Extra chapter thanks to Furiamanca for the donation
The name of this project would henceforth be the Holy Land Redevelopment Plan. Although we had not yet sold a single piece of land, I knew the plan would be successful. The other barbarians' questions were already arriving.
There is no need to do more promotions. Very soon, all the barbarians who were not present will find out by word of mouth.
Then all that would be left is to sell.
«Uhm... Bjorn?»
"Easy."
«That's what I wanted to say! Chieftain, why don't we sell the land immediately? Are there already so many warriors who want to buy it?»
The reason was simple. «As you said, there are many warriors who want to buy it. The problem is that we don't have that much land to sell. We won't be able to sell it to everyone».
«So shouldn't we sell it now to the first barbarians who want to buy it?!»
I was glad to see that Ainar had accepted his new calling as a merchant, but unfortunately, he still had a lot to learn. If we sold the land to the first bidder, what would we get for it? None of the barbarians had savings, so we would have to sell the land at an unnecessarily cheap price.
«If there are warriors who want to buy land, tell them to come back on the fifth of next month. I won't sell anything until then».
The fifth of next month was the perfect time to open the market. The barbarians would have just returned from the maze, which meant that this would be the time of the month when they would have the maximum amount of money on them. I would decide how much land to sell based on the number of barbarians interested. If a hundred of them made an offer, I could sell it to thirty or so.
Ainar tilted her head in confusion upon hearing my plan. «Hey? Why don't you sell it to everyone?».
I kindly began to teach him the ins and outs. «First of all, we can't sell too much land right away. We still don't have enough people to take care of the administrative part».
«¿Ah...?»
«Secondly, if we sell everything at once, we won't make as much money». The concept of real estate had not been properly established in the minds of these barbarian warriors yet.
«...Won't we make a lot of money? What do you mean?»
«Think about it. Only thirty of the hundred were able to buy land. What do you think the rest would do?»
«...Would you wait until next time?»
«A few may be, for sure. But others will try to buy the land from the owners for a higher price».
«Oh! That's definitely true! Right now, those warriors don't have the money for that, but later on, they sure do...»
Man, she had really gotten very smart. I took a moment to admire its growth internally, and then went on to explain the heart of this redevelopment plan. «In the end, the land will end up being even more valuable than the original sales price. Isn't the same thing true of weapons? Popular items are not sold wholesale, but gradually over time».
«Oh! So the first warrior to resell his land will earn free money?».
Finally, Ainar had arrived at what he was trying to say.
«That's right. And the most important thing is that they will go tell the other warriors how they made money quickly without lifting a single finger».
Could their descendants inherit the land? The inherent value of having it in your name? Be able to save on rent? All of this was nothing more than an excuse to attract them. The only thing that mattered was convincing them that buying land was the best move.
«The warriors...» Ainar marveled with a trembling voice. «They will go crazy for it, even those who said they saw no reason to buy land...».
«Yeah. For them it is a quick and easy way to make money. All they have to do is buy the land and resell it».
He was like a money copying bug. In some ways, it was similar to Kharon's backpack revolution. He may have started it to protect the honor of a warrior, but in the end, he always returned to money. Even the barbarians loved money.
You should first sell some of the land to a few of them rather than go through an auction process.
I had no intention of stopping this bug from being used to copy money. Even if the bubble burst later, by the time people began to realize it, it would already be too late. This was still the most efficient way to increase the tribe's funds in the shortest time possible.
...Although you should probably avoid introducing mortgage loans. I'm sure we'll have other sources of income to use before it's time for that anyway.
I was more worried about the near future than the distant one. He knew that the fact that barbarians knew the concept of real estate would attract the attention of other races. But still, I considered it to be the best option we had.
It doesn't matter if we stand out even more than we do now, so there's no point in worrying about it. And it's only fair that I put raising the tribe's status before everything else.
Nor is it that we barbarians were the first to enter the real estate market in this world. The dwarves and beast people had already sold most of their respective sacred lands to bolster their funds. Everyone would think that I have copied the other non-human races.
Ugh... Now, let's find my administrative team.
There was a lot of work to do before I could put shoes on the feet of our young warriors.
***
The same day I spread the good word of the real estate company to the barbarians, I re-entered the city around lunchtime. As soon as I arrived, I went straight to my first meeting.
«It's been a while, Shavin Emoor.»
I correctly assumed she would be at home since she was currently unemployed. «...Hey? B-Bjorn?» He was surprised to see me appear at his door without warning, but he still welcomed me to his house.
«I'm sorry. I was going to visit you earlier, but I was busy».
