Event (1)

Even on the day of my victory parade, there wasn’t a roar like this. It was as if a storm had erupted from all directions.

“Waaaahhhhh—!!!”

…Just how many people are here?

No matter where I looked—north, south, east, or west—there were just people everywhere. The barbarians rolled their shoulders and flexed their backs, as though answering the roar around them.

I had no idea this event would get this big…

I heard the Marquis say it would be quite large, but seeing and feeling it makes the reality completely different.

‘This is no joke.’

In the midst of chaotic politics and an uncertain future, maybe this was simply an event that people could enjoy.

The Marquis’s extensive promotion certainly played a part, but I think it was the combination of all these factors that made this event such a great success.

Well, the event itself is interesting too.

Even I would be interested if those lofty noble families were going to compete each other based on their construction skills.

“He’s so handsome!! Bjorn Jandel……!!”

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Still, I didn’t expect it to be such a festive atmosphere, so it felt a bit awkward.

Of course, I didn’t plan on staying stiff like a log.

「The character has cast[Transcendence].」

「The character has cast[Gigantification].」

I grew large enough that even those in the distant spectator seats could see me, then I let out a roar.

“Bethel—raaaaaaaaa—!!!!”

My roar drowned out the shouts of thousands of spectators and echoed across the entire stage.

As expected, the reaction was explosive.

“Waaaaaaaaaah—!!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“It’s the Giant, aaaaaah!”

The heated cheers echoed back.

「The character’s Fame stat has increased by +1.」

「The character’s Fame stat has increased by +1.」

「The character’s Fame stat has increased by +1.」

「The character’s Fame stat has increased by +1·······.」

「·······.」

Hmm, with this, my Fame must have gone up a bit more, right?

Since I can’t read the system logs, I can’t be sure, but even if my Fame didn’t increase, it doesn’t matter.

Now that I’ve become a clown anyway, giving proper fan service isn’t a bad idea.

Isn’t it a difficult time for everyone?
Might as well give them something fun.
“Now, with the arrival of Baron Jandel’s engineers, all participating teams have taken their places!”

Once I and my engineers were in position, the host naturally moved on with the program.

A brief introduction to the five families, the purpose of the contest, and how it will be conducted.

‘Please, let it be something simple…….’

After that, the drawing began immediately.

Each family would draw lots to decide the theme for today’s test.

“The first box contains balls with the number of floors the building must have. Let’s see what we get…”

Unfortunately, Viscount Kiembrota, who went first, drew the number four.

“Four floors! The engineers must build a four-story building. This is a high-difficulty challenge right from the start!”

Considering the maximum was five floors, this is basically like taking a four-star difficulty test.

“The second box will determine the primary construction material.”

Broadly, the options were divided into stone and wooden buildings, but upon closer inspection, there were quite a few materials:

Bricks, Compound clay, logs, wooden planks, etc…

“Reinforced stone!”

“Ugh…!”

When the material was announced, murmurs rose around us. And for good reason, reinforced stone was the hardest material to work with.

It was heavy, difficult to process, and physically demanding.

For us, though, this could actually be a good thing.

If we had gotten our hands on compound clay, the cement of this world, we would’ve been in trouble.
Barbarians aren’t good at detailed work like that.

Anyway, the drawing of lots progressed quickly until the conditions of the competition were fully decided.

A four-story building made of reinforced stone.

“The third ball is… 8!”

Each floor must have at least eight windows…

“It’s a residential building! Residential!”

The building’s purpose is for living, not business.

And finally…

“Baron Jandel will now draw a ball to determine the artistic theme of the building. The balls include words like elegance, softness, grandeur, and so on, which will be judged in the scoring… Ah! He’s picked one!”

The theme is…

“Happiness! The theme is happiness!”

……Hah.

Somehow, I drew the theme that was farthest from me.

***

The total construction time for the contest is 3 days.

Given that it’s a 4-story building, that’s brutally tight… but…

‘That’s exactly what makes this a competition.’

If everyone here were given plenty of time, they’d all construct flawless buildings.

Then it would just boil down to how good the building looks.

The real test is whether we can build something convincing in such a short time.

“First, dig the ground! For a four-story building, we need the foundation first!”

As soon as the contest started, I set the warriors to digging and called the engineers for a brief meeting.”

“If we just tweak this prepared blueprint, it should work. What do you think?”

“I think it would be better to use this blueprint as the outline and build something else.”

“The theme is happiness! Even if it means fewer rooms, we should make them bigger.”

We got straight into the contest discussion, and while listening, I noticed they were all stuck on the theme.

“Do you really think just being spacious will bring happiness? It needs to exude a comfortable atmosphere!”

