“Fuu...” I sighed.
The first thing I did after returning from the long trip was to take a bath before falling onto my bed from the side.
“So soft...” I mumbled.
Although sleeping outside wasn"t that bad, the bed inside the house was still the best.
“Yotto.” I huffed.
While hanging down at the lower part of the bed, I rolled over and laid on my back.
The light from the ceiling is dazzling. While squinting my eyes, I was able to rest since things ended up without any problems.
When I go on a long journey, my only concern was about leaving the town for some days. However, there were no problems, and the town was going on like usual when I returned.
I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but, I couldn’t sleep.
Ah, I can’t help it... I get up and picked up the piece of cloth on the desk. The map of this continent was drawn on it.
[TL:
山脈 = mountain range
砂漠との境界線 ＝ boundary line to the Desert
サンドラ王国が = Sandra Kingdom
町 = town]
When I look at it like this, I think it really looks like Europe. The continent is called Dragon’s Jaw (Ryu no Ago). Beyond mountain range on the east is a land of intense cold that has never been explored by humans before. According to the rumours, it was said that a Demon King is living there.
At the south is a desert. It’s also a land where mankind haven’t set their foot on yet.
Also, since there were demons living inside the sea, navigation techniques were still uninvented.
Who knows if there was an existence like the African Continent in my original world since the sand was occasionally being carried with South wind.
And there is the Sandra Kingdom to the north of this town. Frost said that Sandra kingdom"s military have never come to this land before. Although that won"t remain so as long as the peace of human society still continue as it is, but that is unlikely.
‘The church forbade the waging of wars between nations, but, it didn’t say anything about internal fighting. There are plenty of internal disturbances like territorial disputes, civil war, or fighting over inheritances.
If the scheme from other countries were mixed in here, a fight would happen inside the country eventually, and it will eventually lead to a war between nations.
Church"s edict? Fufu... As long as a great amount of money and a trigger are involved, war will always happen. After all, the peace was only the preparatory period for next war.
If what Frost said is true, then this land can continue to enjoy peace as it is. But, I am not that immature to trust everything he said. I should a.s.sume the worst...
Yeah.
When Frost and his company reveal this town"s existence, the Sandra Kingdom will send its military force to this land.
A few days later...
I noticed a small incident in the town. The townspeople still made contact with me as if nothing had changed at the first glance, but I can feel that the air was a little bit different from before.
However, I know the cause was that I helped Frost who was a human. Because I sided with humans, it gave birth to dissatisfaction among them.
But, it didn’t happen for the wolf tribe who had been with me since the beginning. Because we’ve spent a long time together, we had a deep bond. In that case, the relationship with other races will also be repaired with the pa.s.sage of time.
But, no matter how I think about it, I am a fool.
I am a human, the same race as the ones who took the home of the beastmen. That’s why, it wouldn’t be strange if the dissatisfaction of the beastmen changed into doubt, which is why I don’t intend to leave their dissatisfaction alone.
“So, let’s organize an athletic meet!” I declared.
“An athletic... Meet, is it?” The man hummed.
I talked about my plans at Jiharu’s house of while beating him in reversi as the clacking of the pieces meeting the board echoed in the room.
The festival will be called the Athletic Meet. The winner will be rewarded with glory and sake. In addition, I will treat everyone to sake as well.
“Yes, because we compete over individual technique and ability, the one who’s in first place will be rewarded with a gift.” I explained.
It was like a festival. However, if we hold just a banquet like usual, the excitement won"t be enough. Therefore, I let them compete with each other to dissipate their dissatisfaction.
“I see. So, what are we competing in?” Jiharu asked.
“Running, archery, javelin throwing, camel racing, and maybe reversi too.” I replied.
The point was to excite everyone, but the next obstacle was about the Goblin and Kobold tribes who had weaker physical strength. They will never have a winning chance if they compete in physical ability only.
However, for the camel racing, Catherine and I will naturally win the championship. Therefore, I prepared the reversi section.
Currently, reversi is the best entertainment in town. Also, it will be advantageous for the Goblin and Kobold tribes who were more intelligent. Unlike other board games, it doesn’t take too much time too. It would be over in no time while the rest compete in the sporting events.
“Understood. I will make some adjustments as well. But, if everyone were to take charge of the work, that will leave some people who will be unable to partic.i.p.ate.” Jiharu raised a good point.
“Yeah. I will send some sake as a reward for those people as well.” I decided.
The universal language of the world is gold, but it is sake in this town.
Two days later...
《With this, the first event of the Athletic Meet will start!》 While standing on the top of a stand, I used the loudspeaker to conduct the opening ceremony of the Athletic Meet.
Great shouts of joy broke out almost immediately. Everyone went to have a drink, and were already getting excited.
I was the host while several wolfmen will be acting as a.s.sistants in Athletic Meet.
The first compet.i.tion was short distance running, also known as sprinting.
The preliminary sprint consisted of 3 races. Each tribe will pick 3 people, and each partic.i.p.ant can only partic.i.p.ate in 1 race. By the way, the partic.i.p.ants from the Goblin tribe abstained from all the sporting events, but they surrounded the stage for reversi, which had a desk and a chair at the corner.
“On your mark, get set...” I announced.
After a shout, I pulled the trigger of the handgun that I had pointed to the sky. Then, an earsplitting, intense sound echoed.
Of course, I didn’t actually shoot any bullets. It was a blank round. However, even with a blank round, if it was shot at close range, it still had enough power to make a hole in a steel can easily, so I need to be careful when using it.
At the sound of the gunshot, the partic.i.p.ants lined up behind the line started to run.
