#663 Preparing for the Snow Festival

There you have it; the snow festival is officially happening.  

Everyone on the farm has already started preparing and coming up with their own ideas.

Luckily, there’s plenty of snow to go around. I mean, we did gather a bunch of snow from various places.

So, let’s create some masterpieces with all this snow we’ve got.

Just nothing too weird or crazy. 

Things were going pretty smoothly until, suddenly, the conversation took a big turn and started getting serious.

* * *

“Lord Saint! Lord Sainttttttttttttt! Uooooooooooh!!!”

One day, Edward Smith, the ruler of the Dwarf Empire, came to me with full force.

In other words, he’s something like an influential person.

For what reason did he come here, I wonder?

“Lord Saint! How dare you not give me any heads up? Not a single word did I hear from youuuuu!”

“But we never really kept in touch that frequently, did we?” 

Please don’t corner me like an estranged long-distance lover!

“I heard everything! You have an event where you make various things with snow! But that’s the perfect event for us dwarves! Why won’t you let us participate?! We should be allowed to!”

With that, the dwarves also entered the snow festival at the last minute.

The dwarves are a race that boasts of being the best crafters in the world.

They can do anything from blacksmithing to carpentry to intricate decorations. They have big transactions with the demon race and are a small but important race respected by people everywhere.

I allowed them to participate in the snow festival, thinking that the dwarves would surely create splendid (not spooky) works.

I made sure to convey to them that they aren’t any prizes at this festival. 

However, as they joined midway, there was a certain gap with those who started earlier.

Aileron, who is always in a rivalry with Edward, takes the opportunity to assert dominance...

“Oh, what do we have here? If it isn’t the dwarves who are only good at being nimble-fingered. Are you sure about starting this late in the game? Don’t your works consume a lot of time?” she says in the most provocative tone. 

“Shut up, elf who relies on her rustic concepts! It’s natural for a pro to experience a crisis when it’s nearing the deadline! Watch and learn! Even with little time, our works can embody the highest quality!”

“Really now? Ours is going on schedule, you know that? Are you confident you can beat our work, which we have thoroughly prepared, with a rush job?”

Is it just me, or Aileron tends to act sarcastic toward Pops Edward?

And as usual, Pops Edward exposes his outright antagonism...

“Don’t underestimate me! My work has already beaten you in the planning stage! When I heard about creating sculptures with snow, I came up with a great idea in a flash!!!”

“Oh? What kind of idea is it? If you’re boasting so much, why don’t you tell me?”

“Who exposes their plans to their enemies? ...or so I’d say, but I can’t just leave an elf like you on your high horse. So, I’ll do you a favor and show it to you!!!”

Just admit it, you really want to tell someone, don’t you?

“Listen up! Our dwarf group’s theme for the snow sculpture is............. Passion!!!”

...

Um, it’d be too much for the rest of us to handle if the dwarves joined the elves in their abstract thinking. 

Please stick to more grounded and tangible art ideas, if you don’t mind.

* * *

We also have other participants from outside the farm.

Elzariel from the elf village has also joined us!

Our elven farm residents and Elzariel have, in a nutshell, a senior-junior relationship.

Moreover, Elzariel was supposed to despise casting plates and carving statues like our farm’s elves, calling it a sign of weakness.

And yet, it seems she’s participating in the snow festival.

What made her have a change of heart?

“I had no choice. It was an order from the Elf Monarch,” she replies. “The Elf Monarch and Lady Elelelelcy have all been brainwashed by Aileron’s nonsense. They’re steadily promoting this thing called ‘tea.’”

Come to think of it, they’ve been doing all sorts of things for a while now.

Is that plan still in progress behind the scenes? They’re being pretty thorough with it!

“My participation is also part of their preparations, and I’ve been instructed to make a snow garden.”

“A garden? Made of snow?! You, Elzariel?!”

Why, why, and why?!

“I’ve been assigned as the person in charge, so there’s nothing I can do. I made garden stones out of snow as ordered, drew patterns on the surface, and named the garden’s landscape Snow Sansui!”

“Snow Sansui?!”

“Of course, to truly appreciate the beauty of sipping tea, you need a picturesque view! That's why I spent a whole year experimenting with different landscapes. On the day of the event, I'll invite guests here to enjoy some hot matcha and take in the pure white scenery while easing the chill of winter...!”

