Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 453
C453: Barbarian Revolution (2)
The Sanctuary Redevelopment Plan.
Even though I hadn’t sold a single plot of land yet, I was already convinced this plan would succeed.
After all, there were already inquiries about purchasing.
‘There’s no need to advertise. Word will spread throughout the entire tribe in no time…’
All right. Then all that’s left is to start selling, right?
“Uh… Bjorn?”
“It’s chief.”
“Anyway, Chief! Why aren’t we selling the land right away? There are so many warriors who want to buy!”
The reason was simple.
“Even if there are many interested buyers, it’s still nothing compared to the amount of land we can supply, right?”
“So doesn’t that mean we should hurry and sell it all now?”
I was pleased that Aynar had finally acquired some business sense, but unfortunately, she only understood half of the picture.
If we sold now, how many would actually buy?
They haven’t even saved up much money, so the number of actual sales would be even smaller.
So…
“If a warrior wants to buy land, tell them to come back on the 5th of next month. That’s when we’ll start selling.”
A time when the barbarians have the most money, right after coming out of the labyrinth. I’ll decide how much to sell the land for based on how many people show up.
If a hundred come, maybe selling to around thirty would be reasonable?
However, upon hearing this, Aynar tilted her head.
“Huh? You’re not selling to everyone? Why?”
Feeling as though I were training the tribe’s future elder, I kindly explained.
“First, we don’t have enough personnel who can handle administrative tasks, so we can’t sell to that many people.”
Oh…?”
“Second, if we sell that much all at once, it’ll never become expensive.”
At this point, the concept of real estate hadn’t fully taken hold in these warriors’ minds.
Therefore…
“…Not expensive? What do you mean?”
“Think about it. Suppose a hundred warriors want a piece of land, but only thirty succeed in buying it. What do you think the other seventy will do?”
“…Wait for the next sale?”
“Sure, some will wait, but undoubtedly, there will be those who offer more to buy the land from those who already bought.”
“Mm! That does sound plausible! Some warriors might not have money now but will have some later…”
Impressive—she really was starting to catch on.
I marveled a little on the inside as I continued speaking.
“Anyway, the land sold this way will end up costing more than what we sold it for. Isn’t it the same with weapons? The popular ones take a long time to order and are expensive.”
“Oh! So, the warrior who first buys the land will essentially be making money sitting down?”
Aynar finally grasped the truth.
“Yes, that is the point. The news that someone made a fortune just by holding on to their land will spread right away to other warriors.”
Land for descendants? The value of the land? Saving on rent?
In the end, those are just excuses.
What truly matters is creating a rock-solid belief that if you buy land, you make a profit.
Soon enough, Aynar muttered in a trembling voice.
“The warriors… they’ll swarm in like crazy. Even the ones who said they had no reason to buy land…”
“Right. They’ll show up with every last coin they saved, because just buying it means they’ll make money.”
It’s like a money-copying bug.
Wasn’t it the same during the backpack revolution started by Caron? Despite all the talk of a warrior’s honor, Barbarians also love money.
And…
‘Yeah, in the early stages, it’s better to sell to only a few people by lottery instead of auctioning it off.’
I have no intention of stopping this money duplication bug.
Even if the bubble bursts later showing the true value, this is the most efficient way to grow the tribe in the short term.
‘…As long as we prevent things like mortgages, we should be fine. By then, we’ll have other sources of income.’
I was more worried about the near future than the distant one.
After all, the concept of ‘Barbarian’ real estate was still somewhat foreign.
It was sure to stand out.
‘At this point, it won’t make a difference if I stand out a bit more, and it’s best to grow the tribe first.’
Besides, we’re not even the first to deal in real estate.
Dwarves and beast-tribes had already mostly sold their holy lands to boost their economies. Normally, people would think I’m just following other races.
‘Sigh… I better start looking for office workers.’
There was much to do if we were to get young warriors fully equipped.
***
On the day I first introduced the warriors to real estate:
Around lunchtime, I wrapped up my tasks and headed into the city.
And I immediately set up a meeting.
“It’s been a while, Shabin Emoor.”
As expected, he was home.
“…Oh? B-Bjorn…?”
She was surprised that I had turned up to her door unannounced, but she was happy to see me and let me in.
“I’m sorry. I meant to visit sooner. It’s just been so busy.”I spoke first
“No! Don’t be. I… didn’t expect you to come looking for me…”
“I had to come. After all, we’re friends.”
“Ah…”
“And I have a proposal, or should I say a favor to ask?”
