"……I see……" (Kaoru)
Together with Reiko, I was looking through the records of the incident in the lord's mansion's archives. Of course, the officials who managed the place came along and helped out with various things. No, without the person in charge here, I wouldn't know where anything was! And then...
"I think we have gathered all the necessary information now..." (Kaoru)
For some reason, the lord was also there. No, I was like, "How can I just leave something this interesting alone!"
"...So, what do you intend to do?" (Lord)
"..." (Kaoru)
"Just a little bit, please tell me." (Lord)
Even if he said something like, "Just the tip is fine"...
"…………" (Kaoru)
"Hey, hey, just give me a little bit of the plan..." (Lord)
...Annoying.
Well, being a lord must be a boring job, with a lot of responsibility, lots of boring routine work, and no freedom to go out and have fun. There were no subordinates to argue or remonstrate with their instructions, and the servants only watch their face. Where is the fun in such a life? At worst, a third son who lived at home might be much happier, being able to run around freely and have fun. It's good to have a decent amount of power and status. If it's too big or too much, life becomes less fun. That's why I didn't like to stand out too much. A life where you're always being celebrated, carried on a portable shrine, under the constant gaze of others, and unable to live freely, was not fun at all. The only thing you can never have too much of is money!
However, no matter how much I felt sorry for them for being starved for entertainment, annoying things are annoying. I would ask them to leave here, with a gentle excuse.
"You're annoying, so hurry up and get back to your work!" (Kaoru)
(I apologize for bothering you, my lord, so please leave this to your subordinates and us!)
"Huh……" (Lrod)
The lord's face stiffened and distorted. Eh, why?
"...Kaoru, the words you spoke and the words you muttered to yourself were probably the opposite..." (Reiko)
"Ah……" (Kaoru)
Judging from the look of disbelief on the lord and his subordinates' faces, it was probably as Reiko said... I failed!
"Kaoruuu!" (Reiko)
"I'm sorry!" (Kaoru)
Yes, if I made one mistake, I could have been charged with lese majeste and would have been in serious trouble. The lord returned to his office with a wry smile. He was a good person after all. Then, together with his subordinate who was also smiling wryly, we checked all the records of the investigation and interrogation from six months ago, and found out where the three orphans other than Mine had been adopted, as well as the intermediary in the neighboring country. Of course, he had taken notes.
At the time, although the lord felt frustrated, he could only punish the second orphanage director, who was from his territory. Naturally, he spread the information to the higher-ups of the country, other lords, and orphanages to prevent them from doing the same thing again. ...At least, in this country. It seemed there was nothing they could do about other countries, but that couldn't be helped. At least sending information to warn other territories within the country was a great achievement. Well, some feudal lords would not bother to bother with this, saying that it would be a good thing if they paid a small amount of money to take in a useless orphan who was just eating up money, but that couldn't be helped. Everyone had their own way of thinking, and there were fools in this world.
I sometimes thought it would be better if they scouted homeless children instead of orphanages, but in orphanages they were taught reading, writing, and simple arithmetic from a young age, and they were also disciplined and educated in things like manners and common sense, and their health was properly managed—in other words, more or less that was how it was. This might sound a bit harsh, but what I was saying was that rather than picking up a stray dog, it would be better to buy a dog from a pet shop, breeder, or foster care organization that had been properly trained and had had vaccinations. Even if it costed a little bit more up front, it would end up being cheaper. It was a bit inappropriate to compare humans with dogs and cats, but well, they were the kind of people who essentially treat children like slaves...
All right, the investigation is complete! Now all that's left is to go see the lord, apologize once more for what happened earlier, and leave. ...I'll have to wait a bit longer for the dried fish and jerky I'll send tomorrow. Maybe I'll say they were sent from my parents' house and include some candy... I'll also give something to the man who worked so hard to help me check the documents. I think she'd be happy with some alcohol. The kind from Earth that I use my powers to give to me and Reiko. If you can't drink it, you can just sell it for cash. You can probably sell it for a decent price.
And then, three days later. All preparations were complete.
Got the information, yay! Announcing that the store will be closed for a while to deliver goods to regular customers and to go on a purchasing trip, check!
…They were quite reluctant, but it couldn't be helped. They probably understood that much too, and was just complaining a little.
Home security measures, check!
I took rocks from the item box and blocked off the stairs leading down from the first basement floor. There was no way a thief could do anything to a rock that was stuck so perfectly in place. The fishing boat was stored in the item box. On the first basement floor, I placed some furniture from the orphanage and worthless items that were practically trash, and stored all the valuables in item boxes.
...No, it's not good to "feed" someone. If you create a fait accompli like "I made money by stealing from Little Silver", it will be troublesome later.
And of course, we set a trap. Yes, they would probably come to discover the secrets behind the recipes for delicious, high-priced dried fish and jerky, or in search of gold coins and jewels that rich girls might have hidden, or whatever...
Of course, there would be notices and signs posted everywhere, clearly stating that there were vicious security devices in place and that the lives of intruders could not be guaranteed, and that the traps were poisoned. Just to be safe, I had made the traps so that even if anyone get caught in them, they wouldn't die.
I think I'll apply a potion to the thorns that will cause intense pain, fever, and make the affected area swell and turn an eerie color as if it's rotting. Maybe I'll put up a sign next to the trap that says "Antipoison available. 10 gold coins"... Until we get back, you'll be worrying about when you die, when your limbs will rot off. Hahahaha!
"Are you a demon?!" (Reiko)
"Well, Reiko, you do that too, all the time. That time you framed that stalker who was following Ryouko-chan..." (Kaoru)
"Don't even talk about that!!" (Reiko)
Yeah, it was that "you don't want to admit that you made mistakes because of your youth" kind of thing.
"Mine and Aral are ready... All right!" (Kaoru)
Well, the two of them didn't have any luggage or personal belongings or anything like that to begin with, so there was no packing to do. In the first place, we didn't have the concept of "packing our luggage" or "choosing what to take with us". We just threw everything into our item box.
"All right!" (Kaoru)
"Are you going to ignore me?" (Reiko)
Reiko is yelling something, but anyway, it's okay!
Aral didn't seem to understand very well, but Mine understood it perfectly. That we were willing to take a risk (lol) for Mine's old friends. Her eyes looked a little guilty, apologetic, and worried. Well, I guess they probably think that Reiko and I are just two rich kids.
"Kaoru, are you going to tell them?" (Reiko)
"Eh, what?" (Kaoru)
Reiko said something again.
"Well, if we travel together, they'll find out about the item box and that we can talk to the horses. Surely it's impossible not to use the item box or talk to the horses for the entire journey? It would be just too inconvenient..." (Reiko)
Ah.
Aaah.
"Aaaaahhhh!!" (Kaoru)
I didn't notice...