At the end of the day, Elzariel is just like the other elves. 

She has completely become absorbed in her own artistic sense...!

But this snow festival...

It’s not just about showing snow sculptures. It’s a good idea to have food and drinks to enjoy as well.

I came up with that idea after hearing Elzariel’s matcha comment.

We set up various stalls at Orkubo’s Castle until last year, so this time, let’s do lots of them again and have customers buy a lot to enrich the local area.

* * *

...Thus, I went to consult with a few people.

“This year’s showdown season has come, huh...! “

“Hah, stop trying to act smart, you lowlife. I’ll crush you with my ramen again this year.”

Here we already have two confident contenders.

First, there’s Veil.

Then, the duo of Letasreit and Horkosfon.

You can expect them to be there when it comes to the kiosks, as Veil’s ramen competes with Letasreit and Horkosfon’s sales of beans. 

With them around, we don’t really need to request anything for the kiosks.

They’ll definitely satisfy the hunger of the spectators.

“If I had to ask for anything, it’d be that you serve warm food, especially since this winter has been particularly cold. It’s been snowing like crazy...”

Of course, customers should also take measures to protect themselves from the harsh weather, but we should also have a plan to keep ourselves warm and avoid catching a cold.

So, food that warms up the body from the inside is helpful!

“Leave that to me! When it comes to warming up the body, my gonkotsu ramen is definitely the leading contender, no doubt about it!”

True. Eating ramen makes you perspire.

But really, though, when did Veil become such a ramen-crazy dragon?

“This competition is as good as won! My gonkotsu ramen will be the winner at this year’s event!”

“Oh, by the way, selling gonkotsu ramen is banned this year.”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!”

Veil is shocked by my statement.

“I mean, let’s be real—the gonkotsu ramen you’ve been making non-stop is basically poison, right?”

Let me explain.

What exactly is gonkotsu ramen?

You might think it’s a typo for tonkotsu ramen, but it’s not. Gonkotsu ramen is made from dragon extract, hence the ‘gon’ from dragon and the same ‘kotsu’ from tonkotsu, which means bones.

She didn’t necessarily use bones for the broth, but it’s still an animal-based ingredient.

Nevertheless, dragons are the strongest creatures on land.

Their life force is so strong that human standards cannot measure it, and the broth made from it is a deadly poison for humankind, who are biologically inferior.

Apparently, if you eat the ramen without diluting it, its severe potency will turn you into a berserker or something.

To prevent that, Veil dilutes it about a hundred times before selling it... but...

“You sold that last year, too, didn’t you? You had plenty of repeat customers at Orkubo’s Castle, so the dragon broth they ate last year may have accumulated in their bodies. If they eat more of it this year, it may pile up and exceed their tolerance limit someday, right?!”

“It’s fine! I bet the dragon components will have completely dissolved after a year! To confirm that, let me compete with my gonkotsu ramen!”

“Isn’t that plain human experimenting?”

Let’s just go with miso ramen.

It’ll make for a perfect combo with the snow festival, like in Sapporo.

“Now, on to Letasreit’s side...!”

I can’t really think of anything that warms the body with soybean dishes.

But Letasreit’s duo has already conducted numerous research experiments on soybeans.

They must have come up with a wonderful solution.

“Don’t worry, Master. Please have a look.”

Horkosfon hands over some natto.

Just when I thought she hadn’t gotten over her natto...

She...

“I’m putting it in miso soup.”

“Uhooooooooooah!”

Natto in miso soup?!

I agree that soup is a staple for warming up the body, but...

Natto?! In miso souuuuuuuup?!

Miso is made from soybeans!

In other words, isn’t this combining soybeans with soybeans?!

“But it doesn’t end there.”

Letasreit follows it up!

“I’ll add tofu to the miso soup with natto!”

“Nnnnnaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!”

Tofu is also made from soybeans!

If we combine soybeans with soybeans and soybeans, we get a triple-bean combination!!!

Way to go Letasreit, Horkosfon!

You’ve grown to the point where you can handle beans so skillfully!

“But it’s all brown. Isn’t the color scheme a little bland?”

“How about we chop some scallions and add them in? Adding some green will make it look more vivid, no?”

These connoisseurssssssssss!!!