Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 640

The elder of the Dragon Tribe and the head of the beast people, the Karlstein house.

Aside from these two, it was my first time meeting the others. However, it wasn’t hard to recognize them.

“Haha, so we finally meet! I’ve heard a lot about you through Titana! She said she owes you a great debt.”

“Debt? No, I’m the one who owes Akuraba.”

“Haha! Unlike the rumors, you’re quite a humble friend!”

Malark Izor, the Dumoka of the dwarves. Dumoka meant “deciding hammer” in the ancient tongue, a title that essentially marked him as the chief of the dwarves.

In any case, I’d heard this old man wasn’t an explorer.

Most of the past chiefs — including the ones present here — were originally explorers. But this old man had risen to power purely by reputation and trust.

‘Well, reputation is one way to put it, but I’d say he’s just naturally gifted at politics.’

In this world, the more pleasant someone seems, the less you should underestimate them.

It means they can protect themselves without ever raising their voice or showing temper.

Unlike that prickly fairy, for example.

“Bjorn, son of Jandel — this meeting has been delayed several times because of your absence.”

“And?”

“I’d like to hear the reason you were late today.”

“Oh, that? I came too early, so I ended up eating nearby and lost track of time.”

“…Eating?”

“What? You don’t eat?”

The fairy tribe chief—no, perhaps it’s more accurate to call him ‘Lagcian’—was so utterly flabbergasted he lost his words.

‘Now that I think about it, every race has some fancy title, except Barbarians. Why is it that only we just use “tribe chief” so plainly?’

I suddenly had that question, but it didn’t seem important, so I stopped thinking about it.

Ironically, though, it made sense after that.

‘…Ah, so that’s why we just call ourselves tribe chiefs.’

Well, why bother changing it? ‘Tribe chief’ is sufficient.

It’s also the most intuitive.

“That child…….”

Just when I thought the tension had mostly subsided, the the handsome fairy chief went on

“Is that child doing well……?”

“…Are you talking about Erwin?”

“Who else would there be?”

Huh. For someone who looks so kind, why is his voice so sharp-edged?

“Don’t worry about Erwin. She’s living well at our holy land.”

Since he an elder of her family, I gave a proper answer this time.

But then he went on:

“With the other women, you mean?”

“…Other women?”

I frowned at the strange wording, and he continued with more cryptic talk.

“That child is special, even among our kind. Not just because she’s a pure-blood successor — everyone loves her dearly.”

“…And?”

“If ever tears fall from her eyes, you too will have to be prepared for the consequences.”

His words carried the weight of someone willing to start another war if necessary.

But I didn’t get angry.
If it was for Erwin’s sake, I wasn’t foolish enough to take offense.

“That won’t happen, so don’t worry.”

“……Then that’s fine. I leave it to you.”

Only then did I realize that this guy was being particularly cold to me probably because of Erwin.

Not because I’m a barbarian.

‘If he were a fairy who despised barbarians, he wouldn’t have said, “I leave it to you.’

With that settled, I shifted my gaze toward the final figure.

The representative of the Humans.

“You know…”

Honestly, I’d been wracking my brain since earlier, but I had no idea who this guy was supposed to be.

So, like a true barbarian, I asked directly.

“Who the hell are you?”

A rude question, unbelievable for a gathering like this. However, the human representative smiled and answered.

“I am Count Maxiland. I was fortunate enough to represent the human race and participate in this meeting.”

I remember Count Maxiland.

He belongs to the chancellor faction and is not his right-hand man, but more like a left-hand man.

“Ah, I see. It’s my first time seeing your face, so I didn’t recognize you.”

“We did meet once at the inauguration ceremony……”

“It was too chaotic then.”

“I understand, so don’t worry about it.”

After hearing his status, I understood why no one was paying attention to the human representative.

‘Their intention is clear.’

By sending a low-ranking figure, the humans made their stance clear.

They have no intention of taking a leading role in this meeting; they will just listen quietly and then leave.

Perhaps because the count himself knew this from the start, he seemed content to simply hold his seat.

“Now that everyone is here, shall we begin the meeting?”

Anyway, like that, my first racial meeting began.

***

At first, it was not what I had expected.

I had imagined serious debates, weighty decisions about the world’s future, or even whispered secrets of the world.

But no.

It was simply a polite battlefield where representatives traded complaints and quarreled.

Like this:

“I hear the dwarves are buying up land in Gnome Tree. Are you trying to start farming now?”

“What? Do we need the fairies’ permission to buy land?”

“Then does that mean our clans can also start mining businesses?”

Ah yes, for context: our Barbarians had no territory inside the city.

And without territory, there was no territory dispute to get dragged into…

“Relax. We’re not encroaching on your lands. We only bought the land to expand Gnome Tree’s forges.”

Some issues could be resolved quickly with a few words. But others were not so simple.

