Ch.396Do you wanna build a Snowman?

# A.C. 102, January 1st.

The snow that had been falling daily stopped abruptly with the start of the new year, and snow removal operations began across Grantis.

The same was true at the planned site for the 8th Western City, which had seen a mass exodus of adventurers.

“…I never thought I’d be doing this even after coming to another world.”

Snow removal.

It’s a task that makes any South Korean man who’s served in the military shudder.

No wonder they refer to snow as “devil’s powder falling from the sky.”

About half of the residents participating in the snow removal are already clutching their backs and complaining of pain.

“Yeeeeeehaaaaw~~~~~!!”

Of course, there are exceptions.

A dwarf girl gripping a beam twice the normal size, charging down Main Street and pushing away mountains of snow.

Miss Minarett Belghand, a living snow plow.

“She’s certainly full of energy.”

“As expected of a dwarf… there’s nothing else to say.”

Meanwhile, some members are having a hard time.

“Ughhhh… it, it won’t budge at all…!”

“…This is difficult to handle.”

Anastasia, whom everyone expected would have never done any hard labor.

And surprisingly, Seti as well.

She said that in cat-folk villages, snow removal was men’s work, so she had never done it before.

Conversely, Iris, from whom no one expected much, is pulling her weight properly.

“Elves wouldn’t be bad at this kind of work, right?”

“I’ve been doing this since I was a 10-year-old child. If I hadn’t gotten used to it by now, that would be the problem.”

After such ups and downs, the snow removal work that began at 8 AM wrapped up around 10:30,

and all the snow piled up on Main Street, major roads, and near entrances was cleared to the outskirts of the city.

Usually, this would be the end of snow removal.

Apparently, if there are silos or barns outside the walls, they clear paths to those areas as well.

What follows is a special event…

“Now then! I hereby commence the Snow Craft Festival to celebrate the beginning of Pioneer Year 102~~~~~!!”

“Yaaaay~~~~~!!”

The Snow Craft Festival.

As the name suggests, it’s a free-participation event where people create various sculptures using snow.

Any form is acceptable as long as it’s within the regulated size, and there’s no rule saying one person must make exactly one sculpture.

There’s no official ranking or prize money, but newspapers and magazines from each city select impressive works.

Apparently, they give out small prizes or even turn them into official merchandise.

“From the description alone, it doesn’t sound like such a grand competition.”

“That’s right. It’s an event meant for everyone to enjoy together, and in other cities, many children participate too.”

“Ah… that makes sense.”

Here—at the planned site for the 8th Western City—children are hard to find.

Adventure and romance on the western frontier, opportunities for instant wealth—these are all adult matters.

This city, lacking even medical infrastructure, let alone schools, is certainly not a good environment for raising children.

At night, prostitutes even come out to Main Street to solicit customers.

“For something like that, the adults seem quite enthusiastic.”

“Well, this city lacks entertainment. Since all the adventurers left, newspapers and magazines are desperate for stories.”

“Fine by me. Even without grand prizes, let’s do this properly since we’re participating.”

The question then becomes ‘what to make.’

It’s obvious that a common snowman won’t leave any impression on the judges.

“…I guess it has to be the Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon.”

“What’s that?”

I quickly sketched a picture to show Seti, who asked with sparkling eyes.

A thick pillar pointing skyward, with large spheres placed on either side.

Seti’s expression changed in real-time as she realized what it resembled.

“Wow… I’ve never seen Seti make that kind of face before.”

“Listen, Will? As I said earlier, since children also participate in this contest, there are certain lines you shouldn’t cross, even if the form is free.”

“I’m just joking. Even I wouldn’t actually build something like that outside the city.”

“Oh my, I think it looks gallant and handsome, just like Master.”

“Iris, sis…?”

Putting aside the crude joke, it’s time to think seriously.

Looking around, some people are already making animal-like sculptures, while others are rolling snow to the maximum allowed size.

