The Hidden Extra: The Lazy Prince Refuses to Ascend The Throne

Chapter 610: Three Surprising News From Shion (1)

”So, can you let me go first?”

The corner of Nolan’s mouth twitched slightly as he watched Shion hug him tightly, as if she didn’t want to let go.

”Uwaaa! I missed you so much, Master! Let me hug you a little longer,” Shion sobbed, burying her face in his chest.

It was hard to tell whether she was genuinely upset, but Nolan felt like this woman was deliberately taking advantage of him.

Still, he didn’t push her away. After all, Shion was his closest and most loyal subordinate.

Nolan helplessly stroked the head of the woman, who was older than him, gently.

Shion seemed to enjoy it, her embrace tightening even more.

After five minutes, she finally released him, though her face still showed reluctance.

”So, can you tell me what happened while I was away?” Nolan asked, curiosity lacing his tone.

Shion straightened and smiled slightly.

”I have three pieces of good news that I guarantee will make you happy,” she said confidently.

”Oh? What is it?” Nolan’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

Shion took a deep breath. ”The first is about the promotion method. Master, do you remember your little sister? Thanks to the promotion she ran, our trading house saw a thirty percent increase in the culinary, clothing, and other sectors!”

”That high?” Nolan’s eyes widened in surprise.

”Yes! That high! I was shocked at first too. But it’s true. Your little sister really brought us incredible luck.” Shion exhaled deeply.

If they had used regular advertising promotions, the profit increase would have been no more than one to five percent. Even then, the fees they had to pay were quite high—up to millions of Sharn.

But what could they do? Advertising was still necessary to ensure their goods sold well and were accepted by everyone.

Although Blue Moon Trading House had established itself as the most powerful trading house in the entire empire, they dared not let their guard down.

New competitors could emerge and challenge their dominance. Still, to be honest, Shion was a little skeptical.

All the long-term visions Nolan had shared were beyond the comprehension of most people in this world, including herself.

So, anyone hoping to shake their position as the largest trading house would need a vision far more advanced than Nolan’s.

But was that even possible? Of course not—unless the person was a reincarnation from the future or had intelligence far beyond anyone else on the continent.

Nolan’s eyes widened in amazement as he gave a small nod.

’That’s truly remarkable. A thirty percent increase—completely unexpected,’ he murmured.

For a company like Blue Moon Trading House, even a ten percent increase was impressive. They were already too powerful.

According to economic law, a country or company that was already dominant usually experienced stagnant growth.

An average increase of just one to five percent was already considered extraordinary.

In any case, they had already completely dominated the market in the Great Velmora Empire.

There were two ways to increase profits: get people to shop twice as much as usual, or expand the market into other kingdoms or empires.

The former was easier than the latter, because in every kingdom and empire, there were usually established players already monopolizing the economy.

If they wanted to enter, they would have to use a subtle and covert approach.

For now, getting people to spend more was the most rational choice.

”How much profit did we make in the Eastern Empire of Izanagi?” Nolan asked.

”According to the data, we recorded a gross profit of three billion Sharn. The net profit is around 1.4 billion Sharn. More than fifty percent of the gross profit went to raw materials and operational costs,” Shion explained, scanning the documents in her hand.

”A profit of less than fifty percent is already impressive. After all, we haven’t been in the Izanagi Eastern Empire market for long, so this result is decent.” Nolan smiled, clearly satisfied.

The richer Blue Moon became, the richer Nolan became. Even though he claimed not to care about money, he couldn’t deny feeling pleased as his wealth grew.

”Then, what’s the second piece of news?” he asked.

”The second concerns the cooperation between the Empire and the Kingdom of Kaldarion. We recorded twice the profit we expected.”

”Double the profits?” Nolan froze. ”How much did we earn?”

Shion smirked arrogantly. ”We’ve earned five billion Sharn just from mining Netherium over the past six months. After deducting expenses and sharing profits with Kaldarion and Velmora, we’re left with roughly 1.8 billion Sharn. And this is only the beginning.”

She paused, took a deep breath, and continued with a serious tone. ”According to the Netherium experts we sent, the southeastern region of the Kaldarion Kingdom contains at least two million tons of Netherium. And that’s not all—there could be even more hidden beneath it. However, our equipment is still limited and can’t reach the deepest layers.”

Nolan’s heart nearly stopped when he heard this.

”Two million tons of Netherium? Are you sure you’re not mistaken?” His breath quickened.

What did two million tons even mean? If one kilogram could strengthen a single weapon, then two million tons could refine two billion weapons in this world!

And that wasn’t even counting the possibility of more Netherium hidden deeper beneath the earth—so two million tons was likely just a preliminary figure.

”I’m not mistaken. This is the data I got from the experts there.”

Shion handed him the document. Nolan took it and read it. When he saw ”two million tons” on the right side, all doubt vanished.

”This is absolutely insane. I completely underestimated their southeastern region.”

Nolan covered his face with his left palm and smiled broadly.

”Two million tons, huh? If we release it all onto the market, the price of Netherium will plummet. The market will collapse, and the mineral will lose its value entirely.”

It should be noted that the Netherium mine controlled by Blue Moon in the western region held only about one hundred thousand tons.

Since they controlled not just one mine but several, the total amounted to roughly two to three hundred thousand tons.

The two million tons in Kaldarion Kingdom’s southeastern region were nearly eight to ten times what they had in the empire.

”I’ve been thinking about this too, Master. What do you think? Should we continue mining in small batches or go all out?” Shion asked seriously.

Nolan shook his head. ”Forget the plan to mine more. We must synchronize with the mines in the western region of the empire. Otherwise, too much Netherium will flood the market, causing it to lose value and result in losses for us.”

Shion jotted his words in her notebook and gave a small smile.

”I understand.”

Nolan nodded in satisfaction. ”Then, what’s the third piece of news?”