As expected they are fast. It"s my personal opinion, but I think they even surpa.s.sed Olympic-level athletes.
Roars of encouragement erupted from the audience as the players went over the goal one by one. The first place was someone from the Leopard tribe, the second place was someone from the wolf tribe, and in third place was the representative of the deer tribe These 3 people qualified for the next stage.
“Uooooo!” The leopardman who took first place raised his fist over his head and roared.
The people from his tribe who were sitting at the side also gave thunderous shouts of joy for their tribesman who won.
After that, the second preliminary round also concluded safely, and next was the third round.
Suddenly, a person whom I recognized appeared on the starting line as a partic.i.p.ant. It was Mira from the Wolf tribe who had left town alone from before.
Our gazes met for an instant, and she turned her face abruptly. Maybe she still hates me...
“On your marks, get set...” I announced.
The partic.i.p.ants waited for the signal to start as they got into position. An explosive bang echoed throughout the area, and at the same time, the partic.i.p.ants ran towards the goal wholeheartedly.
For some reason, I supported Mira inside my mind. However―
“Aaah...” I unconsciously let out a disappointed sigh.
Because Mira was fourth, and was eliminated during the preliminary rounds.
There were tears of frustration at the edges Mira’s eyes.
I wanted her to win because I had a deeper relationship with her than others, but reality was harsh.
Well, she should work harder next time, was what I told myself as I pulled myself together and moved onto the finals.
《Now’s the time for the finals! These are the nine who still remain so far! As mentioned previously, the Leopard tribe has 3 people taking first place in the preliminaries! How overwhelming! Next are three people from Deer tribe! Can they defeat the Leopard tribe in the finals?! Then, there are 2 people from the Wolf tribe and one from the Cat tribe! The final contestants are these nine people! All partic.i.p.ants, please get behind the starting line!》 I delcared.
The partic.i.p.ants took their positions in succession. I handed the loudspeaker to the wolfman who waited beside me. Then, I pointed the gun at the sky.
“On your marks, get set...” I shouted.
The audience fell silent at the same time, and the surrounding areas were wrapped in silence. And then, a loud bang violently tore through the silence. Loud cheers then poured out of the audience like a broken dam.
All the partic.i.p.ants began running along their lanes respectively. Everyone moved their hands and feet furiously as they tried to move even a little bit more in that short time.
The result was that the first and second places were claimed by the Leopard tribe. As for the 3rd place... I wonder if it’ll be the leopardman or the one from the Deer tribe since from my position, they seemed to be arriving at the same time. According to the wolfmen who were holding the goal sash, in 3rd place was... The leopardman. The man from the Deer tribe had regrettably lost and placed fourth, but I’d still like to applaud him.
Still, even though it was the finals, it seemed like the correct answer was to award the winning prize down to the fourth place because it will look pathetic if all three rewards were swept up by people from the same race.
《The sprinting event ended with the overwhelming victory of the Leopard tribe! The contestant of the Deer tribe fought hard too, but wasn’t able to beat them!》 I commentated.
“UUUOOOOO!!!” Triumphant shouts that felt like earthquakes arose from the Leopard tribe.
《Because the awards ceremony will take place at the end of the event, can the partic.i.p.ants who have just ran please watch the game till the end at your seats? Now then, let’s move on to the next event! The next event is... Archery! All partic.i.p.ants, please gather!》 I announced.
The venue was roiling with cheers for the partic.i.p.ants once more. The compet.i.tion advanced smoothly like this.
Time pa.s.sed, before long, all the events had ended.
The Bird tribe won the archery event because of their superior eyesight, and as for the javelin throwing event, it was won by the people from the Boar tribe who were proud of their strength. As for reversi, a boy from the Wolf tribe defeated the Kobold and Goblin tribes, and won the championship. It was the same boy who defeated me two years ago.
His body had grown so much bigger from farm work that I almost didn’t recognize him. However, his intelligence didn’t seem to have changed from that time.
Also, the combination of Catherine and I was overwhelming at camel racing. As expected of my wife.
[TL: *vomit]
[ED: Lmao. Congrats on your marriage.]
When she had finished racing, Catherine stuffed her mouth with the weeds that were nearby, and began munching. How cute.
It could be said that the Athletic Meet produced a tremendous result. The people who didn’t get good results drank sake to soothe themselves. As for the awards ceremony…
All the partic.i.p.ants ranked 1st to 4th from each compet.i.tion stood proudly before me.
The people in first place were awarded a pendant, wine, and j.a.panese sake. Those in second and third places were awarded wine and j.a.panese sake while those in fourth place were awarded with watermelons and j.a.panese sake.
Cross leather chain: 50,000 yen (actual price 500 yen)
700 mls of red wine: 68,000 yen (actual price 680 yen)
1 sho of high cla.s.s j.a.panese sake: 4000 yen.
Watermelon: 700 yen.
[TL: 1 sho is 1.8 liter]
A cheap pendant… Even though it was something insignificant in the previous world, it was considered valuable in this world.
As the pendants were hung on the necks of the partic.i.p.ants, their tribesmen erupted with cheers immediately.
“Well done!”
“You are our pride!”
Praise flew from every corner of the event.
“Congratulations. That was some splendid archery skills.” I commented.
Upon hearing me say so, the young man from the Bird tribe burst into tears.
“T-Thank you very much..!” He was deeply moved by my simple words.
“Well then, give your friends a wave!” I urged.
“Yes!”
With this, the first Athletic Meet came to a successful end.
Afterwards, the Athletic Meet was still discussed by everyone even after a week had pa.s.sed, and they completely forget about the humans who had arrived and left not long ago.