114-Episode 99 Working in the Snow

'I thought I was going to die. ......'

Imelda, the girl I picked up in front of the church, is sitting on the wood stove in the sunlit pavilion, drinking oshiruko.

Well, that's why I brought her here.

When I went to the church to share some food, I found Imelda lying in the street. And she was slightly buried.

When I asked her, she said, 'On a day like this, I'm sure there will be interesting things to do at the Sunny Pavilion! It seems that Imelda was on her way to the pavilion with an unfounded conviction.

But then came the snowfall.

Even though it wasn't a whiteout, the visibility was poor, and she wasted more energy than necessary, running out of energy when she reached the church.

'Really, I'm glad Delia found me, but if she hadn't, I'd be dead.

'I'm fine about that.'

'What do you mean 'fine'?

'I'm a very lucky person.

'What kind of luck is that if you're about to get lost ......'

With unshakable confidence, Imelda gulped down the oshiruko.

I guess she doesn't have .......

'It was delicious. Mr. Bekko, I'd like a food sample of this, please.

'Again, that it is!

'Didn't I ask before that all the food served at the Sunlit Pavilion be made into food samples?

'At ......, we will start working as soon as the snow stops, that we will.

I wonder what kind of contract is in place between Imelda and Beckko.

As far as I can see, they've been forced to sign a completely unequal treaty.

'It's quite warm here, too.

Imelda says with satisfaction, her palm facing the wood stove.

The church had a fireplace and the common room was quite warm. She must have been comparing it to that.

After picking up Imelda, I carried her into the church and warmed her cold body with the power of a microwave. We took her in front of the fireplace and Delia hugged her while the kids rubbed her body with towels.

In the meantime, all the boys had been let out.

'...... Ms. Delia. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who's had a bad experience.

'I will, you idiot!

I'm not sure what to say, but I'm going to say it.

You've been misunderstood for the most part, Delia.

You should be grateful for that, however, because you got the bedding and firewood thanks to your encounter with me.

I had planned to borrow blankets from the church, but there were fewer than I expected.

The reason for this was that Loretta's siblings had increased in number since a few months ago, and the matrons would also be staying at the church from today until the end of the heavy snowfall period.

So, when I was completely out of luck, Imelda offered me a blanket, saying, 'We have plenty of blankets. Imelda offered to help me.

...... Well, because of that, we even had to take in Imelda's luggage, but ...... we couldn't put our backs into it.

After that, we went to Imelda's house, unloaded the food, and loaded the empty sled with bedding.

I found some firewood in good condition and decided to borrow it as well.

The increase in the number of female residents meant that the ...... men would be sleeping together in the dining hall.

At the very least, we need to keep the fire going all night, or else people will freeze to death.

As expected of a lumberjack guild, ...... the stock of firewood is so large that you won't even notice it's gone down even if you take a lot of it out. Of course I got your permission. It was an after-the-fact agreement.

'Well, that's why the man has to sleep and wake up here.

'That's terrible!In the cafeteria!

'I have rather sensitive skin with this ......!

'Shut up!If you don't like it, go home!

I'm the biggest victim here.

Why should I be forced to leave my room? ......

If you cram all the people into one room, it's possible for everyone to sleep upstairs.

But with so many women in the room, I wondered if it would be a good idea for the men to sleep on the same floor.

There were six men: me, Umaro, Becko, and my three younger brothers.

Well, it was a good number for sleeping in the dining room. It's better than being crammed in a room.

'If this is the case, I should have invited Nephrite and Norma.

Ginette said with an innocent look on her face. ......

'Please don't. If Nephrite comes, Percy comes. I don't want any more trouble.'

'No way... You're not coming from the 40th district. I'm sure.

Sweet. You're naive, Jeannette.

You're underestimating the power of the pervert.

He'll come. He's not gonna let this snow get to him.

'Oh, by the way, how do you shovel snow?'

Delia said, perhaps getting bored.

