Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 649
Chapter 649: Barbarian Business (2)
After wrapping up my meeting with the alliance leader, I went and met with the dwarf for the first time in a while.
“Hikurod Murad.”
“Bjoooorn! Why only now…?! Why are you here only now?! I’ve sent you so many letters…!”
His reaction to our reunion was stronger than ever before. Justifiably so, given that his forge was swept up in the situation this time and he’d practically become unemployed. It was also why I was meeting him in the lobby of the Kommelby Inn.
“Sorry. I should’ve visited you earlier, but I was busy.”
“Busy? It’s already been a month since you’ve returned!”
“Hey, and I’m telling you I was busy.”
He didn’t respond. Honestly, I could’ve made the time and visited him whenever, but I put it off a few times, and now we were here.
But he did tell me that most of his wealth and the Mystium I entrusted to him are perfectly safe. So, I guess he wasn’t in that dire of straits?
From what I read in the letters he sent me, as soon as the incident occurred, he used the chaos to gather together all the important goods he had and successfully ran away.
Well, he couldn’t avoid losing his forge, after all.
“So, Hikurod. How are you these days?”
“Hah… I’m keeping an eye out for now. I thought about calling in my contacts to recover the forge…but as you know, even if we reopen, we won’t be able to make any sales anyway, not with things as they are. So I’m even thinking about just starting over again in Kommelby, but…”
“But?”
“Recently, the rent in all the districts was raised pretty high, even in Kommelby. Looks like a lot of people had the same idea as me. A guy I know told me many adventurers are trying to open shops.”
Oh, that was new information. Maybe it was the compounding effect of people moving away from District Seven and District Thirteen into the other districts and the fact that the labyrinth was sealed now.
…And because the nobles who own the land are desperate for money.
As the saying went, the common folk were the ones who bore the consequences of chaos.
“But I wanted to hear your opinion out before I made any decisions…” Hikurod hedged. “So, do you know? How this situation be resolved…?”
By the way, was this dwarf always this short? The way he asked made him sound like a kid asking an industry expert for any good information he could use.
I assumed that since I was a noble, he probably figured I would know a thing or two other people didn’t.
“I don’t know when this crisis will end,” I answered.
“Hah… I see…”
“But if you’re thinking about opening the forge again, open it in District Seven, and do it quickly.”
“Why is that?”
“They’ll start the reconstruction soon. Even if all you sell is metal bars and shovels, you’ll be able to make back your money quickly. I might be able to commission you for work too.” I told him I would join the contract competition as the Melbeth representative, and the dwarf’s expression shifted.
He knew it as well. No matter the world, a business connected with the government always yielded a lot of money.
“Well then! I’ll need to hurry up!” he exclaimed. “You can trust me! I’ll work hard!”
“Oh, but you don’t need to rush anything.”
“Huh…? What do you mean?” He tilted his head, and since the opportunity presented itself, I explained the key money method to him too. “What? There’s a way to freely rent land without a monthly payment?!”
“That’s right. If you buy the land from me in the near future, you can use that contract. So just think about how you’ll construct your building before then.”
He must have been having a tough time lately. When I tapped him on his shoulder, tears welled in his eyes. “Bjorn…! I know we’re already good friends, but this is a great help to me…! Thank you! Thank you so much!”
The people of this world were too innocent.
***
I talked with the dwarf for a little longer. Although he was now a businessman, since he began as an adventurer, he asked a lot of questions about the Basement Floor One expedition.
Then again, maybe it was something anyone from the city might be interested in. Even if they weren’t an adventurer?
“A silver ocean spans the entire underground floor. And objects that were lost when the labyrinth is closed float on the waters.”
Since he wasn’t known for keeping secrets, I took out all the sensitive pieces of information and just told him that I didn’t care about other people knowing.
“A silver ocean…” Hikurod trailed off quietly. “Maybe he would’ve liked to see it too.”
