When people come together, an organization is formed, even with only four people.
Once the four people who would be in charge of the administrative part were gathered, I threw all the backlog on them so that they could divide and conquer it. The tasks were distributed according to their specialties. Among the four, Shavin Emoor had the most merit.
«Mary, you will oversee the organization and analysis of the data on your own», Shavin said. «For now, let's focus on reviewing all the data left by the former elders».
«...Are you sure I can take care of that? I'm looking at some of the data and having a hard time understanding it. I can barely make out the letter».
«Do the best you can. I'll go help you too».
«Okay...»
Mary Jane was in charge of statistics and file management.
«Mr. Ramden, I will have you handle the coming-of-age ceremony which will take place in a couple of days.»
«The... The coming-of-age ceremony...?»
«I know you're new to all of this, but it's just a small event within the barbarian tribe. I'm sure you'll handle it well. But if there's anything you're not sure about, you can ask Miss Fenelin. That's fine with you, isn't it, Miss Fenelin?»
«Okay! Of course. You can ask me!»
«...So what should I do after preparing for the coming-of-age ceremony?»
«Once we have the data analyzed, please write a quote. Not an annual one, just month by month for now».
«...Okay.»
Shepherd Ramden was in charge of financial planning and management.
«Mr. Anderson... I don't have to tell you what to do, do I?»
«Yes... I am in charge of the land...»
«It seems that nothing has been done for this project yet. So for now, head into the forest and examine the terrain. At some point we will make new paths, so try to make your way if possible. Oh, and also make sure to set aside some land for a place to raise the kids. We should make them a new daycare».
«...Isn't this basically the blueprint of an entire city?! Is it really okay for me to be in charge of something so important?»
«I'm giving you authority, so you can do whatever you want. Don't worry, we're not going to address the entire holy land right away. We'll start by selling chunks of suburban land, so you can focus on that for now.»
«... I'll do what I can.»
Rick Anderson was in charge of transportation, infrastructure and urban development.
«Right now, we only divide the tasks among ourselves, but when we hire more people in the future, we will function as an organization per se. When that happens, you will all be the heads of your respective departments».
And naturally, Shavin Emoor would be the boss of them all. Hm, maybe that's where all his passion for work came from. I never expected his work ethic and skills to be so impressive. He didn't complain about starting from scratch and quickly assigned staff tasks commensurate with their skills so they could deal with the biggest problems that came their way.
She's even a better employee than I thought...
I had only seen her as a woman who visited the dessert shop whenever she could. But as I watched the barbarians' administrative team slowly take shape, I realized that I had no idea that I had that hidden side all this time.
«Excuse me...» Mary Jane, who was in charge of the data, raised her hand carefully. «When do we leave work...?».
Instead of responding, Shavin looked at me. I guess he felt without authority to answer. Unfortunately for them, time was money right now, so I quickly responded: «Why would you leave work?».
«...Sorry?»
«Are you not right in the head? If you work all night, your salary will be doubled».
Everyone looked at me without understanding what I was saying.
Shavin Emoor had to step in for me to play. «Right now, we have a lot of work to do in a short time. It's not that we haven't worked overtime before and luckily for us, we will be adequately compensated this time. Plus, we've already rested enough. It's not so bad to be busy with work again, is it?»
«...True.»
With that, the barbarians headed towards new horizons.
***
After forming the management team, I headed to the former boss's store. There was something I hadn't been able to ask him during my last visit.
«Bjorn, son of Yan...»
«Es Chieftain.»
«...True, Chieftain. What is the problem?» He got straight to the point.
«I would like to know more about Balkan.»
«Ah, the man behind your first title.»
Balkan, son of Shalik, also known as Kagureas, was a barbarian hero who died twenty-one years ago at the age of fifty-five. He had recently discovered his real name. Before that, he had always assumed that he had died so long ago that there was no need to investigate him further.
«So why are you curious?»
«All about him».
«It's going to be a long story. Go sit or lie down». The former chieftain sighed in obvious irritation, but chose to answer me anyway. «When I underwent the coming-of-age ceremony, Balkan was already a famous warrior within the tribe. At that time, it was an indisputable fact that he was the strongest».
«How strong was he?»
«I would be no match for him as I am now».
Well, with praise like that, it was safe to assume that he was also much stronger than me currently.
«Some thought he was 'humanized' because he didn't socialize with his fellow warriors, but in my eyes, Balkan was more of a warrior than anyone. The only thing he was interested in was getting stronger».
«Wasn't everyone like that back then?».
«Ha ha! It's true. What times those were! Unlike today, there used to be hundreds of adventurers able to explore the eighth and ninth floors. The six races practically competed with each other to see who could go the furthest in the maze, and it was common for each to lend their Genesis Treasure to their best warriors, who were on the front line. Balkan was one of those warriors». Like everyone his age, the chief seemed to like to talk about the Golden Generation.
«But that all ended when a dimensional collapse wiped out most of the best adventurers, right?». asked. Titana Akurava also belonged to that generation and had experienced the catastrophe firsthand and survived. Perhaps that is why, even after all this time, the royal family continued to investigate the cause of the dimensional collapse and apply strict control over the labyrinth.
«It was a terrible tragedy, but that had nothing to do with Balkan's death».
«So how did he die?»
«Nobody knows. One day, he and his companions entered the labyrinth, and never returned».
«I see. And since our Genesis Treasure returned to the tribe when it disappeared, no one investigated it».
«Do you think he could still be alive?»
«Maybe he did something similar to what I did?»
«Pfff, haha! Well, knowing when and how to doubt is a good skill to have as a warrior». The former chief seemed to disagree with my theory, but he did not criticize me or try to change my mind.
«Speaking of the Genesis Treasures, I heard that our tribe was not the only one that lost theirs».
