Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel - Chapter 605
Chapter 605: Commander (2)
There were reasons silence could fall in place with so many people gathered together. They could all be focusing on something, or the mood could be solemn, or perhaps everyone was simply shocked.
For this particular silence, that latter one was the reason. All the leaders who had been sitting in their seats looked at me with shock at what I said and did. However, no one spoke up to say anything and rather all looked in the same direction.
Zylan Ebost—the deputy commander of our expedition group, who had all the right to obtain the authority of the commander in the current commander’s absence.
To be honest, I held this man in high regard. Even when an unexpected monster entered the body of the commander Jerome Saintred, the expedition proceeded without a problem. This man was the oil and engine that operated this expedition group smoothly.
He was probably thinking of announcing his promotion after I told everyone during this meeting what happened in the rift.
That plan would have proceeded without any opposition, and he would have become the commander if not for my sudden intrusion.
Everyone was waiting for his response, but the deputy commander himself also remained silent. It seemed that he was calmly collecting his thoughts.
I don’t need to give him the time.
I looked at the deputy commander and spoke again. “Do you truly not understand what this means?”
When I let a hint of mockery sneak into my voice, the deputy commander couldn’t help but finally respond.
“I do understand. I understand exactly why you sat in that seat, and I was only thinking about the words I should use to make you understand, Your Lordship.”
“Make me understand… Could I take that as you not accepting me sitting in this seat?”
The eyes of the other leaders opened wide at my provocative question. “Are you being serious right now, you barbarian?” they seemed to want to shout, but they weren’t able to say anything due to my noble title and my reputation.
Unfortunately, however, that went for my allies as well. Even Amelia, who I considered my right hand, stood further away while looking at me with eyes that said, “Has this guy lost it?”
“Of course not.”
The deputy commander chose that moment to answer my question.
“You do not have the right to become the commander of this expedition group,” he informed.
“Why is that?”
“Because you are the leader of the Temporary Squad Four, Your Lordship.”
Not even the leader of an officially created squad, but only the leader of the Temporary Squad Four.
“Under the military law of the palace, if the highest ranking officer dies in battle or cannot further carry on with their duty, the next highest ranking individual will take over their position.”
The deputy commander even brought up military law and invoked the name of the palace as well.
Hey now, do you think I don’t know all this?
“Then there isn’t a problem,” I deadpanned. “The one with the highest rank after the count is me, the baron.”
Although this was an expedition group filled with all types of elites, the only people here with noble titles were the count and me, the baron. What sort of nobility would go into the labyrinth, let alone to this underground floor which hadn’t even been fully mapped out properly? The only reason Count Saintred was here was because they needed someone to lead the rest of the people in the expedition.
The deputy commander let out a sigh as he looked at me. “Your Lordship, you need to understand the difference between rank and nobility.”
To be honest, it was a milder response than I was expecting. If I were in his shoes, I would have shouted at him and lifted my hammer first, saying I wouldn’t go along with his nonsense.
“No matter rank or nobility, it’s still a status, no? I am the one with the highest status after the count,” I pushed back.
The deputy commander merely responded calmly again, talking about the difference between military rank and noble title, and even about the military system. He also talked about the political problems my obstinance would cause and gave me a lecture on military law as well.
“So?”
“…Pardon?”
“So why can’t I be the commander?” I demanded.
Not even a sage would be able to hold back their embarrassment when they realize they had been talking to a stubborn bull all along.
The deputy commander finally stopped speaking, realizing that he wouldn’t be able to persuade me with anything he said.
“Zylan Ebost.”
I looked for the right opening and spoke. It was pretty laughable for a barbarian who had only recently created a barony to say this…
“I have no intention of listening to someone who doesn’t even have a noble title.”
But I finally figured out what kind of person the deputy commander was. This method would work best for him.
“And in the first place,” I continued, “do you think you can command me? Do you really think that you can treat me like one of your subordinates?”
The deputy commander didn’t answer.
It was quite striking to remain steadfast and honest and not hear him say empty words to try and oppose me, but this appearance also didn’t fit the image of someone who would potentially take on the position of commander.
But it was fine for a deputy commander. The deputy commander remained silent for a while.
Only then did I take my gaze off him and take a look at the others. Surprisingly enough, they didn’t show any expressions of worry or nervousness. They just looked curious and were remaining quiet to see how this would play out.
So they don’t care who’s in the position of commander.
Honestly, my insistence probably only seemed excessive from the perspective of the deputy commander. These guys seemed fine with it. A baron who had been officially approved and given the title by the palace. This truth was too impactful in the city of Rafdonia.
