Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

The Chancellor of Rapdonia, Marquis Terserion, sighed deeply the moment he saw me.

Such behavior—sighing right in someone's face—is generally considered rude in noble circles, but maybe because it was me, the heir of the nation, this old man no longer cared.

"Won't you speak?"

"May I ask just one question first?"

"Go ahead."

"Why have you been avoiding me all this time?"

Admittedly, it was a somewhat weak line even by my own standards, but I felt I had to ask it face to face.

"Avoiding? What do you mean?"

"I tried to arrange meetings saying I wanted to see you, but you ignored all my messages."

If the Marquis wasn't intentionally avoiding me, it was impossible to understand his behavior.

Was he playing some kind of game of push and pull?

Just recently, he had given me a seat at the royal council and even showed interest in marrying off his ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don't copy, read here) own daughter.

The truth I heard from the Marquis was very simple.

"I was busy."

"Busy to the point you couldn't even reply?"

"I didn't even know you tried to contact me. For the past few days, I've been stuck inside the palace."

Looking at the Marquis again, I noticed deep fatigue under his eyes that he clearly couldn't hide.

Maybe that was why his voice sounded sharper and more sensitive than usual.

"I heard even your steward explained this to you?"

"Uh..."

I had heard the explanation, but never thought it would be genuine rather than an excuse.

Embarrassed, I kept silent, and the Marquis looked at me as if incredulous.

"You're strange too. You come looking for me accusing me of avoiding you. Isn't that a bit arrogant?"

"...Huh?"

"Don't think everyone will drop everything just because you want to meet."

"Alright, I apologize this time."

"Not an apology. Promise me. Don't come looking for me like this again. Some rudeness can be excused as cultural difference, but this is outright disrespect."

"...I said I understand."

Maybe because I came in a pitiful state, his stern words scared me into silence.

'...I wonder why he's been so busy lately.'

Why would the Marquis commuting from Hwangdo Karnon be so busy that he couldn't leave the palace for days?

I was curious but never asked, as he never gave me the chance.

"Now, tell me your business. I can't waste any more of my precious rest."

Having seen him emphasize his tiredness and lack of time several times during our short talk, I got straight to the point.

"I came to ask that the reconstruction of District 7 be assigned to our Yandel family."

Maybe because I was so shameless, or because no one expected someone like me to make a request.

"...Huh?"

The Marquis gave an incredulous exhale and asked,

"Is this really necessary? I don't know what tricks you used, but I've already heard Melbes picked you as their representative."

That was true.

With Melbes' backing, I wasn't likely to lose in a legitimate bidding competition.

But business is business.

"There is a sure way to handle it, so why not take that route?"

"I agree with your way of thinking, but..."

The Marquis frowned.

"I cannot agree with your attitude of coming just to reclaim what's been entrusted."

This was a side of him I had never seen before.

Even when joking about smashing my head earlier, he hadn't sounded this irritated.

'Did I come at the worst possible time?'

Regret came too late, but I tried to think positively.

What else could I do?

Had I waited too long, I might never have gotten the chance to meet and talk like this.

"Tell me, why should I grant your request?"

I responded brazenly with consistent shamelessness.

"Consider it a gift for my lifelong bachelorhood."

"A gift for being single...?"

The Marquis tilted his head, puzzled by a word he had never heard before.

That's old people for you.

"Since I'll never marry, isn't a little gift the least you can give me?"

Before I was brought here, our society had cases like that.

After all, single people are unfairly treated, right?

They give wedding money but never get any in return.

"..."

The Marquis paused, seemingly considering my logic.

Though it sounded like a stretch, as the one who blocked my marriage, he couldn't just brush it off.

"You have a point."

Luckily, the Marquis understood the give-and-take principle well.

"But I can't just decide state affairs on my own. What to do..."

He muttered as if troubled, but I didn't sympathize.

This Marquis was a power-hungry old monster who did whatever he pleased as the nation's second-in-command.

His complaints were just grease to smooth the way before the main topic.

Like this.

"Ah, how about this?"

Sure enough, he offered a compromise soon after.

"I'll give you a fair chance to compete."

"A chance...?"

"Actually, five families including yours are the top candidates under consideration. But your chances are extremely slim."

I had expected as much.

Yandel family had never shown anything about construction before.

Without Melbes' support, we wouldn't even be among the candidates.

I didn't try to wait quietly and meet the Marquis because I knew that well.

"So? What exactly do you mean by giving a chance?"

