My Dream is to Get My Own House - Chapter 73

Episode 73

“……Yes?”

“Is it true that Grand Duke Castilla is a monster and eats humans?”

“No, really?”

“Yes! They are planning to forcibly relocate the residents to Grand Duke Castilla’s territory. That’s why everyone is only thinking about leaving this territory soon.”

…So, the groundskeeper spoke ill of Grand Duke Castilla and ran away because of this? I nodded silently, and then Bunny spoke up.

“Even so, something good happened.”

“Something good?”

“Yes. Fortunately, we discovered a tremendous mine in our territory! With just an investment, we can get a hundred percent return!”

Crazy! How dare someone develop a mine without my permission!

“A mine, huh? That’s incredible.”

“Yes, it’s amazing. I bet all the residents of the territory invested in it. That’s why mine development is progressing rapidly!”

“Which mine is it, exactly?”

“Oh, you’re an outsider, so you don’t know yet? It’s the Fjord Mine being developed at the top of the Fjord.”

I’ve never heard of that name before, before or after my regression. There’s something fishy about this. It smells quite suspicious.

“I see…”

“Yeah. Anyway, I plan to leave this territory as soon as everything is settled. I can’t stay here and be sacrificed to the Duke, who eats people.”

I clenched my fist, listening to her laughter.

“Ah, yes. Thank you for telling me.”

No matter how much this territory has been neglected and abandoned by the emperor’s eyes, now that I am the lord, how dare someone pretend to be me? And even use that to force the people to entertain the Duke of the nearby territory? I gritted my teeth.

On the way back to the mansion, carrying fruits and vegetables I personally bought.

“I’m really angry. What on earth is going on?”

Dylan let out a frustrated laughter, as if his head was about to explode.

“It makes me furious to the core.”

People are not working due to the ominous rumors of being sacrificed, and there’s even a labor drain.

“What should we do?”

“We have to find the swindler first.”

Who is the criminal pretending to be me?

Then, Dylan muttered quietly, “How should I kill him…”

Kill… I must have misheard.

But at that moment, a sound came from the magical device in my pocket. Brrring. It was Claude.

* * *

“Claude, how is the search going?”

Upon hearing my question, Claude showed me the view on the magical device without saying a word. In the center of the screen, there were flowers and glass vases laid out by themselves.

Duke Saboia and Mung Mungi were frantically chanting incantations while wiping their sweat, surrounding the glass vase with flowers.

“What on earth are they doing?”

[“I found the registry of Sangermane Nursery and am checking it.”]

“…?”

[“Supposedly, the names of people are written on that flower stand. I’m in the process of dispelling it.”]

Mung Mungi was hunched over, muttering with her shoulders drooping.

“Mung Mungi, it’s tough.”

“Claude must work hard.”

Mung Mungi’s shoulders, exhausted from using too much energy, slumped, and his speech began to falter.

“Harder! (It’s hard!)”

[“I don’t care even if you speak dog language.”]

“Mem… (Hard…)”

[“Instead, I’ll buy you something delicious when we’re done.”]

“Delicious? How delicious… (Delicious? How delicious…)”

[“Shall I buy you some meat?”]

“Okay!”

With renewed energy upon hearing those words, Mung Mungi nodded his head and brought his hand to the glass vase.

With a thud, a faint silver light landed in the glass vase.

Half-dazed, Mung Mungi looked different from the spirited Duke Saboia, who was supporting the glass vase.

I stared at the shattered glass and muttered.

“Wow, we’re really close to finding it.”

[That’s right! What have you been up to?]

“Oh, me? I’m trying to catch the swindler.”

[What? What swindler? Weren’t you on a trip?]

I then told him everything that had happened until now.

Claude pursed his lips.

[Hmm, is that so? So you have an imposter.]

“Yes.”

[What a trash. How should we handle this?]

“I’m still thinking about it. For now, I suspect Grand Duke Castilla as the most likely mastermind.”

[…Huh?]

I began to unravel my deduction that I had kept to myself until now.

“Come to think of it, you’re right. With him trying to expand his influence, having a new owner in a neighboring territory might be threatening, right?”