What kind of work could leave a strong impact among these artists…

After pondering briefly, an interesting idea came to mind.

“Is it allowed to use tools for making sculptures?”

“As long as it’s not magical tools or artifacts, it should be fine.”

“That’s what I thought… Mina, can I ask you for a favor?”

“Hm? What is it?”

I drew a new picture on the back of the paper with the Neo Armstrong (etc.) Cannon.

A shape that looked like two ladles joined together.

Since it would be hard to understand what I was trying to make from just that, I grabbed a handful of snow from the ground and prepared a sample.

“What is it? A chick?”

“I meant it to be a duck… What I want to ask for is a mold that can stamp out snow in this shape. About this size.”

“That’s a piece of cake. Wait just a moment.”

Mina ran to our lodgings and returned in less than five minutes with a wooden snow duck mold.

She must have quickly processed suitable wood with a crafting tablet.

“Will this work?”

“Oh, that looks good. Let me see…”

I gathered some snow, packed it into the ladle-shaped mold, and pressed.

When I opened the mold, a perfectly formed snow duck about the size of a handball popped out.

Total time taken: about 10 seconds.

“Cute.”

“It is certainly cute… but what do you plan to do with this?”

“What else? I’m going to make them.”

According to the competition rules, there was no limit to the number of sculptures one person could make.

So then—

“I’ll keep going until time runs out.”

~~~ 1 hour later ~~~

“Hey, look over there…”

“Hm?”

“What is that?”

At the planned site for the 8th Western City, outside the walls where the festival was in full swing,

residents who had been diligently rolling snow to create their works were distracted by an unusual sight.

Densely packed small snowballs placed in a certain area outside the wall.

What at first glance looked like ammunition prepared for a snowball fight was—

“They’re ducks!”

Cute ducks made of snow.

Each about the size of two adult male fists.

The issue was that the number of these small, cute ducks easily exceeded one hundred.

“Wait, who on earth would…”

What to make at the festival is up to the participant’s freedom.

But most participants try to make their sculptures as large, flashy, and impactful as possible within the regulations to catch the judges’ attention.

So who would try to compete with such small ducks, using quantity over quality?

Finding the answer wasn’t difficult.

“Anyone who wants to make snow ducks, please line up here~”

Right next to the legion of snow ducks were people distributing strange tools.

The eccentric adventurers who remained in this city even after all the others had left for Atelier.

It was Advanced Mage Jessica Walter and her companions.

“Like this?”

“Yes. Fill it with snow, then press firmly at once.”

“Press.”

An old man can be seen making a snow duck with the help of the cat-folk girl Seti.

Next to them, some middle-aged women who seem to have already figured out the technique are mass-producing snow ducks while crouching on the ground.

And in everyone’s hands: wooden molds for making snow ducks.

By this point, even a child could instantly understand what was happening.

“…This year, those ducks will sweep the entire city.”

“Let’s go check it out. Doesn’t it look fun?”

“What about the turtle sculpture we were making?”

“Why not make some snow ducks and place them on its back? It would make a nice accent.”

And so, the citizens of the planned 8th Western City fell under the spell of the cute snow ducks.

With snow duck molds produced by crafting tablets in hand.

“For more snow ducks! For even more snow ducks!!”

The residents produced snow ducks with military precision.

By the time the festival was nearing its end, the area outside the city walls was already surrounded by the snow duck army,

and eventually, the small snow ducks began appearing throughout the city interior as well.

The snow duck army that conquered the planned 8th Western City brought joy to many citizens until the weather warmed and the snow began to melt,

and images of the city’s landscape spread throughout Grantis through newspapers and magazines, gaining a cult following.

Needless to say, William J. Kim, the original creator and idea provider of the snow ducks, received a small prize.

And sometime in the distant future,

at the meeting to decide the official name of the 8th Western City, the name “Ducks Kingdom” would be nominated along with photos from that day…

A fact that no one, including Will’s current group, could have predicted.