STGB Episode 466

Landowner(1)

About 30 minutes before the first property sale in Barbarian history. My lips twitched at the good news Aynar had brought.

“130 people have gathered?”

“Yes! They’re all screaming to know when we’re selling!”

There were far more people waiting than I had expected.

I quickly asked the Barbarian Minister of Urban Development.

“Rick, what was the maximum number of plots we can sell?”

“73 plots.”

Each plot is 400 square meters.

So, that means…

‘The total area available for sale today is 8,833 square meters.’

Thinking of Rick running around measuring the land all by himself, I could almost see how much hard work he had put in.

“But… are you sure we can calculate it this way? Calling each 400 sq m area a single ‘plot’…?”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be much simpler for everyone this way.”

If we made the numbers unnecessarily large or complicated, it would just confuse the Barbarians.

Yeah, it’s definitely easier to conceptualize one plot as a 20m x 20m(400 sq m) square.

Of course, I plan to offer smaller or larger plots in the future.

200 sq m would be half a plot.

600 sq m would be one and a half plots.

This way is much simpler.

“Anyway, let’s sell about 40 plots this time.”

“…What? You’re not selling all of them?”

“It’s not yet time.”

Though we prepared as much land as possible just in case, selling it all now would disrupt future plans.

“…Understood.”

Rick, who had rushed to prepare everything for today, looked a bit disappointed, but it couldn’t be helped.

The key to real estate is future value, after all.

“All right, let’s get moving.”

After rearranging the lottery boxes to match the numbers, we headed to the location.

A forest near the outer gate, conveniently located for travel to the city.

“Oh, it’s the Chief!”

“Hurry up and sell! We’ve brought plenty of money!”

As the warriors noticed my arrival, they started calling out to me. I returned their greetings in a casual manner while scanning their gear.

‘About level 5 on average’

That’s enough to put them in the middle to upper echelon of the tribe.

It made sense: only those around this level would be able to purchase land priced at 2 million Stones without difficulty. Barbarians generally don’t have the habit of saving up money.

According to Aynar, some warriors even sold their prized weapons to buy land today.

“Welcome, warriors who haven’t missed this golden opportunity!”

Standing on a small platform Aynar had set up, I began my speech with a bit of an introduction.

“Do you see those four yellow flags?”
“We see them!”

“Those four flags mark the boundaries of the land we’re selling today.”

It was necessary to explain the concept.

Some here were just looking around, time to give them a nudge.

“Well, how does it look? It’s pretty big, right? There are over a hundred of you here, and there’s still plenty of space left!”

“Uh… really?”

“Think about the inn room you stay in! Just one bed fills it up, but here you could fit 100 beds easily!”

Of course, an inn room isn’t just a bare floor, and it has walls and a roof.

This wasn’t really the time for such details.

“Oh, right? It does seem spacious now that you mention it!”

Exactly.

“Yes, it’s spacious land! You can build a house here, and even turn the yard into a training ground. Oh! It’s private property, so you can freely use powers that you can’t use in the city!”

“…Private property?”

“It means it’s completely your own land!”

“…Oh!”

The warriors gave an impressed gasp, as if the term sounded important.

“Ah, by the way, in the city, land this size would cost several hundred million stones. And if you’re not a noble, you can’t even buy it!”

I skipped mentioning that this was only true for the Imperial Capital of Carnon. Then I spent quite a while stirring up the Barbarians’ desire to buy. And once I judged the timing was right:

“Ahem!”

I cleared my throat and got to the main point.

“Anyway, we’re selling a total of forty plots today. Each one is the same size as the one you see right here.”
“…Forty plots? There are over a hundred of us here!”

Having been called out early in the morning, and now with a full buying appetite, the Barbarians expressed their dissatisfaction with the limited supply.

But the more they grumbled, the more shamelessly I pressed on.

“Stop whining! Land is so scarce that it was hard enough to prepare even forty plots! If you don’t like it, don’t buy it!”

Being the supplier meant I had the upper hand.

The warriors soon fell silent, and I proceeded as planned.

“From now on, you’ll each take turns drawing lots. Anyone who draws a black lot will earn the opportunity to buy a plot of land!”

We divided the 130 warriors into six groups and started the lottery. Before long, cries of victory and defeat rang out:

“B-black! I got a black one!!”

“W-white?! This is unfair! It’s because I drew later! Let me draw again!!”

Once the draw was finished, the winning Barbarians were handed over to Rick Anderson, a member of the administrative corps, who collected their cash and sold them the plots.

“Hey, human…? I don’t know how to read.”

“That’s okay. This land is being sold by our Chief himself. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“…Really?”

The land deed specifically states that only Barbarians can inherit it, and if no heir is designated, the ownership reverts to the tribe. But that was a minor detail for now.

“All right, we’ll seal it. Please press your hand here.”

The Barbarians happily pressed their ink-stained hands onto the paper.

And…

‘Selling barren land for 80 million stones…’

Considering that the average coming-of-age ceremony costs 10 million stones, this amount could easily cover nine more ceremonies.

“Hey! What are you doing? This is my private property you’re standing on! Get out!”

“Sorry! I just wanted to look around for a bit…”

“Tch, make it quick, understand? Preferably, don’t even breathe while you’re at it!”

“I got it!!”

Right away, those who had purchased land began pitching their tents on their plots, while those who didn’t manage to buy watched enviously.

“By any chance, would you sell me that land if I add another 100,000 Stones on top?”

