You don't have the bloodline of the Red Dragon or the Lion."

She said.

Russell wasn't royalty.

That boy was still smiling, but beneath that calm, placid smile hid a burning, flame-like intense desire.

"He who commands the strongest troops is Augustus."

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

Talulah fell into a long silence.

She seemed to recall history.

In the past, Victoria was not a closed, friendly independent kingdom. The Draconic race—the Red Dragons—were once the sole rulers of this land. Then Lions migrated from a distant country and waged war against the Draconic race.

The Red Dragons were forced to give up half the throne.

Yes.

Her ancestors became Victoria's monarchs because they were strong.

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

Russell could certainly become king.

As long as he could repel the Eight Great Dukes of Victoria and storm the royal palace in the capital, Londinium, all others could do was point fingers.

If he were to crown him... then even those accusations would lose their legal foundation.

He would become the King of Victoria.

This plan was laughable, like a fool's delusion, yet somehow it had feasibility.

Talulah looked at Russell again. The strength he had shown so far was nothing but a minnow before the Eight Great Dukes.

But this man... seemed a little different.

For one thing, now that the Red Dragons were declared extinct, he actually knew the whereabouts of three of her kin—things even she didn't know...

This ability clearly required a vast intelligence network...

Perhaps he really could recreate a corner of Victoria's history.

She was silent for a long time before speaking.

"Openly, I will not acknowledge myself as your subject... At the very least, not until you set foot inside Londinium's royal palace."

She disliked schemers.

But she clearly couldn't stop this man's plan—he knew where the other three Red Dragons were...

The fact that he found her first was probably only because her situation was the most dire and she needed outside help the most.

Refusal was meaningless.

Taking this opportunity to exchange for some supplies was the best she could do.

"Of course."

Russell's expression turned extremely cheerful, which in Talulah's eyes looked like the sinister grin of a schemer.

So, what was this schemer really thinking?

"Hell yeah!!!"

"Time to pull gacha!!!"

The Husky in wolf's clothing grinned foolishly.

Chapter 8: Causality Law. Thousand Years of Death

Miss Talulah had traded her verbal allegiance and two hundred grams of Red Gold for thirty tons of flour.

The one who helped buy the goods was Valmont.

—This Mafia member was a fairly reliable partner when there was profit involved.

[You have gained Talulah's allegiance, through performance and grain]

"I feel like the boss is a pretty incredible character."

On the sidelines, Huihui, who had been waving a flag for a while, wiped the sweat from her face and stared at the man whose bearing had once overwhelmed even Talulah. The crimson eyes unique to the Crimson Demon Tribe were practically glowing.

"'The strong and well-armed are Augustus'—that line really doesn't sound ordinary."

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

"The original was—'The Son of Heaven is for the strong and well-armed to be; how could it be a matter of bloodline?'"

Russell seemed to have overheard Huihui's remark and said.

Huihui's expression instantly collapsed.

Right.

She had thought the boss, who could utter such domineering words, might have some hidden super-boss setting.

But it turned out he was just plagiarizing?

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

Completely out of nowhere, the boy asked the group members who were still together.

"What are you asking that for?"

Skadi's expression instantly turned wary, even a hint of killing intent leaking out.

She scanned her surroundings, like the overlord of the ocean descending upon Antarctica, hunting for seals, ready to end their sinful lives with the Whale Slaughtering Fist.

That reaction made Russell's opinion of Skadi skyrocket.

A fellow tribesman from the African continent!!

What a pity she was a woman.

Otherwise, he would definitely cut off a chicken head with her, burn yellow paper, and swear brotherhood as sworn siblings!!

"Me! I'm really lucky!!"

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

Huihui silently distanced herself from Naruto Uzumaki, as if afraid of getting blood splattered on her.

The strongest fighter and the most scheming mind in the group both had faces of the Unlucky Tribe, yet here they were, jumping out to claim they had good luck—not afraid of being sent to establish a branch in Antarctica to search for Polar Bears.

"My luck is middling."

Miss Huihui brushed through the murderous jungle of the Unlucky Tribe without a single leaf clinging to her.

"As for me... not that great..."

Young Lady Megumin didn't overthink it and chose to speak honestly—her luck really wasn't good. Her father had been captured, Cocolia had her in her sights, and there was also a female pursuing her body.

"Why are you asking about this?"

The sharp-minded Huihui stared at the card that had somehow appeared in Russell's hand.

A hint of curiosity flickered in her expression.

Russell was the most peculiar member of the group—anyone who wasn't brain-dead could see that.

And he'd been toying with that card for a long time, a look of delight on his face.

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

"Well, due to various reasons, it seems I've gotten my hands on a rather unusual card."

Russell didn't bother lying, pulling out the card that looked like a Scratch Card.

This was the item he'd tricked Talulah into giving him.

It supposedly corresponded to an unknown prize pool.

"It's a very Schrödinger thing—in short, before you scratch it, it could be anything inside."

"If your luck's good, you might even pull a Star Creation Chart that symbolizes the cosmos. If your luck's bad, you'll probably just get a Portable Compressed Toilet?"

Hearing that, the group members all showed interest, and even Megumin, who rarely spoke, looked eager to give it a try.

"Let me, let me!!"