"Exactly as I said. I'll lay the stage, so you prove your qualifications yourself."

How exactly would he 'lay the stage'?

It was hard to picture, but hearing his explanation was truly astonishing.

"To summarize... the five families gather and have a building contest?"

"Well, it's not exactly a contest. It will be more like a demonstration in front of people showing what each family does well and their strengths."

Sounds like the same thing, but his following words gave me some relief.

"I'll ensure you produce some results so my reputation isn't ruined. Then the contract will go to the Yandel family."

It felt strange.

Though it fizzled out somehow, I recalled Melbes once tried something similar with a dwarf family.

"Alright, let me know when the date's fixed."

...Who knew construction labor competitions would become a thing?

After finishing with the Marquis, I returned to the sanctuary, where our chief administrative officer was still working late with the lights on.

Hmm, or was it?

"Shabin, what are you reading so hard?"

"Oh... it's a letter. The branch manager of Alminous Bank is asking if I want to transfer there... It's strange, I don't even know the person..."

What was that?

Could it be the Count Alminous sending a scouting offer?

'This old man...'

"Just ignore it. He's probably a scammer."

"...That really hurts my pride all of a sudden."

"Just your imagination."

"So, what's the reason for coming at this hour?"

"Do I only come when there's something?"

"Yes. I know you usually avoid this place because you think I'll make you work."

Oh... she already knew everything.

Feeling embarrassed, I quickly got to the point.

"I just had a talk with the Chancellor."

"...The Chancellor?"

"Why do you look at me like that?"

"Just saying, that kind of person is impressive, but..."

Shabin hesitated awkwardly, but today wasn't the day for such talk.

After sharing the conversation with the Marquis, I declared that tomorrow I would personally assess our warriors' labor skills.

"Tomorrow... really...?"

Shabin's trembling voice carried a certain intensity, so I hurriedly explained.

"You don't have to call many. But don't just call the best — call them all so you can get an average."

"Hmm... that's not too hard then."

"No need to be too worried. Just want to see their skills and analyze what else to prepare."

"Got it. I'll prepare accordingly."

Okay, I'll see for myself tomorrow then...

After finishing, I talked more with Shabin about our tribal work, then secretly went back to my temporary quarters and fell asleep.

The next morning...

"Ooooooh!"

"The strongest warrior of the tribe is here to see our skills!!"

"It's time to show off my strength!"

"Behe—laaaaaaah!"

For some reason, from early morning, the barbarians gathered enthusiastically for the test.

It was completely unexpected.

I wasn't even there to watch fighting skills.

'Since when did they get so serious about construction?'

Curious, I asked Ainard quietly and got an unexpected answer. Or rather...

"It's thanks to the administrative officer's brainwashing."

As tribe chief, I couldn't ignore that word.

"Brainwashing?"

"Shabin said with proper rewards and constant praise, even goblin beliefs can be changed."

I wondered what that meant, so I listened more.

It seemed Shabin worked hard to change the warriors' mindset.

She gave them rewards after tasks, praised them highly in front of everyone, and fulfilled their desire for recognition.

'Fulfilling the need for approval...'

She nailed exactly what drove barbarians wild.

Why do warriors get so hyped about strength? It's not just because strength is important in daily life...

At its core, it's because their need for recognition is fulfilled.

Because everyone recognizes the strong, our warriors sweat and bleed every day.

"I'm not sure, but recently we even had a fast-building competition! The winner gets more popularity from the opposite sex, but I found it tough!"

"..."

"Too bad! If I hadn't entered the labyrinth and learned building skills, I'd be better!"

Even Ainard was mixing up priorities, so no need to explain how high construction's status was in the tribe...

'Is this good or bad...?'

As chief, I worried a bit but tried to focus on the positive.

If building skills develop, there will be ways to make a living besides being a warrior.

More options is always good.

'...Maybe I can actually expect something here?'

I watched from afar as Shabin Emur prepared a demo building project, evaluating our warriors' skills.

"I can carry three rebars!!"

"No, I can do four!!"

For carrying ability.

"Behe—laaaah!"

For speed.

"What are you doing?! Just stick it in roughly!"

For detail.

"...Kirita, second son of Mwolka! This window doesn't fit here. What should I do?!"

For advanced technique.

"Keep it up! If we finish today, the chief will pay 10,000 stones each!"

For labor cost.

Some notable points:

'Is this it...?'

Seeing clear flaws as well as strengths, I licked my lips.

"Ugh..."

...What should I do now?