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Chapter 31 – The Source of the Money

In 1925, the American Dow Index drew a steep upward trend throughout most of the year.

Tokita plans to travel to the U.S. at the beginning of 1926 and, between early 1926 and spring, prepare for or execute the sale of stocks as they temporarily peak, securing a certain amount of profit.
Then, watching for a temporary sharp decline, he intends to increase his holdings again.

If things follow the pattern I know from my future cheat knowledge, the market will drop around mid-year—by about 20 dollars—and then begin to rise again.

After that, it will stagnate for about a year, but following that, the Dow Index will begin its reckless march toward collapse, culminating in the autumn of 1929.

But regardless of that, by the start of 1925, the total investment in stocks held not by Ootori, but by Phoenix, amounted to 500 million dollars.
If even a portion of those stocks is cashed out around next spring, it will result in an enormous profit.

Since the sale happens before the market decline, there will be no shortage of buyers.

Roughly estimated, assuming everything is sold at the current point, even after repaying the debt borrowed for the investment and deducting fees, about 800 million dollars would remain.

Converted into Japanese yen at the exchange rate, that’s about double—1.6 billion yen

That amount was equivalent to the national budget of Japan at the time.

Considering the perceived value is about 4,000 times higher in the 21st century, and that Japan was still a small economy at the time, it could be called an astronomical cash asset.

(Even the initial 50 million dollars in gold bullion was already an outrageous asset, so riding the stock market’s rise, this kind of return makes sense.)

The numbers are so unreal that they actually help me stay calm.
And with a cool head, I need to think through many things.

As for the Dow Index, where Phoenix is making massive investments, the total market value is about 28 billion dollars.
Phoenix alone holds nearly 1 billion dollars of that.

That’s close to 3.6%, an enormous amount even by American standards.

Naturally, it has drawn attention.
At first, there was only minor interest from stock traders, but according to reports from Tokita and the local Ootori Bank and Ootori Trading Company, even America’s major conglomerates have begun to take notice.

But that was within expectations.
In fact, it would be a problem if they didn’t pay attention. 

After all, we’ll be making a lot of purchases from them later on.

And unless we make those purchases, it’ll be difficult to bring the massive amount of dollars circulating within the U.S. back to Japan.

Unlike the borderless and globalized 21st century, it’s not so easy to repatriate Phoenix’s vast dollar holdings to Japan, since Phoenix operates as an American company involved in stock trading.

Meanwhile in Japan, among the major conglomerates well-versed in American affairs, the name of Ootori—and Phoenix—is starting to be whispered.

Among all that, the one rumor I can’t ignore is: “How did Ootori manage to have such massive capital in the first place—or rather, how did they acquire it?”

The common theory is, “They must have hoarded it during the wartime economic boom,” but since these are just rumors, plenty of ridiculous ones have been floating around.

One person said, “They must have found the Tokugawa buried treasure.” (Yeah, this guy’s an idiot. But I’ll make use of that rumor.)

Another said, “No, it must be the Murakami navy’s hidden hoard.” (Yes, exactly. You’re smart. I’ll definitely use that one.)

Someone else claimed, “What are you talking about? It has to be the Romanov treasure.” (Now that’s a lie. Better erase the guy who said that rumor.)

Then there was this: “No, no, Ootori struck a giant gold mine.” (Absolutely right. In every era, the truth always crushes bad rumors.)

And so, for that reason, I somehow ended up deep in the mountains of Hishikari in northern Kagoshima Prefecture.

No matter how hard people search, no one can find the gold mine rumored to be the source of Ootori’s hidden fortune.
As expected, you shouldn’t speak without accurate information.

And to take responsibility for that blunder, I’ve come down here myself.
All because I muttered in desperation, “If I go there myself, I might figure it out.”

“When we’re done, let’s go to a hot spring nearby.”

“Yes, Ojou-sama.”

The one humoring my words is Kouzuki Shizu, the maid newly assigned to me.
“Shizu” is written in katakana, with no kanji equivalent.

She’s only fifteen.
In this era, labor laws are essentially nonexistent.

What’s more, Shizu is a girl who was sold off by tenant farmers unable to feed her, and purchased by the Ootori family.
She then spent ten years undergoing thorough maid—no, servant—and retainer training. 

She is a purebred servant raised entirely by Ootori.
She has no one but the Ootori clan, and I was told by my great-grandfather that should anything ever happen to me, she would willingly throw her life away for me.

It makes me sick, but in this era, even a minor poor harvest leaves many tenant farmers struggling.
Due to high infant mortality rates, families often have many children, and inevitably, a certain number of children like her are cast off.

Ootori collects those children, selects the most capable among them, educates them, and has them serve.

Those who fail to make the cut are placed somewhere within the Ootori network—in a company or department suited to their abilities—and they are expected to devote themselves entirely.