The residents of this town must have an ingrained sense of 'shoveling snow on the first day of a heavy snowfall season'.

We, too, had initially planned to shovel the snow after returning from church.

But when we looked out the window, the snow was getting heavier than before.

There's no point in shoveling, I guess.

'Even if we shovel, it will pile up again soon, right?Let's wait until it stops.

No wasted effort. That's my style.

But.

'No, no, no. It's dangerous if you don't remove the snow from the roof.

'Yes, that it is. Especially if it's snowing, there's a danger of it collapsing, that it is.

'...... Oh, I see.

Shoveling snow is not just for getting in the way.

So, in this heavy snow, I have to go outside, climb up on the roof using a ladder or something, take the snow down, and then carry it to a place where it won't be in the way. ............

'It's a pain in the ass!

'But if we don't do it, the sunny pavilion will go out of business!

'You've got a weak design!

'There aren't many buildings that can withstand the weight of snow!

Snow weighs tons when it accumulates. It can't be helped.

'Is it safe for an amateur like me to do that?

'...... Yashiro is dangerous. Magda will do it.'

''Ma, I'd rather do it myself than have Magda do it!

'''Toryo's a bit of a dilettante!We'll do it.

''I'll do it if my brother does it!As your sister!

'No, no, Mr. Loretta!It's too much for a young maiden like Loretta, that it is. I'll do it!

'You never know what a pervert might do when he's on the roof. I'll do it. If it's hard work, that's my domain.'

'No way!I can't make you do that kind of hard work. I'm the landlord here.

'I'd rather do it myself than you, Ginette!You're going to take care of me!

'I can't let the young lady do such a dangerous job as unloading snow. I'll take care of it!

Natalia said proudly, breaking off the conversation.

Then all eyes naturally converged on one point.

There, sitting by the wood stove, was Imelda, elegantly enjoying a cup of tea after making oshiruko.

'What's ......?Everyone is staring at me. ......'

Imelda is more upset than ever as everyone stares at her.

I'm sure she understands most of it, but I'll be kind enough to let her know.

'Hey, Imelda. Do you know the word 'cooperativeness'?'

'No, you don't, Yashiro. There's no way Imelda can understand such a difficult word.

'You're not listening to me, Estella!

At Estella's provocative words, Imelda stands up and proudly displays her chest.

'If I really put my mind to it, I can make the snow fall better than you!The snow that falls on me will fall in such a way that it will say, 'Wow, I'm so happy to have Imelda fall on me!

That's a phenomenon I'd love to see. ...... What is it like?

'No, I'm not. ......'

'If you do it, you'll fall like, "Oh, I can't tell which is my chest or back. ......"'

'Certainly!

'It's not 'sure', Yashiro!

Why am I always the one who gets pissed off? ......

'All right, all right!If you insist, I'll give you a match!

'As you wish!

The two of them stared at each other.

...... Hmm, this is not good. ......

'Anyway, let's all work together and get this over with.

And with that, he led everyone out of the building.

The snow was getting stronger, and it was so white that we couldn't see more than a few steps ahead.

'This snow is dangerous. Let's get up on the roof with only those who are really confident and get it over with.

'Then I'll go. I'm sure I can handle a fall.'

'I want to choose people who won't fall. ......'

'Then I'll go!I know all about the structure of buildings, so I know how to get the snow down without falling.''

'''We're coming too!

''......, Magda too.''

I was surprised to see Magda come forward.

''Magda, are you okay?''

'...... I'm fine. If Magda goes, Umaro can surpass the level of humans.'

'Of course!I'll show you what I can do when I'm over one hundred percent!

Ah, ......, this is going to go fast.

'Well, you guys downstairs, clear the yard of snow.

'What?You're going to shovel the snow?'

Ginette shouted in surprise.

It was my opinion that with this much snow, shoveling would be a waste of ...... time.

'Shoveling snow is not the main thing. I want you to make sure you have enough space to build a kamakura.'

