Barbarian Business(1)

Maybe because I made the proposal in such a con artist like tone.

“Big money… you say?”

The council leader narrowed his eyes and his voice dripped with skepticism.

“Go on, then. Tell me how you plan to make this ‘big money’.”

Since I had at least gotten permission to explain, I quickly continued before the negative impression could grow any further.

“We’ll invest during this opportunity.”

“…Invest? Do you have a specific merchant company in mind?”

“No, not investing in a company.”

“Then…?”

“Let’s invest in land. In District 7.”

“Land… you say?”

The council leader reacted as if I were spouting nonsense again, which wasn’t too surprising.

In this deformed city where magic stones replace all resources and consumption and circulation happen simultaneously, the value of currency rarely fluctuates.

Thus, Raphdonia’s real estate has always remained consistent, neither rising nor falling.

But…

“As you know, the current situation in District 7 is worse than the worst. If we buy now, we can acquire it dirt cheap.”

“Isn’t that an overly simplistic view? The current owners must know that District 7 will be rebuilt within a few years. No one will want to sell at a loss.”

Well, that’s true.

Most nobles would choose to hold on.

Under normal circumstances, that is.

“Well, aren’t you being the simplistic one now?”

A major event had occurred: the sealing of the Labyrinth.

And amidst that, District 7 borders Bifron, which is occupied by the Noark bastards…

“And I’ve heard many families are trying to save money and avoid spending lately.”

Uncertainty about the future.

And the anxiety stemming from it.

Having explained this carefully, I spoke in a confident voice.

“If we look carefully, there will surely be quite a few nobles who want to sell. If consumption seriously decreases, the businesses owned by noble families will also take a big hit.”

“Certainly… the number of people in urgent need of money would increase.”

The Council Leader seemed to agree with me now.

Well, not that the persuasion was over.

“However, our situation is the same. Even if we can buy that land cheaply, realizing returns on that investment will be far in the future.”

“True.”

“As you said, Baron, in these times where we can’t see an inch ahead, we don’t have the luxury to wait such a long time. Neither I, nor all of us in Melbes.”

As expected of the leader of Melbes, he was quick to catch on.

Just as nobles from other families might be desperate to sell land for money, the families affiliated with Melbes are also strapped for cash.

Therefore, they can’t make long-term investments.

But…

‘Seems he’s almost convinced.’

I grinned and lowered my voice.

“What if we could buy the land and still hold onto our wealth? What would you do”

To someone who had lived in Raphdonia their entire life, my question might have sounded like a barbarian’s delusion.

As expected, his reaction matched.

“That… is a meaningless assumption.”

“Even so, answer me. If it were true, what would you do?”

At my persistentence, the Council leader reluctantly answered.

“Why bother asking me? If that were possible, no noble would have a reason not to do it.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“But how could such a thing be possible in reality? Buying land and holding onto the money? It’s not like there’s a way to get land for free.”

I cut in.

“There is a way.”

Strictly speaking, it’s not free — but it’s almost the same.

“Then would you care to explain? What is this method?”

“We lease the land and don’t collect rent.”

No monthly or yearly rent.

“What? Not collecting rent? What kind of preposterous—”

I cut him off.

“Hear me out.”

“We’ll lease the land without charging rent—no monthly or yearly payments at all.”

“Ha! So you mean proxy land purchases? That clearly violates royal land law!”

Buying land through proxies was a common practice among wealthy merchants. Enforcement was so lax that getting caught was extremely rare. However, if someone deliberately made an issue of it, it could become a problem.

But…

“Strictly speaking, it’s not illegal. In proxy purchase cases, permanent rights to the land must be explicitly stated in the contract, but I have no intention of including such a clause.”

“…Then it could arguably be interpreted as you said. But then, who would agree to such an arrangement? Wouldn’t it be much cheaper and better to just pay rent?”

“They will come. Unlike proxy purchases which require paying nearly three times the premium, I don’t intend to charge any premium at all, and…”

“……”

“…I will return the entire received sum once the contract ends.”

“What did you say?!”

Unfortunately, the Council leader, having lived his whole life in this city, couldn’t grasp the new concept I was explaining at all.

“Return the money? Then they’d be borrowing the land for free without paying any rent!”

‘Hmm… is it that hard to understand?’

The Council leader only saw this method as a loss for us, so I had to spend considerably more time explaining.

“Council Leader, listen carefully. I’ll explain it just once.”

It’s precisely that system—the one even Koreans, who are very interested in real estate, debate whether it’s good or bad.

Even Koreans interested in real estate debated whether this was good or bad. It was time to explain the benefits of the jeonse system.

***

My plan was simple.

