#381 Completion of the Play

And so, preparations for the expo are steadily underway, but I don’t want to get too involved in that right now.

Junior’s health isn’t great.

He had recently been weaned, but his appetite seems low.

I thought he’d eat even more than usual.

People around me say it’s just my imagination, but what if it’s a sign of a serious illness?

But this morning, after Platy and I stayed by his side the whole time, he finally ate.

Now that I have some peace of mind, I’m back to worrying about the progress of the expo and decided to check on things.

I heard Orkubo and his team had already picked out a suitable site outside the Demon Capital and started construction.

When I checked to see how much progress they’ve made...

***

...they’re already finished.

“Huh?”

Everything at the proposed expo site I visited is so neat that it looks ready to accept visitors any moment.

Not a messy place in sight.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“We finished it, My Lord!” says Orkubo enthusiastically.

I knew it was him behind all this.

“We have done everything in our power to finish it at a rapid pace to not sully your name. I hope you’re satisfied with the outcome.”

“Yeah, you guys were real fast, I’ll give you that. I mean...!”

Hasn’t it only been three days since you started?

“It’s too fast! Don’t you think you guys went too extreme? Won’t this collapse all at once in an earthquake?!”

“Do not fret, My Lord. We’ve done the fastest possible job with the utmost safety.”

“In JUST three days?!”

I think it’s obvious that the speed has sacrificed security!

The reason why I’m worried about the speed at which the venue was completed is its quality, which far exceeded my expectations.

What they were supposed to create was an expo hall.

From the word alone, I had imagined it to be something like a circus tent on the city outskirts.

But it’s way more than that.

It’s a full-blown city—but much more compact in scale than the Demon Capital, just a stone’s throw away.

Still, the buildings, paved roads, and scenery are very much city-like!

It’s such a beautiful townscape I feared it looked more developed than the Demon Capital.

“Yes, but according to the Great Demon King’s advice, expo halls must look like this. Otherwise, it’d be a shame to be put on display!”

“That culturist again?!”

It’s just another day for these orcs to build something from start to finish in just three days, but this grand of a scale?! 

They’ve evolved too far for my comprehension. 

“Do we really need all this...? I’ll say this again—it looks like a city! A city readily inhabitable by people!”

“The Great Demon King said each expo needs a pavilion with a theme, so we built as many pavilions as necessary for this expo.”

Pavilion?

“The main ones are the clothing pavilion, which is managed by Madam Batemy, the pottery pavilion, where Madam Aileron’s exhibits are displayed, Maelga’s leather pavilion, Poel’s glass pavilion, and Mieral’s woodworking pavilion.”

I see. So, each of the pavilions built in the expo hall/city has its own themes.

“But wait. Isn’t that a little weird?”

“What is?”

If the pavilions were exhibition halls, we would have displayed all our farm’s articles just from the five areas Orkubo just mentioned.

But...

In this expo hall, the size of a small city, there are at least twenty pavilions!

What’s in the other fifteen pavilions?

“Well, you see, My Lord, during the construction, we got requests from various departments...”

“What departments?!”

“Many others also wanted to participate in the expo and have their own pavilions, so we kept granting them until it turned out like this...!”

“Who are these requests from?”

“From Lord Bacchus and the like, My Lord.”

That demigod?!

What’s gotten into that booze-loving trickster?!

“He wants to use the expo as an opportunity to showcase the new brew he has developed... It’s the one built over there,” says Orkubo, pointing to a conspicuous building that looks like a brewery. “It’s the sake pavilion built under Lord Bacchus’ instructions!”

“He’s really doing as he pleases, isn’t he?!”

According to Orkubo, all alcohol brewed on the farm can be sampled there.

“It looks like a facility screaming trouble...”

“Indeed. That’s why we plan to increase security during the event.”

That’s wise.

Maybe... Maybe a number of farm residents got jealous of the expo members and wanted to be included.

“Then that building...” Indifferently says Orkubo, “is Madam Horkosfon’s natto pavilion.”

Natto! Horkosfon!!!

I knew she’d come too!

Is she planning to take this opportunity to spread the magnificence of natto all over the world?

“Next to it is Princess Letasreit’s bean pavilion.”

“Even she’s participating?!”

She’s not even supposed to appear in public!

“The princess’s ambition is to spread the word about beans, such as soybeans, red beans, peas, beans, peanuts, and other legumes to appeal to people.”

So, she’s teaming up with Horkosfon’s natto pavilion to conquer the whole country with beans.

That’s one hell of an ambition coming from a princess.

“Then, the mermaid group also wanted to teach the terrestrial races about their magic, so they requested a potion pavilion. In addition, the automatons wanted a puppet pavilion to share the results of their research left behind by their late creator, Mariage the Alchemist.”

I see.

That’d be quite the sight.

“Gobukichi and his peers were also excited. It seems they’re going to systematize and present a method of managing the fields and weaving silk and cotton into cloth. We orcs, with your permission, will also be presenting our research on the unique construction methods we have cultivated through our building experience.”

This is all too lavish.

I got on this expo idea without taking it too seriously, but now it’s turning into a big deal.

All this wisdom is packed into a city-sized expo hall.

Of course, this isn’t the entirety of the farm, but it’s still advanced technology for the outside world.

I wonder how the world would react.

As I ponder, Orkubo, perhaps sensing my anguish, asks me anxiously,” Um... My Lord? Would it be better if we cancel it?”

Hmm...

Everyone has worked hard to prepare for this.

I mean, they’ve finally got a stage to present the skills and talent they’ve cultivated on the farm.

“...No. Let’s proceed all the way.”

“Oh!”

“Everyone has already put so much effort into this! Let’s make the most out of it and give the best expo ever!”

And so, our farm expo opened its doors to the public.

Things escalated much bigger than I initially thought they’d be...!