A Mountain of Gold Coins
After repairing the roofs of three houses, installing a pulley and roof over the field well, and inspecting possible sites for new homes, today’s work finally came to an end.
When I returned to the manor, there was a man waiting there.
“Dermont, you’ve come back at just the right time. This man will be Zenas Village’s new village chief starting today.”
“I see. I’m Dermont. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He looked to be in his mid-fifties.
Even so, he was the oldest person in the village.
“Y-Y-Young Master. M-My name is Moot. I-I’ll do my very best from here on.”
“Let’s keep things casual. Improving everyone’s living conditions comes first.”
“R-Right. Thank you. Thank you very much.”
I was happy he was grateful, but I wished he’d stop trying to worship me.
As someone who had already died once, it made me feel like some kind of living Buddha.
Father had apparently heard about those vacant houses from the newly appointed Village Chief Moot as well.
That night, we discussed who should live in them, and after that was settled, it was finally time to turn in.
“Still, I just can’t stop thinking about it, Young Master.”
“What is it that’s bothering you, Margaret?”
As we headed toward the bedrooms, Margaret, my attendant, frowned anxiously.
“Well, Young Master, it’s just...”
She tapped the floor with the toe of her shoe.
“How do I put it... It feels like there might be a hollow space beneath our feet, and that’s kind of scary.”
“A hollow space?”
I tapped the floor with my own shoe.
It didn’t sound hollow to me.
“Not here. It’s over by the kitchen. The footsteps sound different there.”
“The kitchen? Shall we take a look?”
“What if it collapses?”
“I think it’ll be fine.”
If anything, it was more likely an intentional hollow space… a basement.
We headed to the kitchen. Had the sound changed? I honestly couldn’t tell.
But I did find something. An entrance to the basement.
“These stairs are probably for the servants.”
“Yes, I think so too. There are several four-person rooms on the second floor above here. But I never noticed there was a door in a place like this.”
“Rather, it was deliberately hidden.”
A large mirror stood in front of the door, making it impossible to notice at first glance.
Still, having such a large full-length mirror beside a staircase, in a place normally used only by servants, was far too unnatural.
So I peeked around the side and found a door beneath the stairs.
“It doesn’t seem to be locked. Let’s go inside.”
“A-Are you sure?”
“Think a ghost might pop out?”
“P-Please don’t say things like that, Young Master!”
In this world, “ghosts” meant actual Ghost-type monsters.
“Ahaha. If one does show up, we’ll ask Hahaue to save us. Well then, let’s go in.”
I opened the door and took the lantern Margaret was carrying.
Inside was a staircase. So there really was a basement.
When we descended, we found something surprising.
Well, surprising, but also exactly what you’d expect.
“Y-Young Master, this is...”
“A food storage cellar. Though there’s quite a lot here.”
“There really is! Wheat, and spices too. The vegetables... they still seem edible. But these vegetables don’t look like they were grown in this village.”
Exactly. There was no way the fields here could produce vegetables this large.
The soil was depleted and there wasn’t enough water, so anything grown locally would end up small and stunted.
“It seems the previous official was importing food from elsewhere and keeping it all for himself.”
“I can understand why the townspeople reacted the way they did now.”
“Margaret, thank you. We only discovered this storehouse because you noticed the difference in the sound.”
“O-oh, not at all. Even if I hadn’t noticed, someone would have found the door eventually.”
Even as she said that, she looked pleased.
Her cheeks reddened as she fidgeted and glanced down at the floor. Then she suddenly let out “Oh my?”
“Young Master.”
“Yes?”
“This shelf... is strange.”
Strange?
“Look. There are lots of marks on the floor where it’s been moved. And there’s cloth hanging behind this shelf, but not behind the others.”
“You’re right. In that case... Margaret, could you bring a few men here? I don’t think you and I can move this ourselves.”
“Y-Yes! Right away!”
She hurried upstairs and quickly returned.
It seemed she had brought the head chef and two knights on night duty.
The three of them moved the shelf.
“Young Master... there’s a door.”
“This is... definitely a hidden room.”
“It’s locked.”
“What shall we do, Young Master?”
Hmm. We should probably report this to Father.
I asked one of the knights to fetch him. After waiting a bit, Father returned with the knight. For some reason, Zeke and Tiffany were with him.
“A hidden room!?”
“Where is it, Niichama? Where is it? Did you find a treasure chest?”
Ahaha. They’d clearly come because it sounded fun.
“It’s locked, so we can’t open it. What should we do, Chichiue?”
“A key, huh... we didn’t find anything that looked like one in the office.”
“Baron-sama, shall I kick the door in?”
That would probably be the fastest way… no, wait.
“Please wait. I’ll try using my Alchemy Magic on the metal parts.”
I gathered mana at my fingertips and touched the doorknob.
A magic circle appeared. The command I gave my Alchemy Magic was [Melt].
But simply melting it would be dangerous, it would become red-hot and could start a fire.
So at the same time, I used [Shape], turning it into a small iron ingot.
Thunk.
The ingot dropped to the floor.
The section containing the doorknob and keyhole became hollow, and the door opened with a simple push.
“If necessary, I can turn it back into a doorknob later.”
“Thank you, Dermont. Now then, what could be insi… haaah...”
Father let out a long sigh.
“Baron-sama, this is...”
“The money he embezzled, perhaps?”
Inside the hidden room were sofas upholstered with fine fabric and a sturdy-looking table.
And on top of that table… a mountain of gold coins.
“So it would seem. After going to all the trouble of saving it up, why didn’t he take it with him when he left?”
“Well, this transfer was decided rather suddenly. It’s possible the kingdom’s notice only arrived shortly before we did.”
That explanation from one of the knights turned out to be correct.
The next morning, Village Chief Moot confirmed it himself.
What do you think about this chapter?