'Oh, a kamakura!

We need to get a lot of snow off the roof. We can't afford not to use them.

In order to be safe from the wind, we built four kamakura, with the entrances facing inward.

They are arranged in such a way that each team can see the other from each of the kamakura.

'Let's divide into teams and make kamakura later.

'...... Kamakura and shichirin are the strongest combination.

'Then, I'll prepare some food that can be roasted in the shichirin.

And so, after dividing up the roles, we went up to the roof.

Estella and Imelda were left to Natalia. You're good at that, aren't you?

She gave me a very annoyed ...... look, but ...... well, good luck. I've got to get up on the roof in the snow. I guess we're even.

'Too high!

The roof we climbed up on was much higher than we had imagined.

There's more than a meter of snow on the roof, so you might not die if you fall, but the ...... wind is really strong and scary.

Next time I'll ask Umaro to make a mechanism to melt the snow by crawling a chimney under the roof and transferring the heat from the stove to the roof.

'Like this, make a cut of a certain size and drop it down. It'll be safer if we drop it from here toward here.

'Oh, sorry. I wasn't listening. When do you want me to push Umaro down?

'You can't drop me!.................. You really shouldn't!

Wow, that sounds like a lot of pretense. Itchy, itchy ......

'Oniichan, the devil's face...'

Oops. I'm not sure I'm ready if Hammaro can see that.

'...... should be done quickly. It's cold.'

'Yes, it is. Then watch out for the scaffolding, and let's get to work!

'''Oh!'''

'''You get ten points for hitting Becco.'''

'''Oh!'''

'''I can hear you, that I can hear you!

Bekko. ...... I didn't know you were even eavesdropping on the conversation on the roof. ......

I thought the amount of snow had increased, making it harder for sounds to travel.

It's dangerous to work on the roof, so we worked quietly and carefully, not messing around.

Although there was a lot of snow, we did not freeze, thanks to our constant work.

When we finished unloading the snow and went downstairs, we found a large space in front of the entrance.

They've worked hard, these guys.

You've seen it?This beautiful ...... plane ...... that I evened out.

'Bo, I evacuated this comfortable space ...... and then you can tell me ......'.

You've successfully antagonized them into doing your work. ...... Natalia, you're good.

'So, what's a kamakura?

Delia, who is the only one covered in snow, asks with a smiling face.

She's definitely the one who worked the hardest.

And he never gets tired. ...... Next time, I'll give you an award for your hard work.

'It's like a hut made of snow.

I'll start explaining about kamakura.

The basic construction method is to heap up a mountain of snow and then carve out a hollow inside. It should be about ......2 meters in size. We have a lot of snow.

'Oh, that's easy!

Delia smiles.

'Just make a big snowball and drill a hole in it, right?

Mmm-hmm, you'd think so, right?But the bigger the snowball, the more power you'll need to roll it.

The easiest way to make a snowball is to arrange medium-sized snowballs of about 1 meter in a triangle and put another snowball on top of it. This pyramid-shaped snowball is then covered with snow, and holes are dug and covered with snow ....... I used to do this in school. It's a method that even a child can use to make something decent.

Let's split into teams and get to work!

The teams were: me, Magda and Loretta, the sunny pavilion team, Delia and her brothers, the cheat power team, Imelda, Becco and Umaro, the artist team. Estella and Natalia were the team of lords.

First, each of them made a snowball and placed it in a triangle. Take into account the direction of the entrance and place the snowballs in such a way as to reduce the amount of digging.

'I'm going to win the championship and get the luxury prize!

I don't know where she got this information from, but Loretta is very enthusiastic about it.

What's the prize? ......

'......The manager will give the best one to the best performer.'

'Pants, huh?

'...... Only Yashiro would want that.'

'Then it's boobs!

'...... or less'.

What the hell?Is it possible that the nice things that Jeannette gives you are ...... things that aren't erotic?

Oh well. We'll find out when we win.