Even in such circumstances, it’s still a fortunate outcome to have work, food, shelter, and clothing secured.

Many ruling-class families and zaibatsu do similar things, to greater or lesser degrees.
After all, regardless of the era, the wealthy and the elite always need capable and loyal personnel.

By the way, Shizu, who responds with such flat words, is wearing a new creation I designed for her: a Victorian-style maid outfit, which is what otaku would call a “classic maid style.”
However, beneath this attire is an excellent, well-rounded individual skilled in both literature and martial arts.

Her appearance is also quite beautiful—so much so that I couldn’t help but be impressed with how well they managed to find and raise her.
With semi-long hair and a serene gaze, her profile is something I could gaze at without ever tiring.

It didn’t take long after meeting her to realize that this girl is a character in the otome game “Tasogare no Ichizoku” that starts about ten years from now.
Naturally, she will appear as her future self.

However, in the game, her role is that of a young head of the household staff, serving the villainous lady of the house, so in this regard, she already diverges from the game’s original plot.

This is proof that, because of my actions and those of my great-grandfather, the situation has already begun to change.

As for this trip to Kagoshima, Tokita’s wife, Mari, who had previously been my maid, did not come along.
Just as Shizu was assigned to me, Mari was reassigned to the top of the main Ootori residence, effectively returning to her original position.

Until now, Mari had been more like my wet nurse, but since I’m now officially treated as a full-fledged member of the family within the clan—at least within the family—it became impractical to have someone in a wet nurse-like role.

This young body still craves warmth and softness from others, but I have no choice but to make it endure as a victim of all the unnecessary things I’ve done.

In truth, it’s really me who has to endure it.
As a result, the number of stuffed animals and dolls in my room only continues to increase.

Although there’s a lonely feeling in the corner of my heart, I’m more than satisfied because Shizu, a cool, beautiful girl, is always by my side, serving me, even more than Mari ever did.

Well, there’s also the fact that she doubles as my bodyguard, but still.

“Well then, let’s finish the work quickly. Let’s go, Shizu.”

“Yes, my lady.”

And even though I’m pretending to relax with thoughts of the hot springs, in reality, I had enough psychological space to do so.
The moment I arrived at this place, I somehow just knew, “Ah, it’s over there.”

I don’t really know why I knew.
Was it the power of my role as the Villainess? 

Or was it the power of the “Dreaming MIko,” or some kind of game-related cheat ability?
Maybe it’s just a supernatural ability, or even just wishful thinking. 

I’m completely unsure.

But there was certainty within me.
And the closer I got to my destination, the stronger that certainty became.

(Although I don’t know the reason, let’s just say that I have some sort of supernatural cheat ability.)

Half in resignation, I lightly tap the ground with my feet.

“This is it. This is where you should drill. But, I think hot springs will come out when you dig. I’ll provide money for the excavation, so just be careful with drainage and ventilation. Also, there are other places, so anyone else, follow me.”

With that, I immediately start moving again.

Of course, the mountain path is harsh for a five-year-old, so I had to be carried by a sturdy servant in a shoulder carry.

Over the next few days, I showed the places I had a “feeling” about.
And at several of the spots I first indicated, we immediately hit the jackpot.

Since we were at it, I also showed them a place where the hot spring overlapped with the gold mine, and later, I received a letter of thanks from the locals.
If they dug too roughly and the hot spring dried up, I could see them resenting us.

But after that, it seems a shrine dedicated to the goddess was newly established—the “Ootori Shrine.”

(Well, if they don’t find it suspicious, they’ll just think it’s divine intervention. They’re Japanese, after all.)

As I read the reports, I half-smiled in disbelief.
But, at least the problem was resolved.

However, the whole gold mine search had taken on a life of its own.

People started saying that the reason the Ootori conglomerate possessed wealth that they hadn’t made public was undoubtedly because of the “Ootori Miko.”

The words about the “Ootori Miko” made the entire family go “!!!” in shock, but it turned out to be a cover for the rumor about a master who could locate things buried underground.
It was meant to be a divine intervention to confuse and distract people.

However, this story also involved the tale of the previous “Dreaming Miko.”
There was the anecdote of her finding the exact location of the Ootori oil fields in northern Sakhalin on the first try, which had been added to the “Ootori MIko” legend.

Apparently, the origin of the original story was from there.

At the time, northern Sakhalin had very few Japanese people, so the rumor wasn’t widely known except for a select few.
But this time, the story combined with rumors already circulating within Japan, causing it to spread quite a bit, and eventually it reached our ears as well.

However, this gold mine search and the rumors of the “Ootori Miko,” along with the large-scale investments in stocks in America and their success, ended up being a small trigger that exposed Ootori Reiko’s existence to the public.

Being a young girl was more than enough camouflage, but later, I would regret being a bit too careless.