CH 6

Chapter 6 : Architectural competition that never started

“A- Amazing…”

As I turn around, I suddenly hear a voice behind me and see Monaka standing there with her mouth agape.

“This …… was made by you, Leo?”

“Ah, yes.”

“It’s not even noon yet. ……And yet, and yet, and ……”

Monaka’s face flushes a rosy red.

“I can’t believe you can build such a magnificent house!

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! I knew Leo-kun was amazing!”

Monaka’s eyes moistens and she makes a small gut pose in front of her chest.

She’s so calm in front of the other classmates, but in front of me, she’s so enthusiastic.

“If you like it, I’ll build you a house too.”

Monaka gets taken aback.

“Oh, really!? Is that alright with you?

◆　　◇　　◆　　◇　　◆

So I load the newly cut wood onto the cart and leave the forest with Monaka.

A crowd of people have gathered at the site of Monaka’s class, Class 1 and 2.

Onesco, Monaka’s self-proclaimed guardian, is standing on a rock and explaining to the people around her.

“I understand that you all want to offer Monaka a home!

But Monaka-sama is the future High Priestess, so she needs to have a proper home!

That’s why I’m going to judge the houses that everyone builds!

The house we think is the best will be Monaka-sama’s home!”

“Okay, let’s do this!”

“If I can build a house with my first-class construction skills, Monaka will love it!”

“I won’t let him! Monaka-sama is going to live in our house!

If Monaka-sama likes our house, we’ll have won the rest of our school life!

We can’t let the other classes beat us! It’s time for us, the “Production Team”, to show our strength and work together to build the best house possible!”

It seems that a building contest for Monaka has started.

However, Monaka is so focused on me that she didn’t seem to notice what is going on around her.

Thinking that it didn’t matter, I unload the lumber from the cart and start preparing to build.

Then I hear a mocking laugh from around me.

“Hey, look at that! The trash guy is going to participate in the building contest!”

“You stupid bastard, what can you do by yourself?”

“I’ve got the building skills and my classmates are helping me, you can’ t compete with us!”

“I’m sure you’ll do your best to build a kennel, and then we’ll all laugh at you!”

But as soon as the foundation is put in place, the laughter of those around us died down.

“Eh… No way…”

“How can you build such a magnificent foundation, ……?”

“That foundation must look like a two story building!”

“That’s ridiculous! Even those of us with construction skills can barely make a single-story hut!

That looks like a real house!”

Don’t be ridiculous! You can’t let a jobless guy make a house for you!

That would ruin our professional reputation!”

I complete the house while they buzz about it themselves.

I nod as I look up at the finished house.

“Well, it’s not bad.”

The house is resistant to earthquakes, fire, and corrosion.

It has a pleasant scent, and living in it will be relaxing.

In the forest, I found some kinohi trees, which make a fine wood, so I decided to use them for this house.

A house made of kinohi would be perfect for a young lady like Monaka.

She snuggles up next to me, her gaze bright with emotion.

“Thank you, Leo-kun, for such a beautiful house!

I’m so happy to receive another gift from Leo-kun!”

Monaka put her hands to her chest to suppress her overflowing feelings.

In addition, I’d like to thank you for all your hard work! Oh, your face is dirty, so I’ll wipe it off for you.”

She takes out a small white handkerchief from her uniform pocket, stretches and wipes my face with it.

“I can’ t help it, getting dirty is like a badge of honor for a carpenter.

Besides, if you get that close, you’ll smell it.”

“Fufufu~ I’d love to smell you, Leo!

And when I was little, I used to bury my face in it like this …….”

Monaka smiles as she puts her face down on my sweat- and dust-covered shirt and starts to sniff and sniff.

But then, a while later, she suddenly snaps.

“I’m sorry! How could I be so rude? ……!”

My ears turn red as I walk away since I felt so excited doin something so outrageous and terrible.

Compared to the house that I had just built, the houses that the new students had built were too shabby.

The surrounding area of the houses look like a slum.

Well, it’s not unreasonable for those students who had been lads and lasses living self-sufficient lives for the first time…….

I used my “appraisal” skill to examine a nearby shack that looked like it was about to collapse.

It is poorly constructed and will collapse with the slightest load.

There is a foul smell, and living here will be stressful.

I think to myself, “This is terrible.”

I guess they didn’t even bother to sort out the wood, and just used some wood that was not suitable for building materials.

In addition, the processing of the wood is inadequate, and the way it was put together and finished is crude.

“With this kind of situation, even a small earthquake could wipe it out. ……”

I think to myself as I lightly push on the wall of the hut.

And then…

…… DONGARA GASHAN!

The hut collapses in an instant, like it is being folded.

In fact, even the neighboring houses collapse one after another from the impact.

Before I know it, all the houses in the slums have collapsed like dominoes.

Leaving only the house I have built behind.

The newcomers crumpled to their knees like those whose houses have been burned in a fire.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!?!?!!?”

“The house I built! The house we built!”

“I worked so hard for so many hours to build it!”

“Uwaaaaaa!!! Mama!!”

I feel guilty for that and I think about teaching them how to build a house. ……

“Ugh, I can’t believe I’m losing to a jobless piece of trash!”

“This is a mistake! There’s no way a piece of trash could build a house like that!”

“Damn it! If that wasn’t Monaka’s house, I’d burn it down!”

My guilt disappears as they start to bombard me with their complaints.