#682 The Snow Festival Closing Party

The creepy beastly statue with multiple arms, legs, and heads could curse you if you stare at it.

I initially thought it was a form of harassment to have such a sculpture made, but after the Snow Festival ended, the one redeeming aspect was that we could dispose of this wicked god’s statue.

Yet, why did Sensei turn it into a bronze statue?!

Well, to be more accurate, it’s a mana metal statue, but still!

Won’t the curse be semipermanent now because of this?!

“What’s the meaning of this, Sensei?!”

“Um, it’s for practice and experimentation since this is the first time. I chose something that wouldn’t be a problem if it failed, but surprisingly, it turned out perfectly.”

That explanation has gotten me convinced in more ways than one!

Now, I get it!

It certainly wouldn’t have been a big deal if this one failed and was lost forever!

Imagine how liberating it would’ve felt if the experiment had failed!

Success without mishaps is almost hard to accept now!

“All right, now that we’ve practiced and gotten the hang of it, let’s move on to the real thing.”

“Let’ssss go!”

Sensei and the Royal Honeybee Queen Bee advance together.

I’m certain they’re headed toward the monument made by the students.

For Sensei, it’s something he wants to preserve until the end of the world.

But they just left this beastly statue...

Seriously, what should we do with this?

If we throw it away, it will be buried in the stratum and unearthed hundreds of thousands of years later.

It could bring chaos and confusion to mankind in the far future!

Amid all this, Sensei succeeded in turning various works into mana metal statues by recasting the molds.

Not only the sculptures he fancied but also the Hephaestus and Velesares statues created by the dwarves and elves.

“Since we’re already doing this, I thought I’d turn every promising snow sculpture into metal statues. It’s better for everyone to have something to remember, after all.”

As long as everyone’s happy, I guess.

In that case, what about Junior’s Buddha sculptures...?  

“Oh, he declined, Lord Saint, saying nothing in this world remains unchanged...”

Junior said that?!

I can’t imagine a child saying something like that, but on the other hand, I feel like my son would...!

“...W-Well, it’s a good thing to keep them as a remembrance. What are you going to do with this monument, Sensei?”

“Of course, I’ll display it in my dungeon!”

Figures.

Sensei’s dungeon is starting to look more and more lively compared to the dreary cave it once was.

“What about the Velesares and Hephaestus statues over here?”

“There’s something I’d like to discuss with you regarding that, Lord Saint,” says Mieral, the elf, as she approaches us.

It’s the sculptor herself.

The mana metal statue transformation of the sculptures they wanted to preserve as memories had ended, and they were starting to tidy up in earnest.

The Buddhist view of impermanence is becoming apparent.

“What’s the matter, Mieral?”

“It’s about Lord Velesares’ statue...”

Oh yeah.

Even if we kept it on the farm, finding a place to put or maintain it would be quite difficult due to its size.

But because it was something that Mieral and the others had worked so hard to create, it wouldn’t hurt to display it somewhere on the farm where it wouldn’t get in the way, would it?

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it. In order to make this Snow Festival even more memorable, why don’t we give this statue away as a gift?”

“A gift?”

“How about giving it to someone who was a big topic at this event, as a commemoration? Like the winner of the snowball fight tournament, for example...!”

That’s also a good idea.

During Orkubo’s Castle’s regular seasons, we gave prizes to anyone who conquered the tower, so we should give something to the winner in this case, too.

That would be a replica statue of the work that was talked about in the snow sculpture exhibition.

Mmhm, I like that idea.

“In that case, please use our statue as well.”

Oh, Pops Edward.

“The Hephaestus statue was originally intended to be displayed in the Underground Dwarven Empire. But being craftsmen, we’d appreciate it more if someone else is pleased with our work.”

As expected of a race that makes a living by selling things they made with their own hands.

They have a rich ethos for offering their services.

Oh, yeah, was he okay when they used mana metal as a material to replicate the snow sculpture?

Pops Edward’s heart stops and heads to the afterlife whenever mana metal enters his field of vision, after all... 

“Hahaha, it was fine, Lord Saint! The Lifeless King was right next to me today, so even when my heart stopped, I was immediately revived!”

I wouldn’t say that’s fine.

I beg you, Pops, please train your heart to be stronger.

“Okay, let’s use this statue as the prize for the winner. But who should we give it to...?”

I remembered.

Prime Minister Lucife Focale of the Demon Kingdom, Silver Wolf, Zoth Syra, Mamoru, etc...

The members of the Selfless Workaholics.

We have to prepare a luxurious gift so they can be rewarded even a little for their constant struggles!

“So, who should we send which one to?”

“Don’t worry, Lord Saint! The mana metal idols can be replicated as many times as we want as long as we have the mold!”

Ohh, right.

That way, no one would call the other person stingy or unfair! Let’s send pairs of these idols to the entire winning team!

Statues of the god of war and the god of crafting, made of mana metal—the world’s finest metal!

How luxurious indeed!

I’m sure everyone will be thrilled, right?!

Of course, we’ll also give it to Neyote, the fifth member of the winning team!

We already got his address during the winning interview, so no problem!

Neyote seems like a kid who’s been through a lot, so I’m sure he’ll be surprised when he receives the gift.

“So, that’s the plan, Sensei! Please make replicas of the god statue set!”

“Got it!”

Ah.

Just to be clear, we don’t need to replicate Zeus’ statue.

One statue of that miserable-looking beast is enough!

* * *

With that said, we’ve completed tidying up the exhibits...

Let’s go deal with the last big item.

The snow Tokyo Tower that I made.

This is too big to replicate. I don’t even have intentions of doing so...

Besides, I can’t just dismantle it haphazardly. After all, it’s the real-size Tokyo Tower made of snow with a massive weight. If it collapses all at once, the damage to the surrounding area would be enormous.

So I came up with an idea.

With the help of Veil and Platy, we set a super-strong propulsion system at the bottom of the snow Tokyo Tower.

“Thanks to you, the Snow Festival was a huge success. Thanks a lot.”

Saluting, I press the launch switch.

The propulsion system we set up earlier ignites, pushing the snow Tokyo Tower directly upward like a rocket.

Everyone must have dreamed of it.

An absurd sight of Tokyo Tower flying like a rocket.

I, after coming to this other world, have witnessed it.

It’s a snow-white Tokyo Tower, though!!!

Thus, the rapidly ascending Tokyo Tower pierced through the celestial realm, where the celestial deities reside, and continued to rise into the atmosphere. As expected, the snow melted due to the frictional heat with the air, evaporating before escaping the gravity field.

...Mm. 

Truly a magnificent way to disperse.

It was a spectacular finale for the Snow Festival!

This is the real closing party at the end of the event!