Well, I did suspect that there were probably other reasons for their reactions.
“Everyone, hear me.”
Sensing that this was the right moment, I adopted a more serious tone and spoke to all of them.
“We are now at a crossroads.”
The crossroad wasn’t about which person to pick as the commander.
“We could complete the mission given by the palace and return triumphantly to the city, or we could remain trapped here forever, never being able to escape.”
The more time we spent here, the more people would worry about this thought at least once. After bringing this back to everyone’s awareness, I continued.
“However, if you all trust me and follow me…”
I didn’t need to say much.
“Then I will definitely return you all to your homes.”
I had shown this through my actions all this time.
Even inside the Crystal Cave when the Lord of the Abyss appeared, inside the Goblin Forest, and even during the Ice Rock Expedition. Even during this Basement Floor One expedition. On Library Island, I was the one who had fought the hardest against the rank one monster. I was the one who had entered all the guardian stone statues and had cleared all those rifts.
What did the deputy commander do during that time? He had maintained the stability of the expedition group, but that was all he did.
How long do we need to stay stuck here?
It was clear what these expedition members, who had begun to worry about that question, would see as a “trustworthy commander.”
“Everyone here, including me, knows that you are a smart individual, Your Lordship. What do you want? What do we need to do to make you accept this situation?” the deputy commander asked me directly, and I grinned.
“Let’s get everyone together and put it to a vote.”
Democracy was always the answer.
***
Majority vote.
This was a democratic process that was far removed from the strict hierarchical nature of the military. However, the deputy commander accepted this process without much pushback.
He probably concluded that there was no way for him to dissuade me from my persistence if we didn’t go through with the vote.
Of course, he probably had some confidence in himself as well. Even if he didn’t have a noble title, he was still a member of a noble house and a high-ranking official respected by the knights.
I guess it’s about fifty-fifty…
His subordinates would all vote for him. On the other hand, my Temporary Squad 4 would all vote for me.
Since both of these numbers were similar in size, I couldn’t dismiss the possibility of defeat. The most important thing was the majority feeling of the rest of the expedition group.
“The results are in.”
The vote results of everyone in the expedition were compiled.
“It was pretty close.”
I was given the majority vote by a slim number and was elected as the commander. It seemed that the people were thinking they needed a strong leader to lead them out of this floor, and this result was good for both me and the deputy commander.
Now, I wouldn’t need to go with the Plan B that I had formulated just in case I didn’t win.
“Alright, then since the results are out…”
I sat naturally on the commander’s chair and gave my first order.
“Zylan Ebost, you will be the deputy commander. Your work will be the same as before, so I’ll trust you with it, good?”
“Yes.”
It was a formality to show everyone the hierarchy of the group.
After that, I smoothly transitioned to the real meeting. “Looks like we’ll finally be able to talk about the rift.”
Only then did I start talking about what happened in the rift. I didn’t tell them everything. My account mostly centered around the archbishop’s final moments, the thing everyone was curious about.
“So he ended up becoming a priest of Karui…!”
“Wait, then the reason the count died in combat was because of the archbishop…?”
The religious members of the leader’s meeting couldn’t hide their shock and unrest. Although it was because of the archbishop’s death, it was also because the monster who killed the commander ended up being the archbishop.
“Don’t worry. I won’t ask the Three Gods Church to take responsibility for what happened here. This was a completely unexpected variable. We went on a mission that dangerous, yet only the archbishop died.”
I comforted those who were worrying that they would receive some punishment.
“And this may have been a real problem if Count Saintred truly died, but that’s not even the case, no? You won’t suffer any troubles even when we return to the city.”
“That’s relieving to hear…”
These people weren’t your typical pious individuals. They all held decent positions of power within the Three Gods Church, meaning even though they were deeply religious, their sense of power and interest was clear.
“In any case, let’s start the meeting officially now. Deputy commander, has the investigation into the room beyond the stone door finished?”
“If it’s about the stone statues, the investigations aren’t complete yet.”
“So you’re saying you’ve figured something out about the portals.”
“We’ll need to look deeper into them, but many opinions suggest that it’s a portal that’ll lead us to the outside.”
“I see.”
“However, I believe that it will be wise to postpone taking that portal any time soon.”
“Why is that?”
“It should currently be the rainy season outside.”
I hadn’t done the time calculations yet, but it seemed that it was already the rainy season again. “Then we can continue to investigate the room and wait here until it passes.”
With those words, today’s meeting ended.
“I’m hungry, so leave me.”
