Megumin Is Furious!

"Will I become Hokage in the future?"

He grinned foolishly at Russell and received a thumbs-up in return.

"Hmm, come to think of it, Naruto, do you want to know who your future wife is? And what your son and daughter will be called?"

He asked in return.

Those words instantly turned Naruto's face the color of a monkey's butt.

"Ah... th-that kind of thing can be said?"

He blushed furiously, his gaze drifting.

For a virgin, that question was truly hard to handle.

"Looks like you don't want to know, then I'm leaving."

Russell smiled and casually made as if he were heading back to his room to sleep.

"No, bro!!"

Naruto instantly grabbed Russell's arm, looking as anxious as if he were about to become King Gigi.

"Didn't you say you didn't want to know?"

Russell smiled, though there was something rather tax-evading about that smile.

"...I do."

Naruto honestly admitted it.

"Finish the excavation quota, and I'll tell you."

Russell pointed at the warehouse nearby, which held more than three hundred protective suits.

"If you can't finish it, keep wondering."

Under the gazes of the other group members, who looked as though they were watching a vampire, Russell had Whirlpool Donkey, stirred into action by the carrot, use the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. Then, after putting on protective suits, they loaded food and water onto donkey carts and trudged toward the mine.

Well done! Regularly dangling rewards before your subordinates can improve their work efficiency. Host, you used nothing but some gossip to motivate your subordinate. That was amazing!!

The Prompt Device went wild with flattery.

If you think I did so well, then give me a lottery card!

Russell fiercely criticized the Prompt Device in his mind, then looked toward the remaining two people, only to discover that Skadi had left at some point.

"There was no battle this time. There probably won't be anything else I can help with."

A message from Skadi arrived in their private chat.

She had just left?

Seriously, it was hard to know what to say.

She clearly wanted friends, yet after meeting them, she feared bringing misfortune to them and chose to leave without saying goodbye?

Russell sighed.

A god of the Sea Born was parasitizing Skadi's body. To awaken that god as soon as possible, the Sea Born would torment her mind in every way possible—including killing those close to Skadi, making her collapse, and turning her into a vessel for the god's resurrection.

That was the truth behind why Skadi brought misfortune.

Those Sea Born were truly unpleasant.

Tch—

Russell pulled his thoughts back and looked at the young lady beside him, who seemed to have little presence.

"May I ask, Russell, can you tell me about my father?"

The girl asked uneasily.

Huihui Was Angry!

Megumin.

The famous The Cook.

Her famous lines were, "There's nothing I can do," and, "Pots and pans, submit to me."

At the moment, she was crying and making a fuss over her father.

Russell nodded, quickly rubbing his cheeks and making his expression as gentle as possible.

When dealing with a rich girl, he had to make a good impression.

"Your father's situation?"

Russell looked at the girl and murmured for a while.

After a long time, he spoke.

"Your father is very safe. Before the Herrscher Experiment is completed, even a madwoman like Cocolia will fear the man behind him. If he weren't considering the bigger picture, then by the end of the Script, your father might have purged Anti-Entropy's entire radical faction."

?!!!

Megumin's face was full of disbelief.

Wait, hadn't her father embezzled 3.4 billion US Dollars and been betrayed by all his subordinates?

He could still settle accounts afterward?!

"Your father is very capable. If the person he served had not been severely injured, he would have become Japan's shadow emperor."

"Huh?!!"

Megumin felt as though her entire worldview was shattering.

"In fact, the person truly in danger is you."

After thinking for a moment, the boy said this.

Megumin, a natural Stigma bearer.

Stigmata were gifts from the previous era of the Honkai world.

Those who possessed Stigmata were born exceptionally capable warriors, able to resist that world's greatest calamity—a natural disaster known as Honkai.

However, Megumin awakened too early, and her body could not withstand the enhancement brought by the Stigma.

Her father had no choice but to use an even more terrifying item to suppress her Stigma. That item was called the Conqueror Gem.

That thing came from the Second Herrscher and contained a Herrscher's authority. Once awakened, its power would spread outward and become a Great Eruption.