Shabin’s eyes shone with emotion when I called us friends, but at my next words, she looked tense.
“A… favor?”
“I heard you lost your job. Would you mind helping me out?”
“…?”
“Or you could recommend some people you know. I need workers who can handle administrative tasks, ideally those I can trust.”
“… … It seems like you came here because you really need someone in this field.”
“You were the first suitable person I thought of. After all, I don’t know many people in this field. It’s times like these you rely on friends.”
At my casual words, Shabin seemed to consider for a moment, then readily agreed.
“All right. If you can pay me what I earned at my previous job, I’ll join you. Plus, I’ll bring along a few suitable folks.”
“How much did you make at the administrative office?”
Shabin cautiously mentioned her previous salary, and since it was less than I expected, I offered a bit more and finalized the salary negotiation.
“But this is unexpected? I didn’t think you’d agree so quickly.” I asked her
“Well… I was just starting to look for a job.”
“Is that so? That’s good. I was worried since you had outright refused Ragna’s offer.”
“I felt like you really needed me, unlike that child, who just wanted to help me.”
“You didn’t want to owe a debt between friends, huh.”
“…Heh, well, you could say that. By the way, you’ve already met with that kid?”
“How else would I have found your place? Oh, of course, my meeting with Ragna is a secret.’
“Off the record,’ huh… Hearing phrases like that really drives me home to that whole noble world.”
Shabin spat out an exclamation with truly innocent eyes and asked if I wanted something to drink, after which we chatted for about an hour over tea.
Then…
“It’s time for me to go. I have several things to do before the exploration.”
“Alright! I’ll talk to my colleagues by the day after tomorrow, and then I’ll start work alone if necessary. Oh, where should I go?”
“Three days from now, I’ll come here in the morning.”
“Huh? You’ll pick me up? I appreciate it, but there’s no need for that…”
No need? There is a need.
Humans can’t enter our sanctuary without permission. I planned to take him that day and get everything like entry passes sorted out.
“Anyway, see you then.”
“Take care on your way back.”
After leaving Shabin Emoor’s house, I immediately headed to the dwarf’s forge. I hadn’t made an appointment this time either, but fortunately, there was no problem meeting the dwarf.
“Bjorn! What brings you here today?”
As expected, he was working again today.
“I need some gear repaired, and I also brought that ‘thing’ we talked about a few days ago.”
“I see. Hand over the gear first. You’ll want it all fixed before your expedition, won’t you?”
“Right.”
After leaving the damaged equipment from the recent skirmish with the tribe chief, I waited briefly in the front hall of his shop, then the dwarf guided me up to a small attic on the second floor.
“I usually do paperwork and manage orders up here, but it might be a bit cramped for you.”
“It’s fine. I can crawl around if I have to.”
“It’s not that low, but still…”
“So forgive me for talking while lying down.”
Even in the highest part of the attic, the ceiling was barely over a meter and a half. I just sprawled on the floor. The dwarf sighed and plopped onto a dwarf-sized sofa.
“So where’s this merchandise you mentioned?”
“Right here.”
I pulled out a chest from my sub- space. The dwarf swallowed hard and began appraising it.
“Where in the world did you get all this stuff?”
“It’s better you don’t know.”
“…R-right? I was being nosy.”
The dwarf swallowed nervously as he examined the Noark explorer’s gear one by one.
Well, he is a blacksmith, after all.
From ‘Numbered’ items to gear made of at least Tier 3 materials, the attic was now piled high with equipment guaranteed to dazzle anyone.
And according to the contract we signed a few days ago, a whole five percent of the proceeds would be his.
“Take as long as you need, but please dispose of them quietly.”
“Y-yeah… Right, of course…”
His eyes were spinning; but he wasn’t really listening.
Thinking it was the right time, I took out yet another chest.
“Oh, so there’s even more?!”
“I’m not selling these. I want to have them transformed into new equipment. For now, I’d like the dagger melted down into gold ingots, and the leather cut to make raw material. But—”
“That’s no problem. But what are they, exactly?”
Curious, the dwarf opened the new chest.
And…
“…Ogre hide is one thing, but this… Mistium? Ninety percent of what’s on the market is said to be supplied to the royal family. This stuff is so rare—where in the world did you get it?”
Ah, that.
“Take a closer look.”
“…Huh?”
Still sprawled on the floor, I casually moved my fingertips. The dwarf gave the Mistium dagger another careful inspection, and, realizing the source, he let out a shriek.
“Th-this, th-th-this…!!!”
“Keep it down. Someone might hear.”
