Vanessa stared at the triangular emblem. The longer she looked, the more familiar it seemed.
She suddenly remembered a letter she had received in a drawer at the hospital.
That letter had freed her from her debts. It had been signed by the Troy Society, and its emblem had looked somewhat like this one.
But on closer inspection, they were entirely different. The Troy Society's emblem was a set of scales suspended in light, while the one before her was a triangle.
Though they shared a cold, rational style, their central elements were completely different.
Yet that subtle sense of a shared origin set alarm bells ringing in her mind.
"United Mining!"
Dorothea spat the words through gritted teeth.
"United Mining? I think I read about them in a book. They're a... company?" Vanessa asked in confusion.
"That's right. A monster wearing a company's skin. They signed an agreement with the Empire giving them priority rights to purchase minerals. How many families have been ruined because of that company!"
"A mining company? They can ruin families?" Vanessa looked somewhat bewildered. "Aren't they just a company? If they're bad, can't the workers simply not work for them?"
Dorothea shook her head. "It's not that simple. I'll explain later. All you need to remember is that their hands are soaked in blood. They're utterly vile!"
Now Vanessa understood.
She felt the revolver in her pocket, which Dorothea had just bought for her. But she now had only five fingers left between her two hands, making it somewhat difficult to use.
She gripped the gun in her right hand, which had more fingers, and watched the people opposite her warily.
After a brief look, she could not help frowning.
"Are these people... mercenaries?"
The people opposite them did not look like ordinary thugs.