Buy land in the 7th District from nobles desperate for cash.
Then lease it out to merchant guilds or wealthy individuals for a huge deposit, but no rent.

And then…

Use that money to buy more land.

Repeat endlessly.

The Council Leader had doubts about whether this would work, but after more persuasion, he admitted:

“Indeed… if we rebuild the ruined land with proper buildings, it won’t be hard to find those eager to sign contracts with us. In the long term, it’d be far cheaper for them.”

Jeonse requires a large lump sum.

But if you have enough capital, it’s far more cost-effective.

Because there’s no rent bleeding out each month.

And in this world, there aren’t even banks paying interest on savings.

If I guessed right, some might even take loans from banks to pay the jeonse, instead of paying rent.

“I plan to negotiate with Count Alminus, the bank director, about this. To see if people can take out loans using my refund contract as collateral—”

“T-This… this is unbelievable…”

By now, his tone had changed.

Earlier, he dismissed it as absurd nonsense.

Now, it was closer to awe.

“Didn’t the royal family agree to bear most of the cost for rebuilding the collapsed buildings this time?!”

“Is that so?”

“If this plan goes smoothly, it means we could buy the entire Seventh District with money that would normally only buy us a small street!”

Although he was a local and somewhat stubborn, the Council leader had excellent business sense and seemed to have understand the “business” I described.

From my perspective, though, it’s not perfect.

“You seem to have misunderstood something, Council Leader. My goal isn’t to buy all of District 7.”

“……?”

“My goal is to buy all of District 7 and sell it later when the price goes up.”

“……!!!”

This was the core of the current plan.

How else would I benefit from just buying land and putting it all out on Jeonse?

If the land price doesn’t rise, it’s nothing but a loss.

Well, conversely, if the land price does rise, massive profits can be made.

“Council Leader, you know this too, don’t you? The moment the situation stabilizes and District 7 normalizes, the prices will return to their previous levels.”

This is a sure win.

The only thing that could stop us is if those Noark bastards come out from beyond the wall and wipe out District 7 again.

‘Uh…’

It really won’t come to that, right?

Shaking off the ominous thought, I continued,

“Anyway, think about it, Council Leader. How much do you think we’ll make when the time comes?”

“…What do you need me to do?”

‘Got him. He’s all in now.’

I didn’t hold anything back.

This plan couldn’t work without his full cooperation.

From finding nobles willing to sell land, to the funds for purchasing the land, and the capital to hold out until buildings are built and tenants are found…

From start to finish, I needed the Council Leader’s help.

With my limited connections, I’d be stuck just trying to find nobles willing to sell land.

“Let me say this again: absolutely do not buy unless they are willing to sell cheap. Anyway, besides us, there are no other lunatics trying to buy land at a time like this.”

“Don’t worry about that part. I’ve negotiated such matters countless times in my life.”

Yes, that’s exactly it.

A thousand-year noble family’s network.
Political and commercial experience.
And negotiation skills honed over decades.

The Council Leader was the perfect man for this.

“…Still, I can’t make such a huge decision right this moment. Let me think it over and contact you.”

He slightly pulled back at the end, but I simply nodded.

After all, I could already see the gleam in his eyes.

“Very well.”

I would hear from him very soon.

**

Introducing the Jeonse system to Raphdonia.

It would definitely bring me huge profits.

My only concern was whether such capitalist behavior might feel too suspicious…

But really, there’s nothing special here. Anyone could come up with the jeonse idea.

Sure, a Korean would be suspicious if they saw me doing this.

But…

There are only three Koreans here anyway.

Lee Baek-ho, Hyeon-byeol, and me.

And they already knew my true identity.

Of course, there could always be another Korean hiding out there somewhere…

But the risk was worth it.

 

I was no longer the man who cowered before the evil spirit hunters of the Secret Security Department.

Now I had at least the means to protect myself.

And I’d already prepared some insurance.

“By the way… did all this come purely from your head, Baron Jandel?”

“Of course not! Our Chief Administrative Officer came up with this idea. I suppose working on construction projects in the barbarian sanctuary got her mind working in that direction!”

“You mean Shabin Emure of the Administration Office?”

“Correct. Her rank was recently promoted.”

“I simply can’t tell, Baron. I can’t tell whether such talents gather near you by chance or if it was being near you that allowed them to shine.”

The Council Leader’s eyes carried a hint of envy, enough to make me feel slightly embarrassed.

But a seasoned warrior never misses an opportunity.

“Well, whichever it is, you’ll find out for yourself from now on, won’t you?”

I added the final touch with a sly grin.

“Since you’re one of those by my side now too.”

Surprisingly, such emotional words work very well on elders who’ve weathered many battles in life.

 

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