[…Well, that’s… Hmm.]

“While it’s easy for someone to impersonate me, who would dare to impersonate Grand Duke Castilla? It could be the real deal.”

Dylan shook the arms that he had draped over my shoulders. He seemed to be infuriated with the impostor.

At that moment, Duke Saboia and Claude exchanged glances. The Duke hurriedly spoke.

“T-That’s not it. I’m sure it’s not that person.”

“How do you know that, my lord? The Duke has never come out to the outside.”

“Well, you see, that is, um, well, you see…”

Sweat began to pour from his forehead.

It was the first time I had seen the Duke so flustered.

“I wonder if the Grand Duke Castilla threatened him or something?”

Is he the Lord of Matap?

Is Grand Duke Castilla really that terrifying?

When my complexion paled, Claude quickly interjected.

[Anyway…]

“…Anyway, I’m thinking of storming the tiger’s den.”

[Yeah! If you break in and destroy all the swindlers, it’s all done.]

“Unfortunately, we still don’t know who the main swindler is, and my face is already known. Hmm… It’s really troubling how to handle this.”

[Ah! I have an idea.]

“Is it a reliable idea?”

[Hey. Don’t you trust me? I’m Claude, the specialist in manipulating people.]

Such a boast, this guy.

But as soon as he smiled at me, the situation suddenly changed.

In an instant, I found myself trusting him.

“So, what’s the idea to deal with them?”

* * *

At that very moment.

In front of the Piord Fjord mine in the Ast Peninsula, Ann and Hans’ office stood alone. However, the upper office was bustling with activity.

“Is it true that Duke Odette has invested here?”

“Grand Duke Castilla has also invested, you know.”

“Right, so if we develop the mine, we’ll get a thirty percent return on investment without even lifting a finger?”

Ann, with her red hair and captivating appearance, nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. Even if you receive dividends for only four months, you’ll recover more than your initial investment.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“The Piord Fjord mine is such a great asset that Duke Odette, who is about to become the territory’s owner, has recognized it.”

“Wow!”

“Indeed, the same goes for Grand Duke Castilla.”

Hans, a young man with sky-blue hair and freckles on his cheeks, pushed the documents on the table.

“Take a look here. Both of their seals are here, right?”

The dark-eyed villagers glanced at each other and roughly nodded.

“Right, that’s true.”

At that moment, Bunny, the fruit stall vendor, asked cautiously, “Is this true? This is my entire life’s savings.”

“Yes.”

“With this much, it should be enough to pay for my daughter’s tuition at the noble maid academy…”

Bunny’s daughter, Riley, was quite famous. She was smart, skilled, and had a dignified demeanor, a perfect fit for the noble maid academy. Unfortunately, the tuition was much higher than expected.

Worries filled Bunny’s face. “It’s been a long time since I saved this money. Are you sure the principal is really guaranteed?”

Ann said with discomfort, “If you don’t trust it, you can leave.”

In an instant, the villagers became agitated and left one by one, as if sinking into water.

And that’s how people were drawn into pretending to be Duchess Odette, collecting investment funds from the territory.

Moreover, they created a fake mine called the Piord Fjord mine, sucking up the investment funds.

Was that all?

“Isn’t impersonating Grand Duke Castilla going too far?”

“It’s okay. We’ll be gone soon anyway. Do you think that human, who doesn’t even come out, will come after us?”

It would all be over once they leave this place.

Ann, with her red hair falling, smiled wickedly behind the black veil covering her hairline.

But just then, someone knocked on the upper office door.

“Who’s there?”

A woman opened the door smoothly.

She seemed to be around thirty-five years old, with purple hair and golden eyes, exuding an elegant presence.

“Excuse me, is this Piord Fjord’s upper office?”

She was adorned with various jewels, and by her side stood a man with bluish hair like a knight and faint golden irises.

“I heard you were recruiting investors for the Piord Fjord mine.”

Ann and Hans exchanged glances.

“Yes, welcome. We are the upper office of Piord, selling shares in the Piord Fjord mine.”

A new prey had appeared.