Chapter 15

Zendo was groaning in one of the rooms of the Wooddora Trading Company.

Since a certain day, the sales of lottery tickets had drastically decreased.

He knew the cause.

"Ogarite... What is that thing?"

Suddenly, firewood appeared on the market.

This product, called Ogarite, was being sold by children who were lighting bonfires in the streets, suffering from a shortage of firewood.

Cheaper than regular firewood, it was restocked by children who appeared from nowhere every time it sold out, and the supply seemed endless.

The number of customers buying lottery tickets plummeted. Families that used to use lottery tickets as firewood probably stopped doing so as well.

The Wooddora Trading Company was already in the black.

However, Zendo was pale and clutching his head.

Zendo's plan was to start a business in the capital with the backing of the church. He intended to earn the capital needed to get the business in the capital up and running through this lottery, close the store, and start anew.

The Kleinzelt territory would soon go bankrupt. This was Zendo's prediction, and he believed that he should gather as much money as possible from the town and seek a way out in the capital.

He had been reluctant to sell firewood to the townspeople and had increased his profits by selling lottery tickets instead.

Now, the reputation of the Wooddora Trading Company in the town was extremely negative. It was only natural, given that he had prioritized profit and plunged the town into chaos.

"We can't continue business in the town. Even if we open a store in the capital, the funds will run out quickly."

There was no way to borrow money from the people of the town, who had become enemies of the Wooddora Trading Company.

Although he had an alliance with the church, the church had no particular attachment to the Wooddora Trading Company's lottery. They could just as easily approach another trading company in the capital.

No matter how many times he calculated the costs for the new store, the result was the same.

While Zendo was racking his brain, there was a knock on the door of the room.

"What is it?"

"Excuse me, the maid from before has come and wants to see the president."

"The maid... from the Kleinzelt family?"

"Yes."

Pushing aside his subordinate, who seemed apologetic, Zendo rushed out into the corridor.

"Oh, President. You still look well. I was thinking of taking over the company if you had hanged yourself."

The woman, who was making a terribly poor joke, was not wearing her usual maid's uniform but rather the clothes of a town girl. The dress itself was cheap, but a wooden hair ornament with a complex bird design and embedded with small pearls was clearly a high-quality item.

Not something a maid's salary could buy.

The woman bowed gracefully.

"I heard you're planning a lottery in the capital. I'd like to join in. I won't let you down."

She shook the hair ornament she had taken off, and her red lips curved into a confident smile, adding persuasiveness to her tone.

"...Miss Minan. Where did you get that hair ornament?"

"I ran away from the Kleinzelt family and bought it with my 'salary.'"

Minan, who had brazenly lied, narrowed her eyes.

In reality, she had brought the pearls as emergency funds when she left her hometown and had simply embedded them in the carved wooden hair ornament.

The Wooddora Trading Company desperately needed funds. If so, she could negotiate for them to protect her on the journey to the capital.

"Ran away... I heard your village was enslaved. Are you okay?"

"It's already gone. They probably fled in the night. Despite sending a small amount of salary, they left without a word. Don't you think that's terrible?"

Before Zendo realized it, Minan was standing close to him, tilting her head and smiling. Her eyes shone with an almost excessive confidence.

– I have nothing left to lose. But I won't end here. I will rise again, no matter how many times.

It didn't take long for Minan and Zendo to join hands.

At the same time, a man was inspecting the actual Ogarite at the back entrance of the church.

He not only touched the surface and checked the inside by breaking it but also smelled and tasted it. He continued this obsessive inspection for a long time without even glancing at the hooded child who had brought the Ogarite.

"Is this made from sawdust?"

Finally, the man spoke, and the child sighed in relief.

"Now that you mention it, it does seem so, but how do you solidify it...?"

"We put it in a tube and burned it."

"Is that all?"

"The others did the rest..."

The child interlaced her fingers in front of her chest and looked up at the man with a worried expression.

The man stroked his chin and put the Ogarite aside.

"Do you know who came up with the idea?"

"I think it was Sora-sama."

Scratching his cheek at the child's answer, the man thought of the heir to the lord, but

– He's supposed to be only two years old. There must be someone else who came up with the idea.

The man looked at the Ogarite.

Initially seen only as a substitute for firewood, Ogarite was now recognized as a viable alternative due to its minimal ash and smoke, and various trading companies wanted to handle it.

The man stared at the Ogarite, deep in thought, but decided it would be best to report to his superiors and seek their judgment.

"Understood. Stay with the other children for a while. Keep the church a secret."

The man patted the child's head and repeated his usual warning.

The child nodded cutely and looked up at the church's gold decorations with a wistful expression before turning away.

"Hey, wait a moment."

When the man called out gently, the child turned around in a panic.

"Since you're here, go inside and pray to God."

"Huh? But my clothes..."

The child looked down at her body and hesitated. Her clothes were more like rags than anything else.

She would definitely be thrown out if she entered the church. In fact, she had met this man after being thrown out for sneaking in.

"I can't let you in like that. But didn't you get some nice clothes?"

The man gestured mischievously toward the Kleinzelt family's mansion.

The child's eyes lit up as she understood.

"Go change. And don't let anyone see you."

Reiterating his warning, the man entered the church.

The child, who had been watching him leave, looked happy.

However, when she saw a butterfly cross her field of vision and land on the church wall, she frowned and immediately knocked it off.

She crushed the butterfly, which was flapping its wings as if struggling on the ground, with her small feet.

Satisfied with the mangled butterfly, the child checked that the church wall was not dirty and left with a proud expression.