After saying something I wanted to say at least once in my life, everyone left the tent like water draining from a sink.
Ah, except one person.
“Deputy commander, do you have something to say to me?”
It was my signal for him to tell me any dissatisfaction he had with me. However, the deputy only smirked at my question.
“Did you know, Your Lordship? I am one of the people who is truly relieved that you became the commander.”
“…What?” I could tell that these weren’t empty words to just get on the good side of the new commander.
“In truth…I voted for you as well.”
“…Why is that?”
“Because I know my place. A position where I need to be responsible for hundreds of people isn’t where I should be.”
“But weren’t you the one who opposed me the loudest?”
“I mean, that’s the only way I’ll have an excuse, right? This is the only way for me to not have a social suicide when we return to the city.”
The deputy commander gave me a sincere salute as he continued, “So I will be in your care in the future. You need to lead the expedition group well so that I’ll have fewer things to be responsible for, right?” Then, he put a bag of jerky in front of me before leaving the tent, tossing out, “Oh, because you said you were hungry.”
I felt like I had been bamboozled for some reason, but I took the jerky the deputy commander had left me and put it in my mouth.
It’s good.
This expedition group was now mine.
***
The True Barbarian Commander mode was pretty comfortable for me. To be honest, it was pretty troublesome to get my orders through the village chief who was the dummy leader. That process. had now been eliminated. And that wasn’t all.
“Are you saying you will redistribute the members of the squads…?”
“Yes. No matter how I look at it, separating the expedition group into four squads and just telling each squad leader to look after themselves isn’t an effective process.”
I was now able to give out extreme orders that the village chief, who had to act like Count Saintred, could never give.
“Ineffective, you say…”
“Oh, and I’ll be altering the members of people joining the leader’s meetings going forward, so keep that in mind as well.”
“Of course…”
Still, the deputy commander was a pretty helpful man. No matter what order I gave him, his first action was to try and think of a way to effectively carry out my order instead of complaining. It was a downside in a sense as well, however, in that he never talked back to those in higher positions than him.
“You really…took up the position of commander,” Amelia said gravely.
“Why? Are you disappointed you didn’t become the deputy commander?”
“…I wouldn’t do it even if you gave me that position.”
In Amelia’s case, however, I wouldn’t mind her talking a bit more sweetly.
“Be careful. There might not be any problems here, but we don’t know what the palace will try and fault you for when we return to the city.”
She had a habit of picking on every thing I said, no matter what I said. Well, that was why I liked her.
“Do you want anything? With my authority as the commander, I can—”
“I’ll be going now.”
“Ah, go and call for Raven on your way out!”
Amelia left the tent without saying anything. However, Raven came to my tent not long after.
“You called for me, commander?”
“You don’t have to call me commander. Sit.”
Raven looked at me sitting in the commander’s seat with a look of disbelief, but she walked up and sat next to me. “So, why did you call for me? Is this about the investigation?”
“No, I am curious about that as well…but I have a request to make of you.”
“Can I just leave now?”
“You think you can? This is an order of the commander.”
She sighed. “I should’ve put Sir Ebost’s name in the box.”
It was too late for regret. This expedition group was already mine.
“So tell me. What is this request?”
Looking at Raven’s resigned expression, I took out the object I had carried secretly. “A flower crown…? What is it?”
“I don’t know either. But this is what appeared when the count killed the archbishop.”
“It wasn’t from a monster?”
“No. That’s why it’s that much more suspicious and special.”
Raven then picked up the flower crown and looked at it curiously. “It’s…not a numbered item. I’ve never heard of a flower crown like this either. Can I take this with me? It looks like you called me here to look into this, anyway.”
“Uh, that’s true…but don’t tell anyone about this flower crown. Research it by yourself.”
“Eh? Why?”
“This is a secret research project that no one can know about. You’re the only one who knows about this flower crown.”
I’m telling you and only you because I trust you.
I spoke with these intentions that Raven especially liked.
“Only I know about this…?”
Unfortunately for me, Raven was intelligent and quick-witted as well.
“This… This is embezzlement!” She immediately dropped the flower crown as if she were afraid to become an accomplice.
Of course, that wasn’t a big problem.
“Embezzlement? This is the decision made by the commander.”
“Don’t even joke about that!”
“So, are you not going to do it? Even though it’s a mysterious object that was discovered in the rift of Basement Floor 1?”
“…I didn’t say I wouldn’t.”
After quickly whipping her head around to check her surroundings, Raven bolted forward like lightning to take the flower crown into her sub-space.
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