Chapter 5

As Sora observed the ice plant under the moonlight streaming in through the window, the pig father, leading the traitorous maid Minan and two guards, barged in without knocking.

"Sora, I have something to talk about."

The pig father stood in front of Sora right away.

"What is it?"

"It's about something called a lottery."

The pig father glanced at Minan, who was standing behind him. Minan's face twisted for just a moment, almost imperceptibly, but she bowed respectfully and lowered her head subtly.

"I've heard about it from that maid. Can you explain it in detail?"

"It's just a child's whimsical idea, a mere fancy."

"Can't you understand that I want you to explain it!?"

The greedy pig father shouted, unable to bear the delay before a potential profit. Sora shrank his shoulders and pretended to be scared, even feigning tears.

"Alright, I'll explain how the lottery works."

"Good, hurry up."

At the urging, Sora began to explain. Carve numbers into wooden boards to make lottery tickets and sell as many as possible over a wide area. Then, before any fake tickets can be made, prepare a target with all the numbers written on it and shoot it in front of a crowd. The number where the arrow lands is the winning number, and prepare prizes for first to third place.

"Also, the tickets should be cheap."

"Why? Selling them at a higher price would yield more profit."

The pig father grumbled at Sora's pricing strategy.

"If they are cheap, commoners can afford them, and ultimately, more tickets will be sold. There will still be unsold tickets, though."

The pig father, though dissatisfied, seemed to understand the logic.

"Alright, let's start preparing immediately. Hey, you there, maid, you're in charge. I'm counting on you."

With that, the pig father and his group left the room. Minan, who had not expected to be put in charge of the operation, looked up at the ceiling with a troubled expression and hurried down the corridor to organize the team.

Left alone, Sora lifted a metal water pitcher to soothe his tired throat. The well-polished surface reflected the face of a young boy with a full smile, unhidden by anyone.

"Twirl, twirl, in the palm of my hand... but this makes me seem like the bad guy."

The next day, the pig father and the old woman with a pockmarked face set off for the capital. The traitorous maid Minan completed the preparations in fifteen days and began selling the tickets. Since Sora was fully engaged in the preparations, his personal attendant was changed. However, only Minan and the head maid had experience, so a new maid had to be chosen. As part of the strategy, Sora himself was allowed to choose his attendant, and he appointed the new maid Lazzette, who brought the ice plant.

Lazzette, who had been accompanying Sora, who had been confined to his room, continued to stay in the room. In reality, no one except Sora knew that Lazzette was not in the room.

Minan, pleased that the lottery tickets had sold out, visited the room with a smile, and Sora managed to get through the encounter somehow.

On the sixth day, Minan held the archery event to determine the winning numbers in the center of the town. When Sora heard from Lazzette that there were not many spectators despite the tickets selling out, he laughed innocently like a child whose mischief had succeeded.

"That's the end of today's report."

"Good work, Lazzette. You can take a break for the rest of the day."

When Sora praised her, the brown-haired girl, who had been promoted from a new maid to a personal attendant, immediately sat down and relaxed.

"My legs are sore."

She let out a deflated sigh and stretched her legs.

"Even as a personal attendant, the pay is peanuts. Maybe being a low-ranking maid was better."

"Really? I was planning to give you a bonus."

"Really? Sora-sama, hooray! Being a personal attendant isn't so bad."

She was a cheerful girl. Sora, who smiled wryly, saw her happily extend her hand.

"Can you give it to me now?"

"Not yet. I'll give you the bonus after we get past the dancers."

Footsteps could be heard in the corridor, and soon the sound of a knock on the door.

"Come in."

When Sora gave permission, the door was opened rather roughly.

"Excuse me."

Minan looked at Sora with a triumphant smile. She seemed to be enjoying herself.

Lazzette averted her gaze from Minan. As Sora's accomplice, she felt a bit of guilt.

"Sora-sama, the lottery is indeed a wonderful business."

"Congratulations."

Theoretically, a profit is guaranteed as long as a certain number of tickets are sold. It's an easy gamble, making it easy to sell. That's what the lottery business is about.

"This time, the price of wood was high, so the profit wasn't significant, but I'll do better next time."

Minan thrust the ledger at Sora. As Sora had predicted, the profit was not significant, a clear sign that everything had gone according to plan.

"Be content with what you have."

Minan, interpreting Sora's advice as sour grapes, laughed happily. She must have been very pleased to have won against a two-year-old.

"Hehe. I'll be going now. I'm planning the next lottery."

After she left the room, a high-pitched laugh could be heard from the corridor.

"Lazzette, what do you think of the dancer?"

When Sora asked, Lazzette looked at the corridor with a pitying gaze.

"Unrewarded hard work. I feel sorry for her."

"The more she works, the less I stand out, so it's helpful."

No surveillance had been placed on Sora, probably because more hands were needed for the lottery.

"Putting that aside, let's give you the bonus. Lazzette, I'll give you all the leftover wood."

"Great. I'll go sell it."

Lazzette, making a victory pose, ran out of the room. Sora had earned enough money to support twenty adults for a month through this ordeal. The simple trick, which seemed like a joke when the amount was seen first, was as follows.

First, Sora had Minan obtain a hundred wooden boards. Then, she would start the lottery independently, but the pig father and his group came to hear the details from Sora.

Sora convinced her that "the more tickets you sell, the more profit you make." To sell tickets, materials were needed, and the material was wood, which was also used for firewood.

However, the price of wood was already high. Due to the pig father's policies, there was no wood to be taxed, and the stock was low.

To prevent counterfeiting, the lottery tickets had to be made from a uniform type of wood. Minan would have to buy from multiple merchants and place orders.

This was necessary to sell "a lot, over a wide area" to make a profit. Buying a large amount of wood, which was already in short supply, would naturally drive up the price.

Knowing this, the next step was simple. Buy up the wood in advance.

Sora met Lazzette after being betrayed by Minan and immediately instructed her to buy up the wood from the merchants for the lottery tickets. However, it was not a spot transaction but a futures contract.

A document was written stating that the wood would be purchased at a low price the next day. This was done with various merchants, with the purchase times staggered.

The merchants, unaware of the lottery, easily agreed. When Minan bought the wood, the already scarce stock would be depleted.

All Sora had to do was sell the wood purchase contracts. The difference between the inflated price of the wood and the purchase price would go into his pocket, and Minan would buy the inflated wood.

Sora and the merchants were essentially driving up the price under Minan's nose.

The merchants all looked down on Lazzette when she came to sell the wood contracts. They thought the Kleinzelt family was foolish for driving up the price of wood and then buying it at the higher price, never suspecting internal strife.

After all, Sora was just a two-year-old, not old enough to be involved in a family succession dispute.

"Another six months."

The time limit until the pig father and his group returned to the Kleinzelt territory. When they returned, the bad governance would worsen. For Sora, who wanted to improve the lives of the people while he still had the chance, this was too short a time.

"First, we need to help the weak."

Sora watched the brown-haired girl, who would likely be used again, run out of the mansion's gate.