Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 636
Chapter 636: Reconstruction (5)
The Palatial Meeting was a meeting comprised of the city’s most influential nobles and the highest-ranking military personnel. It oversaw the direction of the city going forward. In essence, the meeting could be called the core of noble authority.
It may be obvious, but joining in on one of these meetings was incredibly difficult.
It was one of the reasons that Countess Ragna Peprok received so much attention in noble society. Never before had a noble house with so little footing in society been invited to the Palatial Meeting so soon after its titling.
To be fair, the prime minister had backed her in the end. But anyway.
I didn’t realize that not a single person from Melbeth was invited to the meeting.
Honestly, with thirty-two houses gathered in Melbeth, I thought they would have at least one seat, but it seemed it wasn’t so. Maybe it was another case of subtle racial discrimination.
Either way, it was currently working in my favor.
The room fell silent when I declared that I was thirsty. No one had a clue how to respond. While everyone sat twiddling their thumbs, one noble in the corner spoke up.
“Lad, could you go outside and tell them to brew tea for us? Tell them to put a lot of ice in it to cool it as quickly as possible.”
He was making sure I was aware he was the one who gave the order. With that, the situation settled immediately. The one who made that call was the leader of Melbeth.
“Pardon? Ah, yes…Your Lordship.” One of the barons sitting next to the leader went out of the meeting room and gave an order to the servants before returning. “Hand it to him over there,” the baron ordered.
I didn’t know how they trained their servants, but one returned in the blink of an eye with tea. The ice inside clinked as he set it down in front of me.
It was the iced tea of this era, though there was a definite difference from the sweet, modern version I drank in the internet cafes.
It’s not bad.
As I took a big gulp and enjoyed its refreshing temperature and scent, the leader took it upon himself to ask me, “Alright, then could you now tell us?”
“Hmm… You say that, but I don’t even know what you want me to say.”
“Then how about this. Lord Baron, is it true that you received an invitation to the Palatial Meeting?”
“It is. I was resting in the holy land when I got this letter not long ago.”
Since it had come to this, I even took out the summons and showed it to the members present. Astonishment overcame them all anew.
Of course, not one of them here would think that I was lying or anything like that.
“It’s true…”
“The palace’s seal is on it.”
“Your seat… is one of the ones on the end, but still.”
Still, they must have felt the shock once more when they saw the proof with their own eyes.
“So, is that all you wanted to ask?”
As I worded “Any other questions?” in a way a barbarian would say it, the leader of the meeting took a moment to digest his surprise before carefully asking the next question.
“Did you… perhaps decide to work together with the palace now, Lord Baron?”
“That’s an odd question. What do you mean, work together with them now? Aren’t we all subjects of the palace?”
The words were completely and utterly empty. However, there was nothing else I could say about that.
The leader seemed to recognize his mistake as well, as he quickly changed the question. “Then I will ask again. I understand that this may be a rude question…”
“It’s fine, so just ask me.”
“After the city had recovered, what promise did you receive from the palace when you met with them privately?”
Even a dull barbarian like me could realize what the leader was worried about. He was worried about losing manpower, uneasy about the prospect that I would abandon Melbeth and join the mainstream, the palace.
I wouldn’t say he needed to be so openly worried about it, though.
Hesitating, I asked, “Why do you think I did?”
“You acted as if you had during this meeting. You wanted to receive the rewards for the reconstruction contract, and when we asked you about the information regarding Basement Floor 1, you said you would tell us later.”
Oh, that… I guess it would look like that from their perspective.
I wasn’t planning on leaving Melbeth to settle down somewhere else. I liked the vibe and nature of this group. And the fact that this was a meeting of nonhumans who were discriminated against by others worked in my favor as well.
However, the reason I didn’t share information about the underground floor was that I didn’t know what type of deal the palace would propose later.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding, so I will say this: I did not make any promises or deals with the palace.”
“Then the Palatial Meeting…?”
“I don’t know. I received it without any prior warning.”
It was the truth. Before I got the summons, I didn’t have any private calls with the marquess or anything along those lines.
Thankfully, the leader seemed to believe me. “I see…”
“Did that answer your question?”
“It did. I was worried at first, but it now seems that the palace has finally admitted it.”
“Admitted what?”
“That you are already a resident key to maintaining the condition of the city, Lord Baron.”
The leader’s eyes burned fiercely as he said it. I could see a level of passion that I hadn’t seen before. I could also sense a bit of possessiveness as if he were saying he would never let me go.
It’s a bit overwhelming…
But logically, this was a very positive turn of events. The other thirty-one houses of Melbeth staunchly supported me. That was the final goal I could strive for in Melbeth…
“I see,” I said instead.
The passion in the leader’s eyes instantly cooled. “That is the end of my questioning. Viscount Mariblack, you may proceed with the meeting.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes… Understood.”
With that, the host continued the meeting, and everyone shared their opinions while keeping me and the leader in mind.
However, even as they did, the leader didn’t say anything more until the meeting’s end.
…What is it? Is this a push-and-pull tactic or something?
After being on the receiving end of that intense gaze, I felt a little awkward, given the situation. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the leader had just been holding back those emotions, however.
“Then, I truly thank all the house heads here for attending the meeting. With that, this meeting will conclude…”
The meeting had ended and I was about to leave as well.
“Lord Baron, could you stay behind for a moment?” When I shot a look of question at the leader, he offered, “The tea of Viscount Mariblack is quite nice.”
It was noble-speak for “let’s stay and talk.”
“Well, sure,” I agreed, staying behind.
The other nobles also noticed what was going on and left without saying much.
