After hearing Natasha's account, Seele's expression darkened.
"How did things get this bad?"
Natasha explained, "Apparently, the first mining team discovered a deposit of Geomarrow with astonishing reserves... preliminary estimates suggest it's the largest deposit found in nearly thirty years."
Seele blinked twice. The importance of Geomarrow deposits to the survival of the Underworld's people went without saying, and even she found the news shocking and hard to believe.
"Seriously? How come I haven't heard a single word about news this big?"
"They didn't want to spread the word." Natasha spread her hands. "Most of the mining areas have been contaminated by the Fragmentum, and a lot of people have lost their jobs. If word got out, miners would be fighting to get in.
"But the mining team couldn't hide it from the vagrants here. They're not blind, after all. Some thugs wanted to make a quick profit by extorting hush money from the mining team... and that crossed their bottom line."
Stelle shrugged. "That's the price of keeping secrets."
"Yes." Natasha nodded. "Your thinking isn't incomprehensible. It's just that the underground is going through hard times... in the end, the two groups clashed violently, and the losses were severe."
Then Natasha asked the group, "Did you come here to resolve the conflict in the mines?"
"That wasn't exactly their intention," Seele said. "These people need something from Chief Oleg, so I brought them here."
Seele then turned around to look at the Trailblaze Squad. "Since you're asking for a favor, lending a hand along the way isn't too much to ask, is it?"
March 7th sighed, then complained to her companions, "...That makes us sound so self-serving!"
Stelle had just opened her mouth to say something to Seele, but after hearing March 7th, the words about to leave her