“He probably would’ve liked it even if it weren’t an ocean. He was a pretty curious guy.”
“Yeah…”
Though his eyes danced with glee at my story, they lost their light as he looked into the distance, like a drunken man reminiscing about his past.
“Bjorn, what do you think?”
“About what?”
“If… If that hadn’t happened back then. Would I still be out there adventuring?”
There was a deep regret and longing in his voice. I hesitated for a moment, unsure what to say. Still, I collected myself and continued in a more joking tone, “Well, there’s a chance you would have, but we wouldn’t be able to adventure together anyway.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m not weak-hearted to drag along an ally who lags just because of sentiment.”
The dwarf smirked back at me. “An ally lagging… With things as they are, I can’t say much about that. I wouldn’t be strong enough to follow you. But maybe he might’ve been able to.”
“Hmm, objectively speaking, I think you would have a better shot than Dwalkie?”
“Haha, is that so? In any case, we would’ve followed after you no matter what.”
“Huh? Didn’t you just hear me? I said I would’ve just left you behind.”
“That’s a good joke. Aren’t you the type of person who can’t bear to abandon his allies?”
What joke? Before that incident even happened, I had thought about disbanding Team Half-Wit. That was why I regretted it so much more after the fact. I should have made that decision much sooner.
The dwarf broke the silence that fell over us. “Still, a part of me is relieved after seeing my forge completely destroyed.”
“Relieved? Did you hurt your head somewhere?”
“No injuries here. It just felt like my friend was pushing me from behind. To let go of all that has passed and move forward…”
I ended up having a solemn moment myself. Because now that I thought about it, that forge he ran…
It was originally remodelled from Dwalkie’s home…
The dwarf went on to share his ambitions about creating a bigger forge with better and newer facilities than before.
“I don’t know why I talk so much whenever I meet you. My apologies. But could I ask one last thing?”
“Of course.”
“That friend… If he saw me now, what do you think he would think? I’m not an adventurer or a forge master… I’m just a businessman now. Would he think I am pathetic?”
I ended up laughing at the shakiness in his voice, though I did feel a little bad about it since the moment had been so serious. “He might think that you are pathetic.”
“So you think the same—”
“When he hears you worrying about moronic things like that.”
I’d been expecting some grand question when he prefaced it with that, but it ended up being ridiculous.
We had been talking for a while already by that point, so I started to wind down the conversation and stood up.
“Ah, right. No one should technically know this yet.” I leaned down and whispered next to the dwarf’s ear, “Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos.”
Hikurod flinched at the sound of the name as if reacting to some buried trauma. The reaction helped me let go of my hesitation.
“Don’t think about him anymore.”
For most secrets, the less people knew, the better. But this guy had the right to know.
“He’s no longer in this world.”
The dwarf had never voiced it, probably because he didn’t want to put pressure on me, but he must have hoped for this desperately in his heart. And now, it was practically like his hope had been answered.
“I see…”
Still, he went silent with those words.
Just how?
How do you know?
Did you do it?
He didn’t ask any of that. It was as if he realized my circumstances. After a long moment of silence passed, he only said one more thing.
“…Thank you.”
I awkwardly turned away from him. “Don’t mention it.”
There were still many more I needed to pay back in full.
***
As I expected, it didn’t take long for the alliance leader to get in contact with me again—around four days, in fact. Honestly, it was so short a time that I felt justified in thinking he went straight home to think about it before contacting me as soon as he could.
Since he said he would go around tomorrow to look for the nobles selling their land, I can leave him to it…
After hearing back from him, I made an appointment with Count Alminus and had a meeting with him as well.
“This is quite a genius idea. Did you say her name is Shavin Emoor? I don’t know why I’m only hearing about her now.”
I didn’t care he wanted my head administrator.
After smiling and taking a friendly photo, the count took in the key money contract idea that I had devised and gave me advice on how to word the contract.