«Not at all! I'm the one who should feel it. It's just that... I had no idea you were coming to see me».
«Of course. We're friends».
«Oh...»
«Plus, I have an offer for you. Well, more like a favor to ask of you».
She seemed excited when I called her friend, but then she became visibly tense. «A favor to ask for...?»
«I heard you lost your job, so I was wondering if you could come help me. Or maybe recommend me to some people you know? I need people capable of doing administrative work, and I need them to be as trustworthy and reliable as possible.»
«...You must really need help if you've come to me».
«The truth is that you were the first person I thought of. I don't know anyone else who does that kind of thing. It's fair to ask a friend for help at times like this».
After hearing my reasonable explanation, Shavin took a moment to think about the offer. But it didn't take him long to accept. «Okay. If you are willing to pay me my previous fee, I will be happy to help you. I'll also bring in trusted people, naturally».
«How much did you earn before for working in administration?». Shavin cautiously revealed his salary, but the pay was much less than I expected, so I pushed to increase it just a little. Our negotiations did not last much longer. «But I'm surprised. I never expected you to agree to help me».
«Well... I was actually looking for a job».
«Really? I'm glad this worked, then. I was worried because I heard you rejected Ragna when he offered you one».
«Ragna just wanted to support me. This seems like he really needs my help».
«So you didn't want to be indebted to her as it could strain your friendship».
«...Haha, that's one way of saying it. From the looks of it, I assume you're already meeting her.»
«How do you think I found your house? Oh, and I should mention that it's supposed to be a secret that Ragna and I met.»
«A secret... Surely you now live in the world of nobles». Shavin seemed fascinated by the life Ragna and I were leading. He made us tea and we chatted for over an hour.
«Should come back. I have a few things to do before my next search».
«It seems good to me. The day after tomorrow I will meet with my former colleagues. But even if others go their way, I'll make sure I go to work. But where am I going?».
«I'll come in the morning in three days».
«Hey? Are you going to pick me up? I appreciate the gesture, but you don't have to...»
Although it would have been nice if it were a matter of courtesy, the truth was that humans could not enter our sacred land without permission. I intended to accompany them to work on their first day, give them a pass, and more.
«Anyway, see you then.»
«Okay, get home safely».
After leaving Shavin Emoor's house, I headed straight to the dwarf's forge. Fortunately, even though I hadn't made an appointment, I was able to meet with him.
«Bjorn! What are you doing here?» Just as I thought, I was working today.
«I have to repair some equipment. Also, I want to show you that thing I mentioned a few days ago».
«I see. First give me your equipment. I assume you want me to repair them before your next expedition».
«Of course».
I handed over the equipment that the former boss had damaged to the dwarf, and then went to the hallway to wait. A few moments later, he came out again and led me to the second floor attic.
«I usually take care of the administrative part here... Although you may find it a little uncomfortable».
«Nothing happens. I can crawl».
«No so diso ...»
«Don't be mad at me for needing to lie down to talk to you.» Even at its highest point, in the center of the room, the ceiling did not reach more than five feet from the floor.
As I lay down on the floor, the dwarf sighed, sitting on a sofa made for dwarfs. «So where's the thing you mentioned before?».
«Ah, here it is», I said, taking out a large box from my subspace.
The dwarf swallowed saliva at the sudden tension in the air. «Where did you get that from?».
«It would be better if you didn't know».
«...Is that so? I shouldn't have asked, then».
The dwarf examined the pieces of equipment we obtained from Noark one by one, his eyes wide open as they fluttered frantically. For a second, I worried, but he seemed more excited than anxious. After all, he was a blacksmith, and his attic was full of number objects and even some made of grade three or higher materials. Although our contract had been made in a hurry, I would lose 5% of the profits of this team.
«Take as much time as you need, it's okay. Just make sure you sell this equipment as discreetly as possible».
«Oh, um, yeah. He should...» With his eyes fixed on all the equipment across the room, it was hard to tell if he was listening to me. I thought there was no better time than the present, so I quickly pulled out the next box.
«Was there anything else besides all this?!»
«I don't want to sell this. I want you to use the materials to make new pieces of equipment. Turn daggers into ingots and use leather to replace the fabric of our other items».
«That won't be a problem. But what the hell is this?» The dwarf approached the chest and looked inside, his eyes overflowing with curiosity. «I can't believe you have ogre skin... and even mystium? I've heard that 90% of what's on the market goes directly to the royal family. Where the hell did you get something so precious?»
Well, you'll see...
«Aim carefully.»