Sigh. «I can't believe you already know that too. Is this what it means to have an information network of nobles?»
He had actually heard Baekho Lee talk about it, but there was no reason to tell him. «So who else lost theirs?»
«As far as I know, elves and dwarves».
«I see...» I kept digging and asked him if he had any other clues about the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, when the Genesis Treasure of each race was stolen. Unfortunately, I didn't get the answer I wanted.
«I can't say for sure. As far as I know, no one has any idea where the Genesis Treasures are».
Damn, I was hoping he knew something.
«Oh! But now that I think about it, there's something I should tell you about the Genesis Treasures».
"¿What are you?"
«Several years ago, a mysterious person left us a letter while the old chief was away. The letter predicted that there would be a war over sacred relics in the near future and that someone would steal our Genesis Treasure on the first day of the third month of the Year 153.»
Well, about that...
Ignorant of the truth, the former chief continued explaining. «Isn't it fascinating? Our ancestors were surely taking care of us that day! That's what the shaman told us».
I didn't know why the shaman had said something like that, but while we were on the topic, I decided to ask: «And what happened after the chief saw the letter?». Honestly, I had assumed that they had never received my letter, but from the looks of it, the barbarians had read it. So what happened?
The former boss told me everything. «At first, we thought the letter was just a joke from the young warriors. However, when the War of the Holy Relics occurred, the old boss realized that the letter was really special».
It made sense that they wouldn't believe it until the war broke out. «So what about the Genesis Treasure? If they knew about the theft beforehand, how was it stolen?»
«I'm not sure. I made sure we were well prepared to protect him, but when you and the others left for the city after your ceremony, all the warriors who remained on the sacred land fell unconscious.»
«And you didn't share the letter with the other races?».
«No, we didn't».
"¿Por qué no?"
«Do you really think they would heed a warning from our ancestors?»
Yes, it seems fair to me.
Next, the former boss explained to me in detail what measures were taken to prevent the Genesis Treasure from being stolen.
They did all that, and yet no one knows what happened on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony?
What really happened that day? Now that I was the boss, I was going to have to dig deeper. If I managed to get our Genesis Treasure back, I would surely have an advantage over Baekho Lee. After all, he was a piece of equipment by the end of the game.
«But what happened to the letter? Do you still have it? I would like to read it».
«I'm not sure? I heard the old boss had it, but he never gave it to me. He must have lost her».
«I see...» If the letter had been lost in the past, then it was better to leave it at that. I asked my last question. «But what happened to the shaman? When I asked his apprentice about him a while ago, he told me that he had retired».
«Oh, if you mean the old shaman, he got sick, so he's bedridden».
«¿En cama...?»
«He is alive but in a coma. I thought we should kill him since he wouldn't wake up, but his apprentice begged me not to, insisting that he would wake up soon. So I've left them alone for now».
Um, so that's where it's been.
«If you're done asking questions, leave. I've been talking to you for so long that I'm getting hungry».
«Alright.» I could see his frustration with all my questions increasing by the second, so I hurried out of the tent, but not before asking where the old shaman's tent was.
Swish.
I pushed open the door and entered a dark tent, filled with a thick, heavy smell of incense. I passed through the unpleasant and disgusting clouds of smoke floating in the air and approached the bed where the ancient shaman lay, motionless as a corpse.
«...Ch-Chieftain?!» The apprentice he had once met burst into the store in a panic. «Can't! I still have a lot to learn from him. So please don't kill him! I'm making sure I work very hard to pay your share too».
Uh... His store was right on my way back, so I thought I'd say hello.
«I beg you... I may be old and dying, but he is still my precious teacher!»
In the end, I felt pressured to excuse myself from the store and return.
***
Having Shavin's help to form an administrative team gave me a break, but there were still many things to do before my next search. He was now a baron, head of the Anabada clan and head of the barbarians. I not only had to prepare for the maze, but also take care of my tribe.
I'm sure next month will be even busier...
Next month he would also have to attend a meeting with Melbeth, an association of non-human nobles. After that, I would have to get to work and start selling pieces of the sacred land.
It's okay for Melbeth to hold the meeting the day after the maze closes...
If they had decided to hold the meeting this month, I don't know how I would have found time to take a day off and attend.
I let out a sigh. Thinking about my increasing workload depressed me. But what else could he do? I had to complete all these searches and I couldn't skip them. It was too late to turn back.
«Cacique, everything is ready», Ainar called to the store, interrupting my musings.
[20:58]
It was time. I quickly left the store and walked with Ainar towards our destination.
¡Fwooosh!
Deep in the forest was a clearing illuminated not by LED streetlights, but by flickering torches. Every corner was filled with muscular barbarians.
Step.
This was the same place where I first opened my eyes to this world.
Step.
When I entered the clearing, where there were a pile of weapons on one side, the eyes of our young warriors focused on me. In those eyes, I saw a mixture of excitement and nerves.
...What a strange feeling.
I looked around at the young warriors before shouting at the top of my lungs: «Congratulations, young warriors!».
Just as I had heard in the forest that day.
«Starting today, you will leave the sacred land and be reborn as true warriors». There was no need for exaggerated explanations, so... «Now, go one by one and choose the weapon that suits you best!»
Oh, but this time I had one more thing to tell you, of course.
«Each one will be given two potions and also leather boots!».
It was time to enter a new era.
«¡Become-aaaaaa!»
The young warriors let out a roar of approval, excited to be the first generation to benefit from this new system. I didn't disturb them on purpose, but thanks to that, it was easy to locate him.
There, in the middle of the screaming crowd, was a warrior looking around nervously with a terrified face.
Trago.
As soon as I saw him, I bit my lip without realizing it.
The odds are one hundred percent.
That one over there was a rookie.