Chapter 38 – First Overseas Trip

“Here I am, hundreds of ri away from home…”

“Bathed in the red sunset of distant Manchuria…”

During my summer vacation in first grade, I went on my first overseas trip.
But it wasn’t for fun—it was for work. 

And when we arrived, there was absolutely nothing there. 

On top of that, I was the only child.

It made me want to start humming a song, or maybe even deliver a little monologue.

“You sure know some old songs, Princess.”

“My father used to hum them from time to time.”

“That would be Lord Kiichirou now, right? If he’s from the Russo-Japanese War generation, that makes sense.”

“That’s right, Yagami-san.”

“No need for the honorific. I’m just a former conscript turned mercenary.”

I never expected to be chatting with a mercenary, but this was the kind of place where having one around made sense.

And just like the song says, this is Manchuria.
In my previous life, the region was renamed the Tohoku area. 

More precisely, we were headed by car to the river mouth of the Liao River, which flows along the western base of the Liaodong Peninsula.

Because it had been a bit dangerous recently, I had a mercenary assigned to me.

Cars in this era aren’t as big or sturdy as they were in the 21st century.

So up front is a driver from the zaibatsu, Tokita in the passenger seat, and in the back, there’s me, my maid Shizu, and a tall mercenary who introduced himself as Yagami—packed in tightly.
In fact, I’m sitting on Shizu’s lap just to make it work.

There were plenty of other vehicles besides ours—mostly trucks rather than cars.

Most of the cargo consisted of equipment for drilling oil.
A lot of it had already been delivered to the local base, but newly arrived cargo was still being loaded onto trucks.

But getting here has been more difficult than I expected.

In the 21st century, you’d just hop on a plane and fly straight to Dalian on the Liaodong Peninsula. But in this era, that’s not possible.
To make things even more complicated, a cargo ship from the United States carrying goods for the Ootori Group had just arrived at Kobe Port.

First, we took a train from Tokyo to Kobe, which took nearly half a day.
From there, we boarded a ship at midnight and spent nearly two days sailing to Dalian, the gateway to Manchuria.

The train had been luxurious for my first time, but the ship was no luxury cruise—it was just a cargo ship.
They made some effort to accommodate us, but it wasn’t meant for spending two full days aboard.

More than anything, there was nothing to do except gaze at the sea.

After that, we switched to a train pulled by one of the heavy locomotives of the South Manchuria Railway and headed north up the Liaodong Peninsula.
Around the point where we crossed over the peninsula, we got off the train and transferred to the cars that had been waiting.

And now, here we are on our way to the site.

The cargo that arrived with us on the ship is scheduled to follow us, being delivered bit by bit.

By the way, I learned for the first time while involved in this project that the person in charge was Sazou Idemitsu.

Yes, a named figure—the man known as “A Man Called Pirate.”
Apparently, believing that the age of oil was coming, he approached Ootori Petroleum, which had already begun oil field development in northern Karafuto.

In the history of my previous life, he failed to get into Suzuki Shoten and struggled to eventually found Idemitsu Kosan.
But now, with the alternative of the Ootori group, that timeline has clearly diverged.

Still, when it comes to oil, there are few Japanese as reliable as Mr. Idemitsu.
Especially in his forties, when he would be in his prime.

I haven’t had a chance to speak with him yet, but I’d like to talk to him at least once during this trip.
It’s the perfect opportunity, and I’ve already mentioned it in passing.

So then, why have I come all the way to Manchuria?
The answer: To locate an oil field.

Only a very select few in the Ootori family know that I accurately discovered the Hishikari gold mine.
But once they learned, they decided that ability should be put to use.

You see, I had used my cheat knowledge from my previous life to indicate the general location of the Liaohe oil field so they could start drilling—but they missed not once, but twice.

I’d only specified the general area, but even so, it turns out that striking oil is harder than I thought.

And since the drilling depth needed is significant, the financial losses had already mounted considerably.

So, with no other choice, they decided to play the card that is me.

Well, to be fair, you could also say I volunteered after hearing the story.

For the record, the test drilling at the Liaohe oil field actually began last year.
It only started last year because they had to wait for engineers and materials to arrive.

Since the drilling depth is quite significant, they absolutely needed the latest American-made rotary drilling machines, and the engineers also needed time to become proficient with them.

The Ootori Zaibatsu already had sufficient oil drilling expertise through Ootori Petroleum’s operations in the far reaches of northern Karafuto (Sakhalin), but even so, acquiring cutting-edge American equipment was still a major hurdle.

To get their hands on the machinery, they not only used funds generated from American stocks, but also made a promise: “If we make a profit from these, we’d like to do a lot of shopping from your country.”

This deal secured the backing of none other than the Rockefeller oil empire.

On top of that, they conducted experiments and skill training at a secret oil well in one corner of Ootori’s mining zone in northern Karafuto.
Mr. Idemitsu was reportedly involved in the technical supervision there as well.

This is one example of how my spur-of-the-moment idea ended up dragging a lot of people into it.

That aside, since I had pinpointed the Hishikari gold mine so precisely, there was also the expectation that I might be able to strike oil if it was a deposit I knew from my past-life knowledge.

And to be honest, part of me figured there was nothing to lose by trying.

Many around me only think of it as a form of superstition or a way to bring good luck

The only one who truly believes in it is probably Shizu, who has seen me consistently find gold mines and hot springs in Hishikari.

On the other hand, my visit to the Liaohe oil field is being portrayed within the Ootori company as a goodwill mission for the local workers.
However, since it’s outside the Manchurian Railway line, the security situation isn’t great. 

