Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 650

After a thorough evaluation, I decided to seek assistance from Count Goldbeard’s family. After all, I’m participating in the competition hosted by the Marquis as Melbes’ representative. There’s no reason to limit myself to just the barbarians. In reality, once we win the contract, all of Melbes’ construction-related businesses will collaborate.

‘The problem is that old man’s pride…’ I thought, recalling the situation where Baron Yandel became Melbes’ representative due to the chairman’s unilateral decision. I was worried about potential issues, but fortunately, Count Goldbeard sent experts the same day he received my request. Like a true noble, he values practical benefits over pride. Even if Baron Yandel is the main figure, everyone will benefit from the additional advantages.

“Hahaha! What do you think? This is the house we built!” one of the barbarians exclaimed.

“Surprisingly… it’s not bad…?” a technician replied.

The dispatched construction technicians initially looked down on the barbarians, wondering what they knew about construction. However, after witnessing their work speed and results, their expressions changed to admiration. “Their skills are crude, but they’re all former explorers and strong, so they’re incredibly powerful when it comes to physical labor,” one technician noted.

“If they only handle simple tasks that don’t require much skill and take a long time…” another added.

“Indeed, the work time will be drastically reduced!” a third agreed.

The technicians immediately began dividing roles without hesitation. The barbarians were assigned tasks requiring simple labor, while the dwarves handled tasks needing construction knowledge or craftsmanship. It’s a shame as a tribal chief that the warriors can’t learn skills by observing, but for now, this is the most efficient approach. Winning the competition is the top priority.

“Their work speed is fast, but they rely too much on brute force,” one technician observed. “Maybe for a few days. No matter how strong they are, they absolutely won’t last long like this.”

“They need training,” another concluded.

The technicians, having identified the barbarians’ biggest problem, immediately began special training to address the issues. “Look closely. When lifting a rebar, grab this part tightly and use your back strength… like this!” one demonstrated.

“Oh…!” a barbarian responded.

“When putting it down, place this part down first at this angle. See? It’s smooth even though I barely used any strength, right?” the technician continued.

“Ooh…!” another barbarian exclaimed.

“It’s better to have two people when raising a pillar, but if you have to do it alone, follow this posture,” the technician instructed.

“Oooo…!!” the barbarian replied, trying the technique.

The dwarves shared their construction site expertise, and the barbarians eagerly learned. In my opinion, their learning speed wasn’t bad. I don’t know about their learning ability in other areas, but they are naturally gifted when it comes to physical tasks.

“Not there, use the strength on this side—,” a technician corrected.

“Ah! So that’s how it’s done?” a barbarian asked.

“…That’s right! That’s exactly how you do it…!” the technician confirmed.

After roughly establishing the training curriculum, they discussed the work method with the technicians. The decided method was for one dwarf technician to act as a squad leader, supervising ten barbarians on site. ‘Someday, our barbarians will be able to do it all themselves,’ I thought. Isn’t that how it is in any technical field? You start with menial tasks and learn step by step, and then, someday, you become an expert.

“Tomorrow, I’ll talk to the Count and try to get more technicians dispatched. We won’t be able to handle this many people with just us,” a technician said.

“Okay, thank you,” I replied.

“So, could you tell me more about the competition hosted by the Chancellor? We need to know that to prepare accordingly,” another technician asked.

After that, I explained the competition’s format and entrusted the preparation to the dwarves, trusting in their professionalism. “…While your trust is appreciated, is it really okay for us to prepare something so important by ourselves?” one of them asked.

“It’s because it’s important that I’m entrusting it to you. You are the best experts in this field,” I replied.

“…You’re completely different from what I heard, Baron. I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations,” the technician said.

“I believe in you,” I responded.

At first glance, it might seem like I’ve passed all the work I should be doing to the dwarves, but in reality, it’s more accurate to say that I’ve delegated it. I had a mountain of other things to do anyway.

“Shabin, I’m going to the city,” I announced.

Ugh… when will I finish all this?

***

Lafdonia is a barbaric city that disregards human life, but it’s surprisingly modern in some aspects. There are banks that don’t give interest. There are huge upper and lower water supply facilities under the city. Since magic exists, there are everyday items that are impossible with science, which sometimes surprises me. Anyway, let’s put that aside for now. As a city with strong public authority, Lafdonia requires a series of preparations to start a business. It’s impossible to just buy land, build a building, and start a business, especially in a complex case like mine.

‘Fortunately, it’s approved this time,’ I thought. The business application, which had been rejected twice even after preparing with Shabin Emuer’s help, was finally approved today. It was rare for a titled noble with a confirmed identity to have such a difficult time getting approval, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Congratulations on the establishment of the Yandel Trading Company. To explain once again, the maximum number of employees that can be registered is 10,000…” the clerk stated. It was almost unheard of for a business to start on such a large scale from the beginning. Of course, there were many things to review and a pile of documents to submit, but it was also impossible to start small. First of all, to mobilize the barbarians for work, they had to be registered as employees. The dwarves already have their own companies, so they can just outsource the work, but our barbarians don’t have anything like that. No, they’ve never had anything like that in their long history.