“Instead of that, wouldn’t it be better to design an interior so good it makes anyone jealous?”

“The children! Let’s decorate their room and make it beautiful.”

Everyone experiences happiness differently. So, to me, their debate felt pointless.

I mean, it’s an art thing in the first place, right?

From my perspective, it ultimately depends on how you interpret it.

As they say, in modern art, the most important skill is persuasion.

So with that in mind—

“How about this design?”

“…Huh? That doesn’t look happy at all.”

When I suggested a new layout, the engineers tilted their heads.

But once I explained the reasoning and the artistic interpretation behind it, they looked conflicted.

It sounded like nonsense but also oddly persuasive.

“True… even if we don’t get the art points, this might still score high overall.”

“Besides, this contest isn’t just about building something beautiful.”

“I also heard audience votes are included on the final day… this might actually do well then.”

Maybe because I was the one ultimately responsible, when I stood my ground, they reluctantly agreed.

“…Then we’ll finalize this design?”

“Yes. I like it very much.”

After about an hour of discussion finalizing the blueprint, the basic work of digging the ground was finished just in time.

“Warriors, start moving the materials!”

“We will begin the sewer installation work!”

“It’s for the competition, so the structure is simple; it’ll be finished quickly!”

After that, the Dwarf technicians began the sewer work, and during that time, the Barbarians moved the materials non-stop. It was almost as if they were competing against each other.

“He’s carrying two of those huge things at once?”

“That one’s carrying three!?”

“He’s running! He’s actually running!”

“Whoa! That guy’s got four—wait, he dropped them all…”

Maybe they were over-excited by the audience’s attention, but the sounds of things dropping and crashing kept echoing as they pushed past their limits.

But I’d expected that, so I didn’t bother pointing it out.

They’d calm down soon enough.

As the real construction began, the audience that had filled the stage quickly thinned out.

“They’re revealing the finished buildings in three days, right?”

“Guess we’ll come back then.”

 

Even if it was a contest between nobles, it was still just a building competition in the end.

“Wait! People are leaving!”

“Is it because we’re not doing well?”

“Five this time! I’ll carry five—just don’t leave!!”

The warriors tried to keep the audience with even crazier stunts, but once the fun dried up, most spectators left without hesitation.

“Aaahh… E-everyone left…!”

“I… I’m not worthy of being a warrior…!”

Sigh. What’s with these guys now?

With their morale dropping fast, I had no choice but to step in.

“They’re supposed to leave now! Days two and three are closed to the public anyway!”

“Oh, so it’s not because we were bad?!”

“Of course not! Work hard! The crowd will be back on the fourth morning, and you don’t want to disappoint them!”

“No way!!”

“Bethel—Raaaahhhh!!”

Okay, that should cover the mental care.

After that, I monitored the progress of the other houses while giving immediate feedback on our building whenever needed. But as I waited nearby…

“I never thought I’d see a barbarian build a house in my lifetime.”

“Hope it doesn’t all collapse on the last day.”

I overheard workers from other families sneering nearby, their eyes full of contempt.

“Four! He lifted four at once!!”

Thankfully, our Barbarians were too absorbed in their tasks to notice.

“Tch, construction isn’t just about brute strength.”

“Haha, don’t be too harsh.They’ve got no other way to make money, so they came here.”

Their comments grew sharper.

Not that I was angry—just baffled.

What are these scrawny guys so confident about?

What if my young warriors heard them and started throwing shovels in their faces?

What, are they hiding their strength? Judging by how they carried the materials, probably not.

“Ahem!”

As I cleared my throat loudly, the gossipers flinched and quickly shuffled back. Just in case, I made sure no other workers came too close.

And time flew by.

One day, two days, three days.

“Stop. From now until the judging tomorrow, no one is allowed to touch the buildings. Any cheating will mean immediate disqualification, by order of the marquess.”

At midnight on the third day, construction ended, and the workers who had endured the grueling schedule collapsed onto the ground.

Our warriors were no different.

They hadn’t slept properly for three days, but they had poured their hearts into the work and achieved results to match.

“Though… now that it’s over, I can’t help but wonder if this was really okay.”

“The baron gave the orders. Let’s leave it at that.”

The dwarf engineers still looked uncertain, but…

Anyway.

The cold night wind and the faint drizzle filled the dusty arena.

“Good job, everyone! At least we did better than those guys!”

“I never thought such a shabby building would appear in such a major competition…”

“Haha! Perhaps that was the best they could manage?”

The workers from the other families mocked the building our warriors had poured their effort into. I gave no response.

It was the calm before the storm.

Whether they or we were right, the results would tell.

 

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