“…It’s the Rose Knights’ gear!!”
.He practically whispered the words at the lowest volume he could manage, then immediately shoved the dagger and armor back into the chest, worried someone might see.
“B-Bjorn! Th-this is madness. I don’t know where you got it… but this is really dangerous…!”
His trembling voice carried genuine concern.
I, on the other hand, answered calmly.
“Weren’t you already prepared for stolen goods?”
“I was, but I never expected there’d be anything linked to the royal family!”
“So are you going to back out?”
When I asked him outright, he couldn’t answer.
“U-uh…”
He simply trailed off, glancing furtively at the items.
Regret was written all over his face.
“If you really want to refuse, forget everything you’ve seen today. We’ll just burn that contract we wrote up a few days ago.”
I reached for the chest, but the dwarf smacked my arm.
“…I never said I wouldn’t do it.”
“Huh? Just now you called this insane.”
The dwarf was a good business partner after all.
***
Year 157 of the New Era, July 28th.
In other words, only two days remained until the labyrinth opened.
A truly busy month was drawing to a close.
Yet, there was still work for me to do.
“You’ve arrived!”
I went to pick up Shabin Emoor from her house first thing in the morning.
After all, today was her first day at work.
I thought she would be alone, but there were three other men and women at Shabin’s place.
“Who are these?”
“Colleagues from the administration office. You said more people would be better, didn’t you?”
“Oh, that’s true… but so quickly?”
“Our division was laid off after our department head lost in the election.”
Hmm, I hadn’t expected that.
“Still, you managed to find them so quickly.”
“It wasn’t hard. Bjorn Jandel’s clan is the talk of the town, you know? Everyone saw it as an opportunity.”
“…Clan?”
Something felt a bit off, but before I could ask further, the three people Shabin had brought introduced themselves.
“H-hello, Baron Jandel! I’m Rick Anderson, formerly of the administrative office’s civil engineering department.”
“I’m Mary Jane and I worked in the same support division as Emoor.”
“Shepherd Ramden here. It’s an honor to meet you.”
At least there was no Hans among them.
“I am Bjorn, son of Jandel. I look forward to working with you.”
After a brief introduction, we continued our conversation while riding a carriage from the station.
“Wow… It’s my first time in a noble’s carriage.”
“I… didn’t even know there was a separate noble carriage at the station.”
“Well, that makes sense. Commoners can’t even use it.”
“…It’s so convenient that it’s always ready and takes you directly to your destination.”
“Heh, you too could enjoy this if you were nobles like me.”
“Ah, you’re joking… How could we…”
The atmosphere was quite friendly.
“Anderson. You said you worked in Civil Engineering?”
“Yes! That’s right, Lord!”
“What exactly did you do there?”
I fired various questions at the first-time administrative staff, sometimes answering theirs in turn, and the conversation continued.
Some time passed.
“Um… the carriage is going toward the outskirts?”
Shabin Emoor, looking out the window, voiced her suspicion.
“Maybe the clan house is located by the outer wall?”
“Clan house? What are you talking about?”
“…Wait, you said you were forming a new clan. Don’t you need office workers for that…?”
Only then did I realize where our conversation had gone off track.
‘No wonder they never asked about their actual duties.’
I quickly cleared up the misunderstanding.
“Shabin Emoor, the place you’ll be working isn’t a clan.”
“Huh? Then what is it…?”
“The Barbarian Sanctuary.”
“…Pardon?”
Shabin Emoor tilted her head as if she’d misheard, and just then, the carriage came to a stop at our destination.
“Let’s get off for now.”
I stepped out first, followed by the flustered administrative staff.
“…”
“…”
They stared, speechless, at the city wall looming before them.
Well, they’d hardly have had reason to come here before.
“Bethel—raaaaaaaa!!”
With a loud battle cry for identification, the gate opened. I guided them through, while they followed in a daze.
The warriors inside spotted me and greeted me from all around.
“Humans! Humans are here! The chief has brought humans!”
“Ooooooooh!”
“Two men and two women!!”
Looking like they’d walked straight into a cannibal’s den, the admin staff huddled behind me, trembling.
“…”
Only when we reached the chief’s private tent after a long walk through the forest did they regain their composure. One of the administrative staff that Shabin had brought along asked me, swallowing hard.
“So… what do we do now?”
His name was Rick Anderson.
A level 6 officer who had worked in the Civil Engineering division of the administration office.
He might turn out to be the ace of this redevelopment project.
I looked at him and answered briefly.
“Anything that involves numbers.”
Including selling land, of course.