«Hm?» I gestured towards the mystium dagger from where I was lying on the ground, and the dwarf looked at it closer. As soon as he recognized its origin, he shouted: «This, this is...!».
«Not so high. Someone will hear you».
«...This is the Order of the Rose team!» He quickly put the dagger and armor back into the chest when I gestured for him to shut up. With how much this dwarf screamed and shouted, what if someone came up to see us? «B-Bjorn! This is crazy. I don't know how you got on with this, but... It's extremely p-dangerous!».
Although I was shaking from head to toe, he tried to give me honest advice. However, my response was indifferent. «Didn't you expect me to bring you stolen items?».
«Yes, sure, but not something related to the royal family!».
«So you're not going to do it?». I asked bluntly.
He couldn't even gather an adequate response. «I... He looked at the entire team again, trying to find something coherent to say. I could see his unwillingness to part with our treasure.
«If you don't want to, forget everything you saw here today. And make sure you burn the contract we signed a few days ago».
When I picked up the equipment, he slapped my arm away. «...I never said I wouldn't do it».
«Hmmm? But did you just say it was crazy?
«I still think it is, but... It will be fine as long as they don't catch us!».
This dwarf was becoming a great partner after all.
***
It was June 28, 157, two days before the labyrinth opened again and this busy month came to an end. However, he still had work to do.
«You're here!»
Early in the morning, I headed to meet Shavin Emoor at his house for his first day of work. She expected her to be alone, but there were three other people with her. «Who are these people?»
«Ah, they worked in administration with me. You said the more the better, right?».
«Yes, I said it, but... have you been able to get three more yet?».
«When our boss lost the commissioner elections, we were all forced to quit our jobs».
Hm, I didn't expect it to be because of that. «But how could you convince them to help?»
«It was not difficult. Baron Yandel's clan is on everyone's lips, you know? Everyone wants to have the opportunity to be part of it».
«...The clan?» I echoed, feeling that something was wrong.
However, before he could comment on it, the people standing next to Shavin began to quickly introduce themselves.
«It is an honor to meet you, Baron Yandel! My name is Rick Anderson. I used to work in civil engineering».
«I'm Mary Jane... I worked in the same department as Miss Emoor».
«Pastor Ramden. You are a honor conocerte ».
Fortunately, there was no Hanses.
«I am Bjorn, son of Yandel. I look forward to working with you», I said by way of brief presentation.
Our conversation revolved around travel while traveling in the carriage.
«Wow... It's the first time I've traveled in a nobleman's carriage».
«I... didn't even know that nobles traveled in different carriages».
«Makes sense. After all, ordinary citizens cannot use them.»
«...It is so convenient to be waited for and taken directly to your destination.»
«Haha, become a noble like me, and you will be able to enjoy these things too.»
«No way... how could people like us become nobles?»
The atmosphere in the carriage was quite lively.
«Anderson, you said you worked in civil engineering before, right?»
«Yes! Yes, I did, Your Honor!»
«What exactly were you doing there?» I asked, questioning each in turn about what their job entailed. We talked for a while and I answered all the questions they asked me.
«But... Is this carriage heading to the outskirts?», Shavin Emoor asked confused as she looked out the window. «Is your clan house outside the walls?».
«Clan house? What are you talking about?»
«...Oh? I heard you recently created a clan. Isn't that why you needed help with administrative tasks?»
Only then did I realize why something seemed strange.
No wonder none of them asked me what their job would be.
I quickly corrected the misunderstanding. «Shavin Emoor, the place where you will work is not the clan».
«Hey? So where are we going...?»
«To the sacred land of the barbarians».
«Again?» Shavin Emoor shook his head as if he suspected he had heard me wrong. At that moment, the carriage finally arrived at our destination.
«For now, let's go down». I left, and everyone followed me in a daze only to find a huge wall. Well, I doubted they would have had any reason to come here sooner.
«¡Become-aah!»
As soon as the door opened, we were greeted by a loud war cry. The humans looked around, completely dumbfounded, as he pushed them towards the sacred land. The warriors approached to greet us on our way.
«A human! A human! The boss has brought a human».
«¡Ohhhh!»
«Two men and two women!»
The administrative staff followed me closely, trembling as if they had just entered the den of the wolf. It wasn't until we walked the long forest path and reached the chief's shop that they finally came to their senses.
One of Shavin's companions swallowed as he nervously asked me: «So... what are we going to do?». It was Rick Anderson, a rank six official who had worked in the civil engineering department and the man who could become our ace in the hole in our quest to carry out this entire land redevelopment plan.
I looked at him and my response was brief. «All work that uses numbers».
That, of course, included the sale of the land.