‘Is this the first company founded by barbarians…?’ I wondered. Somehow, I ended up leaving another new achievement, but this isn’t important, so let’s move on. After registering the warriors as employees over several days, I began to take care of the Bifron residents in earnest. It would be a waste to leave such a large workforce idle, right? I’m already covering all the taxes they have to pay and the costs of their food and lodging.

“Shabin, from today, teach all the young men construction work,” I instructed.

“Yes? We’re already doing that, though?” she replied.

“…Are we?” I asked.

“It’s not a common opportunity. I’ve also told them to watch and learn carefully what the dwarf technicians are doing. If they can take over those roles someday, that would be the best,” she explained.

“Then what about the women…?” I inquired.

“The women are already working behind the scenes. All the meals that were distributed yesterday were made by them,” she answered.

I was speechless at that. The instructions I was about to give were already being carried out. “Oh, and thanks to their studies, most of the children can read. If we have some spare time, we should properly educate them and have them take on office work,” Shabin added.

“…I, I see?” I replied, surprised.

Suddenly, I remembered what the chairman had said to me before: [I can’t understand it at all. Are such talented people gathering around Baron Yandel by chance, or were they able to shine because they were by his side?] To be honest, I wasn’t very impressed at the time. After all, I was the one who came up with the ‘Jeonse’ [a Korean housing deposit system] system. But now, I’m seriously thinking about that statement. Which one is Shabin? Is it the latter or the former? I thought about it, but the conclusion was that it was meaningless to distinguish them. It was my luck to meet Shabin, who is overflowing with ability. And it was me who gave Shabin a position and removed the restrictions so that she could do anything.

“Um… are you perhaps angry?” Shabin suddenly asked.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” I replied.

“No, I was just wondering because your expression hardened. Because I went ahead and did things on my own—,” she explained.

“There’s nothing like that, so don’t worry. The reason my expression hardened was because I thought I made the right choice in bringing you here,” I reassured her.

“…That’s a relief then,” she said.

Shabin, who had a sheepish expression at my honest words, opened her mouth with an uncharacteristically shy face. “I think I made the right choice too…” she admitted.

“…Huh?” I asked.

“It’s busy, but I think I made the right choice in quitting my previous job and following you, Yandel. There are… a lot of good people…” she said.

Well, her expression was kind of girlish. “For example, someone like Rotmiller?” I asked with a smirk, and Shabin was startled and widened her eyes. “Eek? H, how did you know?!” she exclaimed.

“I didn’t. Until just now,” I replied.

“…!!” Shabin covered her mouth with a flustered expression and was silent for a long time. “You have to… keep it a secret…? Otherwise, I’ll quit everything, administration, chief of staff, everything,” she threatened, which was more terrifying than anything else.

“O, of course. I will keep it a secret, so don’t worry,” I promised.

“Then… that’s a relief,” she said.

“But do you really have to keep it a secret? From what I see, that Rotmiller guy seems to be interested in you—,” I pointed out.

“R, really?! Did Rotmiller say he was interested in me?” she asked, surprised.

“He didn’t say it, it’s a feeling! It’s a feeling!” I clarified.

“…What, you’re not playing with me, are you?” she asked.

Now that I see it, it wasn’t just a vibe. I don’t know about Rotmiller, but Shabin seems to have already moved on to the one-sided love stage… ‘This is the first time I’ve seen this side of her,’ I thought, feeling a bit of unfamiliarity at her new appearance.

Knock knock. A knock came from outside, and Shabin quickly tidied her hair. “What is it?” she asked.

“It’s Rotmiller’s knock!” a voice announced.

“…Huh?” Shabin responded.

“…Would you like to come in?” she asked, clearing her throat and giving permission in a composed voice. The door slowly opened, and Rotmiller really came in. “Yandel? You were here too?” he asked.

“Ah, I was here for a bit of work. I was just about to leave,” I replied.

“It’s been a while, why don’t you stay and talk a bit—,” Rotmiller suggested.

“I’m busy. You two can talk next time!” I said, quickly leaving the office as if running away. ‘…They’ll figure it out themselves,’ I thought. No matter how I think about it, I’m not in a position to meddle in other people’s love lives.

***

Time always flies. Isn’t that right? No matter how busy or leisurely I’ve lived, when I look back, it always seems to have passed in an instant. It was the same this time. ‘How is it that I’m busier than in the labyrinth…’ I thought. I met a noble introduced by the chairman, who had become a real estate agent, and was called out to Count Alminus because of the parts that needed coordination within the business. I also investigated what preparations the other families participating in the competition hosted by the Marquis were making. And if we win the contract, I had to decide how to divide the profits with Count Goldbeard and other collaborating families, and so on.

“Mister, are you awake?” a voice asked.

“Hurry up and wash and get ready to go out. We’ll be late at this rate,” another voice added. As I continued my daily life without even getting proper sleep, it was already dawn. That very day. “Ah! Is today the day?” I exclaimed.

“Ooh! It’s the day we show the world the innate superiority of our warriors!” a barbarian shouted.

After getting ready and heading to the meeting place, I saw the warriors already gathered in the open space with shovels in their hands. 90 barbarians and 10 dwarves. 100 elite warriors carefully selected from our warriors according to the competition rules. ‘What a reliable and magnificent sight they are,’ I thought. After confirming that each and every one of them had a lively look in their eyes, I didn’t say much. “What are you doing? Everyone, grab your tools,” I said. It was a line I wanted to say at least once.