“It will be best if the clauses I told you about enter the contract form immediately. They will then be treated just like regular mortgages by taking this ‘deposit’ as ‘collateral.’”
He outright explained the purpose of the visit today.
I was a little shocked, honestly. In a way, I felt a little uneasy at how smoothly the situation was progressing.
My unease drove me to sneak in a few questions about one thing or another, but Count Alminus answered everything without hiding anything.
“If the business would succeed, you ask… To be honest, I am on the fence for now. It’s a strategy you can employ now because of the situation being as it is, but that’s also the reason why nothing is certain.”
“Hmm…”
“If you succeed, the gains will be extraordinary. On the other hand, you will suffer great losses if it fails. The House of Count Alminus doesn’t have any plans on investing in this strategy for now.”
Of course, that part didn’t make all that much sense to me.
“Then wouldn’t it be right for you to not accept these new mortgage loans?” I questioned.
The fact that the Alminus Bank was loaning out the money practically made it so that Count Alminus was risking as much as I was. But then why did the count make that decision?
“I’ve concluded that it wouldn’t be much of a loss.”
“…And why is that?”
“Because you are here.” The look in Count Alminus’s eyes was so clear that I nearly covered myself without thinking about it. “If the business fails, won’t you be indebted greatly to me?”
I didn’t reply.
“I’ve only thought about this from the eyes of a businessman. I firmly believe that you will be able to repay all the debt… Even if it takes your entire life.”
With that, my question was answered. “Ah…”
He was taking the risk because even if he lost all that money, it would be worth it if he could use me like a slave for the rest of my life. A chill went down my spine for a moment.
“How about it? Do you still wish for my help?”
“Of course.” I nodded without even a hint of hesitation.
The count let out a chuckle. “I thought you would say that. Honestly, it took some getting used to, but it’s far more comfortable than I expected.”
“What do you mean?”
“Conversing like this. Since we don’t have to drag out our talks by hiding our true thoughts, we can save time. It is more efficient, too, because we can lessen the mental load. It would be great if I could do this with others as well…”
Since the count had spent his entire life crawling out of trickery and schemes, he seemed to like how a barbarian did his business.
“Anyway, I’m heading out now,” I declared.
“Won’t you at least share a meal with me?”
“I have more plans after this!”
“Haha, then clear your schedule before coming over next time. After getting used to how you speak, I find that I enjoy conversing with you.”
“Got it.”
After finishing my meeting with the count, I immediately headed toward the prime minister’s mansion.
“Baron Yandel…?” The butler of the mansion looked surprised by my sudden visit. “I apologize, but the marquess hasn’t received prior notice of this visit…”
To be fair, who else would be rude enough to visit another noble without any appointment other than me? And while visiting the second most powerful person in the nation, the marquess, at that.
“Of course he hasn’t heard anything. No need to look so confused.”
“…Pardon?”
“Is the marquess inside?”
“H-he is currently outside?”
“Oh, then I can sit inside and wait for him. Guide me there!”
“This… Please excuse me, but the Lord Marquess is currently attending to his commitments to the nation, and we don’t know when he might return. Perhaps scheduling a new appointment and visiting a few days from now—”
What? I was here without an appointment precisely because he didn’t respond to any requests for a meeting.
“It’s fine! The marquess and I are close enough that we don’t need to follow those conventions! I’ll just sit down and wait inside!”
With that, I pushed the butler to the side and entered the mansion. The servant couldn’t do much but accept me as a guest.
One day, two days, three days…
Hmm, I didn’t plan on waiting this long, but whatever.
I ignored the pleas of the butler to leave and return later.
From the second day on, they didn’t even give me food so I satiated my stomach with the jerky I brought. I even held my ground every time the knights came in to forcibly chase me away.
“Hah… I don’t have much time, so tell me quickly. Just what is the reason you need to do all this to see me?”
Finally, the marquess revealed himself.