With half an hour left until the first real estate sale in barbarian history took place, I couldn't help but have the corners of my mouth lifted at the good news that Ainar shared. «So 130 people have come?»
«Yes! Everyone shots and asks when the sale is going to start».
The influence was greater than I expected.
I quickly turned to the Barbarian Minister of Urban Development and asked: «Rick, what is the maximum number of plots we can sell today?».
«Seventy-three».
One plot was 4,306 square feet or, in Korean terms, 121 pyeong.
That brings the total area available for sale today to 8,833 pyeong.
He could only imagine how hard it had been for Rick to divide and measure all that ground by himself.
«But... Are you sure it's okay to sell the land like this? A single plot of land is only-»
«Don't worry. This will be much easier for everyone».
If you used numbers that were too large, the barbarians would end up confused. It was much easier to simply call an area of twenty square meters a plot. Naturally, over time we would also make plots of various sizes to sell to our consumers.
Half a plot was two hundred square meters. One and a half plots were six hundred square meters.
Doing it by the hundreds was much easier.
«Anyway», I said, «this time we'll only sell about forty».
«...What? Aren't you going to sell them all?».
«It's not time yet».
I had asked Rick to prepare as much ground as possible just in case, but if I just waved my hand and sold everything now, my plans would fall apart.
«...I understand.» He seemed a little depressed, which was understandable given how bad he had been with this project, but there was nothing he could do. The heart of real estate was in the future value of a piece of land.
«Then it's time to start.» Under my orders, they adjusted the lottery ballot box so that fewer people were chosen than there were plots available. We then headed to a section of the forest near the outer gate, chosen for its convenient access to enter and exit the city.
«Wow, the chief is here!»
«Sell me the land quickly! I brought a lot of money!»
The warriors began to scream excitedly when they saw me. I offered them superficial greetings as I watched each other's equipment.
I would say they are around the fifth floor on average.
That meant that the warriors here belonged to the upper-middle class of barbarians. That made sense. They would be the only ones capable of paying the price of two million stones on the land, and the barbarians were not the ones who saved money when they could spend it. According to Ainar, some of the warriors present here had even sold their precious weapons in order to pay for the land.
«Good to see you, warriors. You all know how not to miss an opportunity». I went up to the stage that Ainar had prepared for me and jumped directly onto it. «Do you see all these four yellow flags?»
«We see them!»
«Land located within those four yellow flags will be for sale today». First, it was necessary to explain the basics. Some of the warriors might have just come to watch, but I'd be sure to pique their interest for next time. «What do you all think? It's big, right? We fit more than a hundred».
«Hey... sure?»
«Just think about the inn where you are all forced to live! Only one bed fits in that small space. But on this piece of land, a hundred beds can easily fit!» A room at the inn had furniture other than walls and ceiling, of course, but it wasn't the time or place to bring up that topic.
«It's true! Is big».
That's how it is.
«Yes, it's a big piece of land! You can even build a house with a boot camp in the yard! Oh, and it will be private property! That means you can use your special abilities on your terrain, unlike the city!»
«...Private property?»
«That means the land will belong to you completely!».
«Wow!», exclaimed the warriors, apparently impressed by the entire term.
«In the city, hundreds of millions of stones would not be enough to buy so much land. In fact, unless you are a noble, you are not even allowed to buy it!».
I decided to skip the part that that was only technically true in Karnon and not in all districts of the city. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so excited to buy these lands from me. Judging by their growing enthusiasm, I decided that they were now ripe for harvest.
«Ahem!» I cleared my throat and got to the point. «Forty pieces of land will be sold today. All the same size».
«... Forty? But are there more than a hundred of us here?» The barbarians' anxious demands to purchase land turned into confusion due to lack of supply. However, I did not let his discontent grow.
«Don't complain! This land is so valuable that we have barely been able to prepare forty plots to sell here today. If you are not happy with that, don't buy it!». I declared. The supplier had the upper hand, not the consumer. The warriors immediately fell silent, allowing me to proceed as planned. «Now, each of you will take turns and draw lots! Whoever takes out a black piece of paper will have the opportunity to buy land».
After dividing the 130 warriors into six groups, they began to draw them one by one. Before long, the field was filled with screams of both joy and sadness.
«Black! I got the black one!»
«White! This is not fair. That's why I didn't want to choose first. Let me choose again!»
I made sure those who complained didn't have a chance to choose again. Those who chose black were sent to Rick Anderson to buy their plots.
«But Mr. Human! I don't know how to read».
«Nothing happens. The chief himself is selling the land, so you don't have to worry».
«...That makes sense!»
All the contracts said was that land could only be owned by a barbarian and that if the owner died before designating an heir, the property would be transferred back to the tribe. Nothing special.
«Now, let's seal the documents».
The barbarians smiled as they smeared their hands with ink and pressed them against the paper.
I can't believe I made eighty million stones just by selling land...
The average coming-of-age ceremony cost about ten million stones, which meant he had earned enough for eight of them in the blink of an eye.
«Hey! What are you doing?! You are stepping on my private property! Out!»
«I'm sorry! I just wanted to take a look...»
«Tsk, just a minute. Understood? And if possible, hold your breath».
«I will!»
Soon after, the warriors who bought land began setting up their tents while the unfortunate warriors who couldn't simply watched with envy.
«Vukan, son of Shreev, would you sell me that land for a hundred thousand more stones?»
«Um, a hundred thousand stones...?»