There is a possibility of being attacked by horse bandits or wild thieves, so I am assigned a guard while at the local development sites and during travel.

As a VIP, I’m specifically accompanied by one of the team leaders, a person named Yagami.

This Yagami-san is quite tall, over 180 cm, and has a large, well-built physique, much like the other adults from the Ootori family.
With a deep tan, sharp eyes, thin eyebrows, and short hair that makes his face clearly visible, he has a rather intimidating appearance. 

His facial features are so pronounced that you might even question whether he’s truly Japanese.

However, when you talk to him, he’s surprisingly intellectual and has a sense of humor.

It seems that he was once in the military, but his background is somewhat unclear.

Occasionally, through his words and behavior, it seems like he may have been an officer who graduated from a military academy.
However, he himself claims to have been conscripted and was once a private first class.

Additionally, he doesn’t treat me like a child from the start.
The interactions between us, like those between a princess and her attendant, are laced with a bit of humor.

And regardless of his rank or background, since this person was arranged by my grandfather and father, Kiichirou, so I trust him without question.

It seems he’s also acquainted with the butler, Tokita, as they exchanged casual greetings.

However, he occasionally calls me “Princess.”
Well, since I am a young lady, it’s not a big deal, and even the daughter of a village head might be called “Princess” (Ohime-sama), so I decided to think of it as something similar.

But even though he does it on purpose, his acting is a bit theatrical, so I ended up playing along with it in the same spirit.

“Well then, Princess, we’ve arrived at the location,” Yagami said.

“Thank you for your hard work, Yagami,” I replied.

“It’s nothing. It’s my duty,” he answered.

After Yagami had disembarked first and made a respectful bow, I extended my right hand to him, and, as expected, he took it with the proper noble etiquette.

This is the kind of movement that requires at least watching European theater.
It’s more likely he’s seen it in films, but his mannerisms are quite refined.

Meanwhile, Shizu gave Yagami a suspicious look, and Tokita, with a slight “oh, well” expression, subtly showed his disapproval.
Judging from Tokita’s demeanor, it seems he often treats the person he’s guarding as a toy.

But at times like this, it’s best to go along with it.
That way, I’m more likely to enjoy it than feel uncomfortable.

However…

“Seriously, there’s nothing here.”

I raised my hand horizontally near my brow and surveyed the surroundings.

There’s not even a proper field, just a reddish-brown wasteland.
And beyond the view, a large river stretches out.

That must be the Liao River.

“But there’s oil, right? How much can be extracted?”

“If we invest heavily and dig relentlessly, we can produce up to 12 million tons annually at most.”

“Huh? Isn’t that about ten times more than in Sakhalin?”

Yagami and I began walking side by side, but he seemed quite surprised.
He looked down at me, his stern face showing a great deal of astonishment.

However, I kept my attitude calm, facing forward as I continued speaking.

“You sure know a lot. But the quality of the oil is bad. It’s heavy oil, and there’s a lot of wax. Unless it’s distilled with a catalyst, the only use for it is as fuel for ships or to burn at power plants.”

“Well, if it produces that much, the Navy would be overjoyed.”

“Yes. That’s why the Navy is cooperating, but only if the story is true. Even though we have little connection with them, once they became more convinced of the reliability of this information, they turned around and started supporting us.”

“Just as expected,” he said. “So, I heard that you know where the oil is coming from.”

(Where did you hear that? But I guess the fact that he knows means he can be trusted to some extent.)

I was momentarily surprised, but I quickly composed myself.
I calmed my mind and sharpened my senses further. 

I had done the same in Hishikari. 

As the oil field got closer, I started to feel a presence, something akin to a sense of proximity that grew stronger as we neared.

Then, almost instinctively, I pointed with my arm.

“…Well, from around here to there. And from over there to there. And over that way. Two of them are on the opposite side of the river. And from here, they’re all a bit far.”

At my clear and unhesitant response, Yagami raised an eyebrow in surprise.
It seemed he didn’t have the luxury to keep up the servant act anymore. 

As for me, I felt a sense of satisfaction.

At that moment, both Tokita and Shizu, still composed, called out to me.

“Well then, Reiko-sama, shall we proceed?”

“This isn’t the safest of places. Let’s finish quickly and return to Dalian as soon as possible.”

“You’re right. I, too, would prefer to stay at the Yamato Hotel in Dalian tonight. Let’s head over there first… that way.”

“Understood. We’ll proceed, Yagami.”

“As you command.”

Yagami, regaining his composure, bowed respectfully, though it had a theatrical flair.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

“Here, three hundred ri away from our homeland…”

A line from the military song “Sen’yuu” (Comrades).
The song was written in 1905 (Meiji 38) in Japan.

Lyrics by Mashima Hisen, music by Miyoshi Kazuoki.

Idemitsu Sazou (出光佐三)

Born in 1885.
A Japanese businessman, petroleum engineer, and maritime entrepreneur active from the Meiji period to the post-war era.

Founder of the petroleum company Idemitsu Kosan.

You might know him better as the man referred to in “A Man Called Pirate”.

In history, after graduating from school, he failed to join Suzuki Shoten.

Liaohe Oil Field (遼河油田)

One of the three major oil fields in the People’s Republic of China.
It belongs to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

Discovered in 1973.

Although the crude oil production is relatively high at 12 million tons per year, the oil layers are deep, ranging from 600 to 2300 meters.

The oil quality is heavy crude, and it’s not of high quality due to high wax content.
As it doesn’t flow naturally, the production method typically involves utilizing water pressure. 

In recent years, steam has replaced water.