“More than that, isn’t it the beast people who have crossed the line?”

“What line do you mean we crossed?”

“Oh! I heard rumors that the Black Bear Tribe took in that traitor. Was I mistaken?”

“…….”

After hearing the details, it seemed the beast people had taken in a dwarf craftsman who had committed a crime within the dwarf tribe and been exiled.

“I understand how you feel, Dumoka, but we can’t interfere in individual matters, can we? It seems we also owe that smith a debt from past events..”

“Hah! So you claim you’re not just using him to steal his skills?”

Now that was a pointed remark.

“Head of Karlstein, stop this nonsense and expel that wretch at once.”

The dwarf’s glare was fierce, but Karlstein met it unflinching.

“And if I refuse?”

“Well, what choice do we have? We’ll have to respond in our own way.”

“…….”

A dispute where neither side backs down.

In times like this, representatives not involved in the conflict had to step in and mediate.

“Even putting aside the issue of technology leakage, taking in an exile from another tribe is morally questionable. I side with Dumoka.”

“I agree as well.”

After it came down to a vote, it was decided that the beast people would expel the exiled dwarf.

Ah, by the way, I abstained.

Well, what do I know about some dwarf criminal?

‘Since they’re talking about things only they know, it’s not very interesting.’

As the meeting continued, I started to fee bored.

Just as I was propping my chin up and starting to doze off, the topic of conversation suddenly shifted to me.

“By the way, what about the Tribe Chief?”

“…Huh?”

“You seem very interested in construction technology lately. Since we’ve met like this, wouldn’t it be good to hear a bit about that?”

Ah… this grandfather, he’s checking me out now.

“I’m also a bit curious about that story.”

Mister Dragon also seemed genuinely curious.

“I heard the holy land has changed a lot?”

“Well, it has changed quite a bit. We can’t live savagely forever, can we?”

“Hmm, this is our tradition.”

Why change something so comfortable in the first place?

It’s like a cheat code culture where everyone except the king can speak informally.

Anyway, since everyone seemed curious, I roughly explained how the sanctuary had changed with buildings, and Mister Dragon looked at me with amazed eyes.

“It’s hard to imagine just from words. To achieve so much development in such a short time.”

“Short time……? When was the last time you visited?”

“…Probably about 20 years ago.”

Dragontribe’s sense of time is completely different from ours.

I was inwardly impressed and was about to wrap up the conversation about our sanctuary when—

“Haha, barbarians learning architecture… As a craftsman, that’s wonderful. I hear you’re even bidding on a royal contract?”

“Nothing’s been finalized yet.”
“I see.”

I let out a bitter chuckle.

That contract had only been brought up a few days ago at the Melbes gathering.

Either their intel network is amazing,

or we have a blabbermouth in our ranks.

Well, it’s not incomprehensible.

Melbes itself is a group of different races, after all.

Most of the conversations there would reach the tribe chiefs’ ears.

But this was a bit unexpected.

“More than that… I heard you’re getting married?”

Mr. Dragon subtly asked me.

I flinched and quickly scanned the room, but it seemed that everyone else already knew.

“Ah, that. The head of Melbes has been pressuring me to marry.”

“Well, you’re old enough to have three kids already.”

…What the hell? How do they all know this?

Surely the head of Melbes didn’t spread this around.

‘Scary people…’

A shiver ran down my spine, but I didn’t let it show.

Wearing the Lion’s mask had taught me one thing:

Better to act strong than look weak.

Yes, that was my plan… until:

“If you have no suitable match, how about my daughter?”

Mr. Dragon’s sudden proposal nearly made me choke.

“…Your daughter?”

“Oh, I didn’t clarify if it would be my eldest or my youngest.”

Uh… that’s not what I was asking.

“Well, if it’s you, either one would—”

“Why would that be acceptable!” The fairy representative suddenly cut in sharply and scowled.

Mr. Dragon quickly waved his hands in protest.

“Ah, I misspoke. I only meant it sincerely — I like this young man. It’s not about forming a political alliance—”

“That’s not the issue.”

“…Hm?”

“Have you already forgotten the promise made earlier, Dragon Lord? I asked Yandel’s son Bjorn not to make that girl cry. He agreed, and even assured me there was no need to worry.”

“Oh… yes, I suppose I do recall. But what does that have to do with—?”

The Dragon Lord tilted his head, genuinely confused.

And then—

“Isn’t everyone here misunderstanding something?”

A third voice suddenly cut into the conversation.

“My daughter is already deeply involved with him.”

It was Misha’s father.

“Indeed… there had been rumors about that before.”

“…Well then, is it true?”

The fairy chief and the Dragon Chief both turned their eyes to me.

My lips had gone dry, so I picked up the glass of water on the table only to put it back down.

“…….”

For some reason, I felt like even drinking water would make me sick.

 

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