v-rustl

#666 Things Remain Unchanged This Year

Added 2023-04-11 19:05:29 +0000 UTC

My name is Pestegaro, a humble citizen of the Human Kingdom.

Do you ever feel like your days are dull and uneventful?

I certainly do.

The days seem to overlap with each other with no change or excitement.

Wake up, go to work, mechanically complete tedious paperwork, clock out, and when I return home, I have unengaging conversations with my family, and I’m bored to death till I go to sleep.

Years have passed, living in this monotonous cycle.

But!

Something saved me from being buried in boredom.

It’s Orkubo’s Castle!

An annual event held in the borderlands of the Wallachia frontier!

It was thrilling and innovative, providing new surprises every time!

I happened to stumble upon it and was immediately hooked.

I registered as one of the challengers but was unfortunately eliminated within the first round.

Since then, I’ve been training my body to prepare for the next season of Orkubo’s Castle.

I wake up early to jog.

I also make sure to eat food that will invigorate me, and as such, I began feeling some sort of power from my very core.

My newfound energy also led me to become more active at work, proposing new ideas and being promoted to a leadership position.

I went from a life of submission and idleness to one of purpose, setting goals and facing challenging days.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to achieve, with ups and downs and various setbacks along the way.

Thanks to Orkubo’s Castle, I’ve been able to live such fulfilling days.

You could even say my life made a complete 180 because of it!

My family and I have more conversations now, and my relationship with my wife, whom I felt estranged with these past few years, has become as if we were back in our early days of dating.

Though my wife once said she didn’t want children, she gave birth to a son a few years ago and is already pregnant with our second child this year.

Our household has become livelier than ever.

Now, I even dream of participating in Orkubo’s Castle with my son when he grows up!

By continuously training and practicing, I have steadily improved my performance and reached the fourth round in the previous season.

This year, I aim to realize my desire to reach the top and conquer the castle!

I want to show my wife and son how magnificent I am!

...or so I thought.

As fate would have it, a blizzard hit the former Human Kingdom.

Even regions that don’t usually experience heavy snowfall were buried in snow.

At this rate, transportation would be affected and risk disrupting people’s lives...As a public servant, I have to help.

As I am also a member of society, I have to work. It’s the only way to support my family and me, so I persevered!

Amidst my efforts, the nation’s main roads were cleared of snow, and traffic resumed relatively quickly, providing relief to the surrounding regions.

What was that despairing speculation about not being able to travel to neighboring villages until spring, then?

Some mysterious orcs removed all the snow like wildfire...what am I to do with this information?

In any case, this means we avoided the worst-case scenario of people getting buried in snow.

But as I sighed in relief, a personal worry came to mind.

That’s right, with this heavy snowfall, one would wonder if Orkubo’s Castle would still be held this year or even in the consequent ones.

Well, to put it in exaggerated terms, this year’s heavy snowfall was a natural disaster that endangered the existence of the former Human Kingdom.

We managed to overcome it safely, but one might think worrying about some local event is unscrupulous and selfish.

However, for me right now, the Orkubo’s Castle event is my will to live every year!

Just the cancellation of it alone is enough to break my heart, but what if this threatens its continuous hosting in the future?!

The venue for Orkubo’s Castle is in a remote area far from people’s living quarters, so the snow removal is likely not well done.

Even if the worst-case scenario is avoided, people in various places are stilstill struggleow cleanup, so they don’t have the luxury of indulging in entertainment.

Anyway, even if this season is canceled, there’s no other way but to pray that it won’t have a lingering effect in the coming years.

But seeing me lose spirit worried my family, so they tried to cheer me up by taking me for walks and other distractions, and...

It was during this time...

* * *

“...What do you think that is, love?”

As we walk along the road, my pregnant wife speaks up.

I, carrying our son, follow her gaze and see it too.

...What is that exactly? A mountain?

“A white... mountain? Was there always a mountain there?”

“Isn’t it a little too narrow for a mountain? It’s almost like...a tower,” replies my wife, also puzzled.

Wait a minute.

Even if it were a tower, it seems pretty far away from here.

At that distance, with that mass...

if that really is a tower, it would be as large as a mountain.

But if it were a mountain, could it have simply appeared out of nowhere?

The possibility of it being a man-made structure still exists, but isn’t it too gigantic?

I cannot simply ignore it, so perhaps I will confirm it when I go to work tomorrow.

But the direction where that tower (?) is...

Isn’t it in the area where Orkubo’s Castle is always held?

* * *

A few days later, the established truth surpassed my expectations.

“Orkubo’s Castle: Snow Festival Edition...?!”

“According to the report that came back from inquiries to the Wallachia frontier, due to this year’s abnormally heavy snow, normal operations were deemed impossible, and the plans were changed hastily.”

Rather, they took advantage of the excess snow that couldn’t be managed under normal circumstances and started a snow festival!

This piece of information was said to have originated from the feudal domain itself!

“It’s a festival where various things are created using snow! Completed sculptures and structures are already crowding the venue!”

“Then, that huge slender thing we can see from here is...?!”

“That would be the Tokyo Tower made to scale for Orkubo’s Castle: Snow Festival Edition!”

“Tow-kyow?”

My colleague at work conveyed the information to me in excitement.

He’s a die-hard fan of Orkubo’s Castle, so the miracle of this year’s festival is undoubtedly a source of genuine happiness for him.

But...

“This change of plans means...!”

As a firsthand participant, I can’t help but feel anxious.

My colleague bubbling over in excitement in front of me is, at most, on the spectator’s side, unlike me.

If he can enjoy watching it, then whether it’s an attraction that makes him sweat in anticipation or an ice sculpture, it’s all good for him.

However, I cannot be so easily reassured.

I have been training my body to reach the castle keep this year.

The fact that the event’s content is changing carries the possibility that my entire year of efforts might go to waste.

Simply gazing at the finished product and calling it a day is far too removed from the essence of Orkubo’s Castle.

Can we consider it a legitimate derivative event?

“You’re overthinking again, chief.”

“Huh? No, I...!”

“Let’s take it easy! Besides, the fact that Orkubo’s Castle, which was deemed certain to be canceled due to this heavy snow, is being held is already a big win! If this event succeeds, it could even boost next year’s regular event. As fans, let’s support it and see how it goes.”

What a grateful fan.

That’s right.

If the attendance is low, it could jeopardize next year’s regular event, so it might be worth going to enliven the place to show our support.

Thus, I took my family to see the unconventional Orkubo’s Castle. But...

* * *

“Woaaaaaaaaah! It’s huge!”

This Tokyo Tower (made of snow) thing that we could easily see from our town...

It was queasily huge up close!

It was so big that it made kids cry in fear just from looking at it.

My kid was surprisingly calm and just looked up in awe, but...

Wow, what a massive tower!

How could it be possible to construct this only using snow, without using any bricks or stones?!