Willis was experiencing mining for the first time.
She swung her tool, digging into the mountainside.
The clash of iron against ore sparked, and the vibration traveled from her hands into her body.
A strange, indescribable sensation rose within her.
“What are you doing!? No slacking off!”
The Overseer saw Willis zoning out and immediately lashed her arm with his whip.
Pa!
A sharp sound echoed as Willis let out a pained cry.
However, what the Overseer didn’t see was—a beautiful petal had blocked his strike.
The lighting in the mine wasn’t great, so the Overseer didn’t notice.
But Victoria, standing nearby, saw it and could barely restrain herself from standing up to finish off the Overseer.
Willis, quick on her feet, pulled her down.
“Don’t move, it’s not time yet.”
Killing the Overseer might feel satisfying for a moment.
But it would ruin Willis’s plans for coming here.
If an equipment guard went missing, not many would care—but this was an Overseer inside the mine.
If he died, the chaos would be far greater.
The first suspects would be the miners, accused of murder and hiding the corpse.
***
It would cause all sorts of trouble.
Yet Victoria was still indignant.
“Are we just going to let him off this easy?”
“Relax, there’s no way I’ll let him off easily.”
Under Willis’s persuasion, the two returned to mining.
Mining was the most fundamental and pillar industry of Ushi City—Willis couldn’t allow any problems to arise.
Miners were especially crucial.
No matter how much ore there was, without anyone to extract it, it was worthless.
Even before arriving at Ushi City, Willis sensed that this place was a massive trap and vortex.
To fix it as Lord, she had to start from the most vital point.
And the mines were the very foundation of Ushi City’s construction.
But mining wasn’t a job just anyone could do.
After just one hour, Willis felt bored, weary, and sore all over.
The repetitive motions, the stifling, lightless environment—
Here, even working two hours was unbearable, let alone twenty.
Nidnia, beside her, was very considerate.
Knowing she was new and a girl, Nidnia kept teaching Willis mining techniques as they worked.
From how to exert strength, judge the quality of ore, to which areas couldn’t be dug to avoid chain collapses—
Nidnia explained and occasionally helped her, making Willis feel at ease.
The Overseer’s whip constantly struck from behind, but Willis’s magic petals blocked them all.
She even used a petal to knock a stone off the Overseer’s head, making him wail and cry in pain.
The sight relieved many others.
But Willis herself felt nothing.
Before they knew it, the two hours of work for the night had passed.
“Alright, time’s up, go sleep! Continue tomorrow!”
“You! You slacked off today. Don’t think being new gets you mercy—no pay for your two hours!”
The Overseer arrogantly marked an X in his notebook.
Then, cursing and clutching his injured head, he left.
Willis couldn’t believe it.
“What!? I didn’t stop digging for a second—he’s docking my pay too!?”
Willis glanced at her basket.
Well, true, she’d only dug about half in two hours.
In comparison, Nidnia and Terrence were skilled, their baskets nearly full.
Even Victoria beside her had more than half a basket.
Seeing her distress, Nidnia patted her shoulder.
“Come on, Little Wei, you’ll get used to it…”
Watching the others act as if nothing was strange, Willis couldn’t help but ask, “Isn’t this too much, though?”
“Stop pretending!”
Feidi leaned close to Willis, speaking in a low, harsh voice.
“Isn’t this all your fault!?”
Willis looked innocent, turning to Terrence.
He glared at her too, but there was a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
After all, Willis had been whipped.
Serves you right!
It’s karma, Willis!
At that moment, another miner from Team Four spoke up.
“You’re called Little Wei, right? I’m Borden. You don’t know, but we used to get paid based on how much we dug.”
The man, who called himself Borden, was sturdy, though unkempt, his beard rough and scattered with bits of ore.
He sighed and explained.
“The more you dug, the more you earned. Even if you dug less, there was a guaranteed minimum.”
“But then things changed. They increased the required amount and extended the work hours every day!”
“And if you don’t meet the quota, you get nothing! Even if you’re just a pound short!”
“On top of that, our food and lodging have become unbearable, and the Overseers treat us like animals—”
Leaving the mine, Willis shook off the dust on her clothes and heard Borden’s helpless, sorrowful sigh.
“If I could do anything but mining, if my family had money, I would’ve left during the last uprising too!”
Because they didn’t participate, they didn’t know Terrence and the others.
Willis nodded, her face heavy as she followed them back to the dorm.
After a simple wash with muddy water, the miners entered the dormitory to rest.
Men and women shared the same dorm—and the same toilet.
There was no late-night meal, so Willis couldn’t find out what they ate.
But she doubted it was anything good.
Looking at the miners sprawled like beggars all around her, Willis felt a jumble of emotions.
But patrolling Soldiers quickly noticed she and the others weren’t lying down, so they walked over with whips and steel blades.
“Who is that!? Get to sleep or I’ll cut you down!”
They were outright bullies.
Nidnia quickly pulled the two girls down and smiled apologetically to send the Soldier away.
“Little Wei, during rest hours, it’s forbidden to leave the dorm, or even stand instead of sleeping.”
“If you’re caught, they’ll treat you as a rebel and execute you on the spot.”
This was a rule left after the Mine Worker Uprising.
Willis nodded and said no more, lying on her foul, sticky bedding to feign sleep.
Soon, the exhausted miners fell asleep.
Victoria hugged Willis and, avoiding the guards, slipped into the equipment warehouse to knock out a Soldier.
She took the two with her, jumped over a section of the wall, and escaped.
Under the moonlight, they reached the carriage tied outside the city during the day. Willis’s face was grim.
Soon, Hill Yu brought some people to take her back to Ushi City.
Because Willis had walked a long way herself, the return trip wasn’t long.
On the way, Hill Yu told her what she had seen in Ushi City that day.
“Heh, seems the Deputy Lord is a big problem, royal sister.”
Willis said.
“We came back, and he didn’t even bother with appearances, even deliberately showing you the city’s conditions…”
“Unless he’s just an idiot, it’s likely he harbors ill intentions.”
Hill Yu hadn’t considered this and didn’t even believe the possibility.
“Sister, this is your territory, and the Ockham Empire’s army is strong. Would he really dare betray you?”
“You tell me.”
Willis rolled her eyes.
Hill Yu thought for a moment.
“Fine, I’ll be careful.”
“Now that you’ve taken control of the Lord’s mansion, with me gone, you’ll have to cover for each other.”
Willis said, making Hill Yu frown in concern.
“Willis, is it really necessary for you to go into the mines…?”
“There are many ways to govern Ushi City…”
“But this is the most direct and effective one.”
Willis interrupted her.
“Sister, my instincts tell me that only by doing this can my territory move toward the future.”
“Tch, superstitious nonsense.”
Hill Yu clearly didn’t believe her, and Willis didn’t bother explaining.
By the time they returned to the Lord’s mansion, it was already past midnight.
But just as Willis was about to check on Ofilia and Winnie, she overheard their conversation.
Her eyes instantly turned cold.
“So, did you miss me?”