Chapter 108 – When do you think of Texas?

“Ahahahaha! So wide!!”

“Ojou-sama, please don’t let it run too fast. It is dangerous.”

“As expected of the Ootori’s calvary, you handle it skillfully!”

“Princess, your masterful handling of the horse fills me with admiration. My clan will surely rejoice even more!”

“Clan? Are you really a horse-riding people?!”

“Indeed we are. In time, I believe we shall be granted an audience.”

“Yeah! I’ll be looking forward to it!”

“Such gracious words!”

Even staying in New York, where the great quake hasn’t struck yet, there was nothing meaningful to do, so we came to the eastern edge of Texas, near Dallas, right next to Louisiana.

And now, everyone is galloping on horseback. The sense of freedom makes me truly glad I had learned horseback riding as a young lady.

As expected of Texas. Vast. Just endlessly vast. Nothing all the way to the horizon.
Truly the continent. 

If you lived in a place like this, of course you’d want to ride a horse.

But my real goal is oil field hunting. I can feel that indescribable sensation, vibrating from everywhere around.
Just as I thought—if it’s a spot that didn’t get discovered in my previous life but I saw it in my old school atlas, then it seems I can sense it, like with the Ryoka oil field.

If you call it a cheat, then yes, it’s a cheat, but I can only think of it as the power of a “miko.”
And it’s a subtle kind of cheat. 

If you don’t know about it, the chance to use it never comes, and you wouldn’t even notice it.

Even so, since I could notice it, I can’t help but think that if I use this power, I could become a resource king.

Of course, aside from a few areas near prewar Japan, it only applies to places I once memorized for entrance exam studies, so the range is pretty limited.

Still, I’ll probably get another chance to use it.

And this time, the scenario is like this.
While staying in Los Angeles, I came up with the idea of running a ranch in America, so I planned to acquire a vast amount of land.
I set up a local corporation and bought up land like this. 

Naturally, I chose the places where I felt “this is it.”

And at the final stage, to provide for the cattle and horses on the ranch, I planned to dig new wells.
Naturally, wells meant for groundwater. 

But there, from a depth shallow enough for well water, I would strike a massive oil field that gushes out on its own.

And what’s more, it’s land I had bought cheaply for ranching purposes.
Naturally, I bought it by the kilometer—or rather, by the mile.

However, I only got the sudden idea that I wanted a ranch, and it’s pointless for me to strike oil all the way out here in America.
Since I know I’d attract attention, the moment I strike it, I immediately contact the “oil kings.”

But if I act too much like a saint, I’d just be suspected, so I leave only a portion of the rights and sell off all the land and claims.
Just like selling off stocks at a high price.

And depending on the situation, it might be fine to hint that “maybe” there’s still oil sleeping in places other than the one I struck. 

Even if I don’t say it, people will be poking around and drilling nearby anyway, but there’s no harm in saying it.

Thus, after enjoying horseback riding and the vast plains while checking the location of the oil field, I had a local well-digging company dig a well “as planned” under the pretense of searching for groundwater.
And before long, the white guy digging the well with simple equipment for water came scrambling out, covered in oil, fleeing for his life.

“Ohhh, it really is oil. If only I could take this whole oil field back with me to Japan.”

“How carefree you sound. You’ve just discovered an oil field, and one that’s gushing out like that! We need to contact someone immediately. Tokita-sama, perhaps, or Stuart-sama?”

“Calm down, Shizu. I’ve already given them word beforehand, so if we send a report from here, Mr. Rockefeller will be contacted right away, and all sorts of people will rush over.”

Yes, just as Shizu is panicking, aside from Tokita and Sebastian, no one else knows about my scheming.
After all, there was more than enough chance it could have turned out to be a waste.

Even Shizu, who had been with me back in Kagoshima when I struck gold, was like this. 

As for the guards accompanying me, they were so shocked they forgot how to speak, their eyes wide.

The reporters and cameramen Mr. Hearst sent along, who had been yawning just a while ago, now sat there with their mouths hanging open.
But before long, old man Yagami wore a stern look and came to stand by my side.

“What’s going on here?”

“As you can see, it looks like we just happened to strike an oil field.”

I let out a slightly wicked smile. I rarely get the chance to pull something like this on old man Yagami, so I made it a bit sharper.
But, as usual, he didn’t bite.

He seemed to be taking this very seriously.

“…You knew about this?”

“Well, I didn’t expect it to be this flashy.”

Since old man Yagami seems to know a bit about the “Ootori Miko,” I brushed it off vaguely.