“Hmm, an extra 100,000 Stones…?”

It was the exact scenario I’d been hoping for.

Well, in the end, they didn’t close the deal.

“Sorry, but I don’t think I can do it for that price.”

“I see. Well, if you change your mind, come talk to me.”

The warrior backed out, not wanting to pay more than 100,000 stones for the land

“Aynar.”

.As I quietly muttered, Aynar nodded and vanished into the crowd without a sound.

I watched her leave, then let out a heavy sigh.

“Hoo…”

There was no turning back now.

***

The day after all forty plots sold out…

A certain rumor spread through the sacred land:

“Did you hear?  Shirib’s son Vukan sold the land he bought yesterday for 3 million stones!”

“He made 1 million Stones of pure profit in less than a day!”

“What?! Are you sure? A million Stones is almost enough to buy a Litinium armor set! The same kind the chief likes to wear!”

Land that had cost 2 million Stones was sold the very next day for 3 million. Of course, it wasn’t a normal transaction.

“Who in their right mind would pay that much? Sure, the Chief’s words about future value might make sense, but still. That’s insane.”

“So who’s the one that bought it?”

The buyer’s name was Seirik, the second son of Vutol.

He was part of the “Comrades’ Society,” a private group formed under the tribe’s second elder Caron, who’d led the “backpack revolution.”

“…I heard he made a fortune from a backpack raid before, but I never imagined he had that much money!”

I heard from Caron that he was a very tight-lipped guy, so I supported him financially.

For one simple reason.

“But… maybe what the chief said was true… … .”

No matter how many times I might explain the land’s future value, not everyone in the tribe would be convinced.

But…

“Ah, do you mean when he mentioned it might become so expensive that we won’t be able to buy it anymore”

“Yeah! They say they’ll be selling more land within this month. I’m thinking of joining in this time.”

“Hmm, I thought you said you didn’t need any land. Did you change your mind?”

“I still don’t need land! But think about it. If I buy it now and sell it later, it’s basically a free ticket to a nice weapon, right? You should buy some too!”

“I don’t know… I think I’d rather save up and just buy a weapon. At least a weapon can be used in battle against enemies. Land can’t do that!”

Of course, many warriors still kept their minds closed to the idea, but that was only a matter of time.

2 million sold for 3.5 million the next day.

3.5 million sold for 3.7 million the next day, and 3.7 million for 4 million the following day.

“…What, paying that much for land! Are they all crazy!!”

The holy land began to buzz just three days later.

“Why won’t you sell it! I’m offering 4 million stones!”

While some Barbarians quickly tried to buy land, no landowners wanted to sell.

After all, the landowners weren’t fools.

Because the landowners weren’t fools either.

“Why would I sell now if I can sell for more tomorrow?”

“Th-That’s…!”

Sure enough, the very next day, that land sold for four million stone, and seeing this, the warriors became even more eager.

It wasn’t because they were stupid. Even modern people who’ve studied economics can get swept up in a frenzy and lose their reason, after all.

“Four point three million! I’ll buy it for four point three million!!”

This was a change that happened in just four days.

The market had become so active that our “comrades society” no longer even needed to intervene. However, I instructed Caron to keep buying until he used up all 50 million stones we allocated to the comrades association’s fund.

It was two-thirds of the net profit, but I had no regrets.

‘The next land we sell will go for 6 million each.’

The reason for the price increase?

Isn’t it natural for the land further inside to be more expensive than what we sold before?

They’ll want to buy it no matter the price.

Once they buy, it’s like printing money.

‘Okay, then I don’t really need to worry about this anymore…’

As I was about to leave the chief’s tent and wrap things up, Rick Anderson, who was handling the real estate business, approached me with a question.

“Isn’t this strange?”

“What do you mean?”

“The land prices. From what I see, there’s no reason for the land prices to rise. After all, the sanctuary is vast, isn’t it? Mathematically speaking, even if every member of the tribe owned one plot, there would still be land left.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Yes. The warriors who bought the land will eventually regret it. Maybe you should advise against it, Baron.”

“Well, if they want to buy, why should I stop them?”

“That’s… true.”

“Anyway, I’m off now!”

Phew, how long has it been since I got home on time?

I’m going to get another lecture from Amelia and Erwin.

I headed straight home at a brisk pace, but to my surprise, there was no nagging this time.

“Emily, Erwin! I’m home—.”

“Read this.”

Amelia tossed a torn envelope at me.

“It’s a letter from Mozlan.”

“…Huh?”

I felt an inexplicable sense of unease, but I opened the letter and read it.

Mozlan, who basically acts as a kind of police for the nobility, had written it in painstakingly formal language. It was unnecessarily long, but three lines were enough to understand.

[…This is an official request by the representative of the Alminas Count House, a sponsor of the Gearfang, to the Mozlan Dispute Committee…]

That told me who had reported me.

[…Accordingly, they are demanding half the intrinsic value of the Lord of Chaos Riakis, which is 2.15 billion stones…]

What they wanted from me.

And…

[…Baron Björn Jandel is requested to visit the main office of Mozlan within 15 days from the date of receiving this letter.]

When I needed to be there.

Squeak, squeak.

After reading, I tore up the letter and swallowed the pieces.

‘Never thought I’d receive a lawsuit here, something I never encountered back in the real world.’

It was ironic, but I wasn’t scared.

After all, it’s already been four years since I arrived in this place.

Count Alminas, huh…

So far, I’ve never lost.

At least not to someone who has more to lose than I do.