“The tea will be sent to you when it is ready. Please take your time.”
Even Viscount Mariblack, the host of today’s meeting, left us alone to have a quiet moment to ourselves.
“Baron Yandel.”
That fierce light in the leader’s eyes returned. They were so full of energy and passion that it didn’t fit his greying age. However, even while making those emotions known, his voice remained calm.
“What do you think about Melbeth, Baron Yandel?”
Hmm, so he was starting light.
“I think it’s a good place,” I said lightly in kind. “The people are fine too.”
“Even when you clashed with Count Goldbeard?”
“Conflicts are bound to happen when people meet other people. Everyone lives like that. Something like that happening doesn’t mean I now hate the count or anything like that.”
“That’s relieving to hear.”
Since he had tested the waters a little, it was now my turn to test him. “Your Lordship, what about you? What do you think about Melbeth?”
It was as if he never expected me to ask that question.
“Haha, what do I think of Melbeth, you ask…” He took a moment to think about how to respond before answering so candidly that it left even me, a barbarian, a little blindsided. “I think that they are a bunch of rabble-rousers.”
“…What?”
It was a shocking choice of words, all the more unbelievable for having come from the leader of Melbeth himself.
“Why?” he challenged. “Did you want me to say something positive? Something like how we can do anything just as we have done before, or we are stronger than all else if we work together?”
“Not really… but I didn’t expect you to answer so honestly.”
“In truth, you are the first I am sharing my inner thoughts with, Baron Yandel. These are words that must never be spoken to another.”
The leader’s face, which always had a gentle smile on it, looked shadowed today for some reason. It seemed that he had been under a lot of stress.
“So what do you mean that we’re rabble-rousers?”
“What else is there to say? Even after thousands of years, the number of nonhuman noble houses hasn’t increased, and the orthodox houses continue to increase their foothold on power. Although the ones who remain and who have nowhere to go have gathered together as one, we haven’t truly become one either.”
The leader expelled those words as if to vent his suppressed feelings.
“Most importantly, do you know the biggest difference between us and other groups?” he continued. “It is that we do not have a uniting core to truly bring the members together.”
“If it’s that, aren’t you as the leader filling that role—”
“Do you truly believe that, Lord Baron?”
Um, well…
He did seem to be in some position of respect. But if this gramps proposed a vision for the group to work toward, I got the feeling that the other thirty-one houses wouldn’t readily follow after him.
When I just stayed silent, he smirked. “With things as they are, even if the individual houses strengthen their ties and the individuals within them grow more powerful, it doesn’t change the fact that we are an unorganized mess.”
“Because we don’t have a central, uniting core?”
“That’s right.”
No matter how many corn kernels you had, you could never get popcorn unless heat was applied.
I began to understand what the leader was trying to say.
“To be honest, our Melbeth is too small of a nest to take you in properly, Baron Yandel.”
“…I mean, I think you’re the only person who thinks like that.”
“Haha, everyone subconsciously knows it. They just refuse to accept it because it conflicts with their own priorities.”
“But I don’t even have land right now. It’s too early to think like that.”
“However, you possess more servants than any other person in this city. From what I can see, you are not a bird looking for a nest, Baron Yandel. You are a bird who builds his own nest.”
The leader continued with words of praise.
“You are the chieftain of an entire race, and a baron as well. You are also one of the most famous adventurers in the city, and from what the rumors suggest, you are a skilled individual who could go head-to-head with the strongest in the world.”
Uh… he technically hadn’t said anything wrong yet…
“But I believe that you are underestimating yourself too much, Lord Baron. Without their noble ranks, who among the thirty-one houses here could compete with you?”
“…I got it, so stop complimenting me. Just say what you want to say.”
“I also understand that it is laughable for me to say this to a baron who had joined Melbeth only a short while ago. However, if I lose this opportunity, we will spend another few thousand years wading around without purpose.”
The leader directed those blazing eyes at me.
“Lord Baron, become the core of our Melbeth.”
Although it had come earlier than I expected, this was the final goal I wanted to achieve. Better a snake’s head than a dragon’s tail. And I would try and ascend from this snake into a true dragon. It was the reason I had ignored the offers of the other forces and joined Melbeth too.
However, before I agreed, there was one thing I needed to ask first.
“So, Your Lordship. What’s your goal? What do you want to accomplish after expanding Melbeth?”
This was an important question that needed to be answered first whenever you were dealing with others.
What did the other person want?
The leader let out a defeated chuckle before answering without even taking the time to think. “My hope is that I can one day look down at those human nobles and say this: Befitting the weak race you are… Don’t act up.”
This gramps was more aggressive than I realized.
***
After opening up to me about his extreme and radical opinions, the leader offered me a few pieces of advice.
“If you agree to my suggestion, our Melbeth, and our Welbeit Viscountcy will advocate for and support you with our full might.”
“I want to hear what you mean by ‘advocate for and support with your full might.’”
“Including letting the Yandel Barony take on this reconstruction contract, we will help in acquiring land for your noble house and the construction of your mansion.”
“And?”
“If we ever need to vote for something, the thirty-one houses of Melbeth will all vote with you. Outside of that, if there is anything that is obstructing your work, we will all work together to eliminate it from your path.”
Oh, that was pretty good—
“However, there is a condition.”
Well, I did wonder why he was being so generous.
I did my best to hide my disappointment and asked, “What is this condition? Speak.”
“It doesn’t matter who it is…”
My mind went blank as soon as I heard what he said next.
“But get married to someone and quickly have a son.”
I never expected that to be the condition.