The other teams can't do much anyway. There's too much difference in experience and knowledge.

I'm going to win.

...... I doubt the other team will even finish.

'Dousei!

When I turned around at the sound of a heavy bass echoing in my stomach, Delia was making a huge, impossible snowball. It was a ridiculously large snowball, three meters in diameter.

''Now all we have to do is make a hole and we're done.

'''Leave that to me!

Haha. It's so easy.

...... They're really overpowered, aren't they!

''Then, young lady, let's take a look at the secret snow shoveling technique that has been passed down in my family for generations!The secret technique ...... is 'snow gathering'!

Natalia moves at such a speed that her body seems to split and collects more and more snow from around her.

You'll be able to get a lot more snow than you think.

'Mr. Bekko, Mr. Umaro. Go ahead and finish it.

'...... Well, that's what happens.

'I knew it, that I knew it.

That blonde lady with the arrogant attitude has a fighting strength of about 530,000?

'Ah, if it's a Kamakura designed by Imelda, it must be a beautiful work of art.

'...... Wow, that's exciting.'

'I'm looking forward to it!

'Oh, please don't interfere!

'I don't want you to stir things up, that I don't!

Our words ignited Imelda's 'I'm expected' spirit.

'Very well!I'll make a wonderful kamakura for you, by you, for you, and show it to you!

Okay, okay. You better make it right.

Don't let Umaro and Bekko do it.

'It would've been easier if you'd stayed out of it.

'I agree, that I do.

Well, I can't help but have a little sympathy for the two who lost their shoulders.

And so it went for a few hours.

With the help of Magda, who was very active with her beastman power, and Loretta, who usually helped me out, I managed to complete the kamakura before sunset.

Delia and her brothers, who were the first to finish, dispersed again to help the other teams.

Delia was sent to Imelda's team, while her brothers went to help Estella's team. ...... Why don't they come to us.

After such a process, all the kamakura were completed.

All of them are quite good.

Ours is an orthodox one, with a sphere for the delia. Delia's is a sphere, because it was originally a snowball. And Estella's is a stylish heart-shaped entrance, and Imelda's is just amazing. It looked like a little hut.

We set up seven rings in each Kamakura.

Just in case, open a small window for ventilation so that the air doesn't get trapped. This way, even if you cook something inside, you will not be filled with smoke.

'Ladies and gentlemen. Rice cakes and fish.

Ginette comes out with a tray of food.

'Wow, everything looks so beautiful!

Ginette exclaims when she sees the kamakura.

'So, which one is the winner?

'The winner?

'You're going to give the winner something nice, right?

Something very erotic.

'Oh, that's right. I didn't explain the prize at all, did I?

Leaving the tray with the food on it with Magda, Ginette went into the dining room again.

And when she came out, she found ............ in her arms.

'The prize is a wax statue of Yashiro!

'You still have that?

'I got it from Bekko-san, who was handling the wax statue at the festival!

'We all made this kamakura together. Let's not compete to be the best. Therefore, we will split the prizes. You will be the light in the center of each of the four mummies.

Without a second thought, I placed the wax statue in the center of the facing kamakura and lit its head on fire.

'What?The wax statue?

Melt away, you d*mned statue.

Night fell and the snow had almost stopped.

I wouldn't catch a cold if I played in the kamakura for a while.

'Let's have dinner in here.

I agree with ''''. ''''

The food was placed at the foot of the wax statue so that it could be taken equally.

It's unpleasant, though. ...... It's like they're making an offering.

'...... rice cakes ...... umami'.

What Magda is eating is what could almost be called a grilled rice ball.

I wonder if these people who don't know what rice cake is perceive steamed glutinous rice as 'rice cake'.

That is a serious matter. Someday, I would like to give them something proper to eat.

Thinking about this in a daze, I stuffed my face with burnt fish.

It's been a long time since I've had such a playful summer and winter.

.......

Thinking like this, I decided to ask Masha of the Sea Fishing Guild for some clams next time.