Among those caught in the calamity, the person most compatible with Honkai energy would become the Herrscher of Thunder.

Well, Megumin was an exceptionally suitable Herrscher Candidate.

Cocolia, the famous god of civil wars, had discovered this. Cocolia expected a controllable Herrscher to appear, and that undoubtedly required preliminary experiments—creating a Herrscher.

Naturally, Megumin was the best test subject in her eyes.

"I... am the one in danger?"

Megumin pointed at herself, looking utterly stunned.

"Yes. My personal advice is that you should not return to your world anytime soon. Stay here with me, or at one of the other group members' homes."

Russell said.

But Kiana is still waiting for me to bring her food.

Megumin thought of her friend and wanted to say something.

Megumin had a friend.

Her name was Kiana. That girl's cheerful smile had been one of Megumin's few comforts over the past year.

The girl wandered around everywhere, so her meals were naturally irregular.

Perhaps out of gratitude, or perhaps simply because she wanted to help her, Megumin had chosen to learn how to make boxed lunches.

Kiana's food was all provided by her.

If she wasn't there...

Kiana, Kiana would starve to death!!

"Wouldn't this be a little too... I have a friend who needs me to take care of her."

Megumin carefully chose her words. At the very least, she needed to go back and give Kiana some money for food.

"Mm, just think of it as a soldier trying to turn you into a killing machine. If you become half a Herrscher of Thunder, you'll wipe Changkong City off the map. If you transform completely, you could wipe out the Far East, Korea, North Korea, and eastern Shenzhou in one go."

This was not an exaggeration.

When the Herrscher of Thunder was born in the previous era of the Honkai world, Changkong City was its center, with a radius extending all the way to the Canghai Sea in Shenzhou.

Megumin's expression abruptly changed.

World War I had directly killed ten million people.

World War II had directly killed seventy million people.

The regions Russell mentioned had populations measured in hundreds of millions. The intensity of that disaster would directly surpass both world wars combined.

Under such circumstances, even returning for a second would be disrespectful to life!

"If your friend truly needs your support, then... I can go in your place."

After thinking for a moment, Russell said.

He could just throw some money at Kiana and let her fend for herself.

"...Sorry to trouble you. I hope I won't cause you any inconvenience."

Without much thought, Megumin took out her wallet and handed Russell her bank card, house keys, and Kiana's contact information.

"Mm, then pick any of the guest rooms upstairs."

Russell handed Megumin a key and had her stay in his temporary residence.

Megumin hesitated for a while, then nodded slightly.

Oh, oh, oh, she agreed to stay at your house.

Megumin is the wary but afraid-of-loneliness type. Girls like that are hard to win over because their guard is too strong, and they simply won't give anyone the chance to get close to them. But once you can get close, their soft side will easily show itself.

You successfully crossed the hardest step in winning her over—getting close. Keep up the momentum and steal Kiana away!!

When that happens, the entire Raikou family will be yours!

The Prompt Device became excited at once.

Damn.

What kind of Habsburg Simulator was this?

Russell pressed a hand to his forehead.

What was a perfectly fine Surplus Value Prompt Device doing, constantly running I Swear Enmity with Gambling and Drugs?

Wasn't it afraid that Megumin would one day go dark, become the Herrscher of Thunder, and give his balls a Mugen no Kensei?

Rolling his eyes, Russell handed the Dragon Talisman to Huihui beside him.

"What is this?"

Huihui looked baffled.

"The Dragon Talisman. It can grant its holder the magic of explosions and flames. It was Valmont's gift of thanks to me. Honestly, its upper limit should be quite high, since this is the Fire Demon's favorite magic."

Huihui instantly became a little nervous.

The boss she had known for barely any time was suddenly giving her something so valuable...

Remembering Russell's eager gaze earlier, she could not help thinking of some strange possibilities.

Could her boss be a legendary lolicon pervert?

"Boss, I'm only fourteen. If you get any crooked ideas, you'll end up in jail."

What kind of nonsense was this tool of production thinking about?