“…So this is what they call a dream’s prophecy, huh. How much is it worth?”

“If the economy is good, about a million dollars a year. Aside from that, the selling price including the land would be around ten million. If I’d known this, I would have bought more land.”

“For a child’s sandbox game, this is pretty extravagant.”

“I think so too. But you know, this oil field is going to influence the future balance of world affairs.”

Old man Yagami’s look of surprise deepened even further.
Behind him, Mr. Wan’s eyes were already as wide as saucers. 

Well, of course anyone would be shaken hearing something like that. That’s why I held back from saying any more.

If I mentioned that in a world war this would become one of America’s sources of power, they might collapse on the spot.

“Why go out of your way to do this?”

Before he could finish with “since you struck it yourself,” I cut in.

“The truth is, this place isn’t supposed to be found until a few years from now. No—maybe next year? So even if I found it first, it’s not like I’ll be punished by heaven, right?”

I tried making it sound like a joke, even putting on a joking expression, but it didn’t have much effect.
Old man Yagami’s face stayed stern.

“…Do you really think it’s fine to blab about something like this to me? Someone like you, a walking goldmine—what if I just kidnapped you right now?”

“You wouldn’t. Besides, your real identity is something I’m not supposed to say out loud, isn’t it, old man Yagami?”

I tried to keep my tone light, but that only made his expression the harshest I’d ever seen. His eyes even carried a glint of murderous intent.
But this was something I had already been told about years ago by my great-grandfather.

Of course, calling himself Genbu—the same name as the sacred beast—is just an alias, but it’s also a jab at the Ootori clan. Old man Yagami is what you’d call an illegitimate child.

Apparently, when my father—no, my grandfather—was doing various things on the continent a few years before the Russo-Japanese War, he slept with a local prostitute, and she secretly gave birth without ever telling him.

There was no such thing as DNA testing back then, so there’s no proof.
But about ten years ago, old man Yagami approached the Ootori clan. 

To make contact, he took part in one of my grandfather’s schemes involving the Romanov treasure.

And when he revealed information that only members of the Ootori main family could possibly know, my grandfather acknowledged him as blood and casually asked what he wanted.

Well, I can imagine his tone must have only sounded casual. That lighthearted way of speaking was my grandfather’s negotiation tactic.

But old man Yagami didn’t want anything besides acknowledgement behind the scenes from my grandfather and the Ootori clan. It was enough for him that they knew someone like him existed.

Since then, he has continued serving under my grandfather as a de facto loyal retainer of the Ootori, handling all the dirty work.

Placing himself in the midst of violence was his own choice. When I once asked him about it in casual conversation, he cheerfully said, “The battlefield is my true home.”
Apparently, he likes being in places where his blood can boil. 

I don’t understand that at all.

Well, I only brushed lightly over that background, but after a while, it turned into a staring contest. 

And the one who won was me.

Old man Yagami let out a small sigh.

“So you were the Ootori heir after all. So, what now?”

“Eh? You’re going to protect me, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the contract. I’ll see it through. More than even your ‘dear onii-sama’ would. And then?”

“No, I trust you normally. Same with Wan-san. Ah, was it okay to tell Wan-san this story?”

“If it wasn’t, I would’ve stopped you, even if I had to knock you flat.”

Old man Yagami snorted with a sharp “hmph!”, but beside him Wan-san, unusually, gave a playful “what can you do” gesture and a cynical smile.
Their relationship seems to be good.

In response, I nodded exaggeratedly several times.

“Yeah, yeah. Whether you know or don’t know, it doesn’t really change much, right? Now then, Shizu, call over someone from Ootori Trading who’s nearby. Before anyone else shows up, we’re going to snatch up land left and right. Once they know oil is here, they’ll definitely jack up the price. Come on, hurry, hurry, hurry! Time is money!”

“Y-yes. At once. Please watch over my lady.”

With that, Shizuu’s horse galloped rapidly off into the distance.

Turning my gaze the other way, the black liquid spurting up seemed to be gaining even more force.

Rather than a fountain of crude oil, it looked like black fireworks.

“A final show before the catastrophe.”

“So this money-spouting fountain is the prelude to catastrophe?”

“More like the last fireworks display.”

“Fireworks, huh. Well, that does sound like you.”

“Right?”

I brushed it off with light words, but something flashy was fitting for the finale. Besides, this oil field might just bring “light” to the Ootori family.

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East Texas Oil Field:
Discovered in 1930. A massive oil field located east of Dallas, Texas.
Until then, the area had been little surveyed.
The discovery caused oil prices to plummet dramatically.