Things were already starting to develop as expected. However, the deal between those two did not seem to work out.
«I'm sorry, but I don't think I can do it for that price».
«Oh well... If you change your mind later, come find me».
Weren't a hundred thousand extra stones enough for him? Well, that wasn't a problem for us.
«Ainar.» I gave her orders in a low voice, and she nodded her head with a determined look in her eyes. Once she slipped away, I looked towards the now empty place where she had been standing and let out a sigh.
«Ugh...»
There was no time to rest on one's laurels.
***
The day after the sale of the forty plots, a rumor spread through the holy land.
«Have you heard? Vukan, son of Shreev, sold the land he bought yesterday for three million stones!»
«He won a million free stones in a single day!»
«No way, is that true?! A million stones are enough to buy lithinum armor! The kind our boss wears.
A piece of land had been sold for a 50% profit in just one day. Needless to say, this was no ordinary transaction.
«Was the person who bought it not right in the head? I know the chief said the land is valuable, but for so many stones...?».
«Yes, who bought the land?»
The buyer's name was none other than Seirik, Burtol's second son. He was a member of a group led by our second elder, the backpack revolutionary.
«...I heard he made a lot of money during the Backpack Revolution, but I had no idea he made that much!».
Kharon told me he was good at keeping secrets, so I secretly financed him behind the scenes. I did it for one reason only.
«Then maybe what the boss said was true...»
With that, I no longer had to preach the value of owning land so that my fellow barbarians would realize its value.
«Correct! And he said that later we won't be able to buy it because it will be too expensive!».
«Yes! I heard they are going to sell even more land at the end of this month. I'm thinking about participating this time».
«Um, but I thought you said you didn't need any land. Have you changed your mind?»
«I still don't need it! But think about it. If I buy it and sell it later, doesn't that mean I'll be able to buy a new gun for free?! You should do it too! Let's both buy land!»
«I'm not sure... I think it's better to save money to buy a new gun! Weapons are used to fight enemies. What can be done with the land?»
Well, not all warriors would be open to the idea right away, but it was only a matter of time before they began to change their minds.
Land worth two million was sold for 3.5 million, then 3.7 million the next day, and four million the next day. All thanks to our strategically placed polka dots.
«...Who the hell spends so much to buy land?! Has everyone lost their minds?!»
After just a few days, the attitude throughout the holy land began to change.
«Why don't you sell it to me?! I said I would give you four million stones!»
Some barbarians rushed to try to buy land, but now, no one wanted to part with their plot. After all, the landowners were not stupid at all.
«Why would I sell it today if tomorrow I can sell it for more?».
«W-But...!»
As one insightful landowner said, the price of land skyrocketed. The warriors who had stood by during the initial auction began to panic as they raised all the money they could. But it's not that barbarians were inherently less intelligent or anything like that. Even modern people with good knowledge of economics tended to behave the same way.
«It's going for 4.3 million! I buy it for 4.3 million stones!»
Everything had changed in the span of a few days. The market was so active that we no longer needed our moles at all, although I continued to order Kharon that his people continue buying land with the fifty million stones he had given them. That was two-thirds of our net profit, but I didn't regret it.
At this rate, next time we could sell land for six million, and everyone would continue buying it.
Of course, there was the question of what we would do if they complained about the price increase. However, if everyone was going to buy it for that price anyway, wasn't it only natural that we would increase the cost as well? No matter how much the price rose, they would do anything to buy a plot of land. In his eyes, owning land was no different from owning a money-making machine.
Great, so I guess I don't have to worry about real estate anymore...
Just as I was about to leave the chief's shop, Rick Anderson approached me. «It's strange, right?»
«What is it?»
«The price of land. I don't understand why it goes up so much. After all, the sacred land of the barbarians is huge. Mathematically speaking, even if we gave each warrior a plot, we would still have some left over.»
«Hm, is that right?»
«Yeah. All the warriors who are now spending ridiculous amounts of stones to buy land will come to regret it, I am sure of it. Why don't you stop them?»
«Well, why should I stop them if they want to buy it?»
«That's true... true».
«Anyway, I should go!»
Ugh, how long has it been since I went home? I'm sure Erwen and Amelia will tell me off.
Well, that's what I assumed, however, when I got home, they didn't scold me at all, much to my surprise.
«Emily, Erwen! I'm back...»
«Read this». Amelia quickly threw an open envelope at me. «It's a letter from the Mozlans».
«...Eh?»
I read the letter, feeling inexplicably nervous. Since the Mozlans served as the aristocracy's police force, the letter they sent me was unnecessarily long and formal. Only the last lines were really important.
On behalf of Count Alminus, sponsor of the Sawtooth Clan, the Mozlan Disputes Committee has been asked to formally supervise...
One told me who exactly had filed this complaint against me.
...they request the sum of 2.135 million stones, which constitute half of the total value of the essence of the Lord of Chaos, Riakis...
The next one told me what they wanted from me.
...may the Right Honorable Lord Bjorn Yandel respectfully visit Mozlan's main office within fifteen days of receiving this letter.
And then came the final line, which told me where to go and when.
Tear, tear.
I tore the letter into pieces and swallowed it.
In my country, I would never have imagined receiving a complaint letter like that.
It was a strange feeling, reflecting on how much I had changed since I got here, but I wasn't terrified to realize it. After all, he had been here for four years.
Count Alminus...
And in those four years, not once had he been defeated, especially not by a guy who had a lot to lose.