Vol 2 Chapter 109 (1/2)
Chapter One
The Festival
(Part 9)
Collecting everyone’s dishes after tallying everything up while treating theain
“We will now announce the results to the tally!”
When Ria, as holding the high body-temperatured Haku close to war the spectators surged
“Third place, coistration nue Castle!”
The audience whooped in loud voices The loudest of them all were, as expected, the Arno family
The Mithledge Kingdoic guild Other countries’ were no reest the croards the elaborately fine-detailed sculpture
Then,so as to not break the venue’s tension, Ria raised her voice:
“Continuing on, second place!”
Everyone’s applause gradually ceased
All that could be heard were the whispers of various people in mute excitement
As though to build suspense, Ria swept her eyes across the audience before continuing to read aloud
“This one acquired 1590 Points!”
Everyone let out sounds of astonishin
“No way!?”
The Arno family’s head even crumpled down and raised his voice, almost in a screech The prize for third place was ten thousand, but since second place would receive fifty thousand, his response was understandable Those around him looked sympathetic
“Registration nue]’s Lottévester Three Goddesses!”
“”” Oooh! “””
Applause erupted throughout the the plaza, shouts of joy loud enough to send tre out The owner of the inn [Ash Bridge] was being jostled by his ht
Lottévester’s three Goddesses were anthropomorphizations of the three world trees that the Lottévester faith revered These weren’t depicted according to moe culture of course, they were all anthroy, like volcanoes and fate personified
“And now, first place…!”
Hearing Ria’s voice, the plaza quickly quieted down
Using that absolute silence—
“—Before that, let me present the special prize winners to everyone~!”
Some of the spectators fell over like it was a comedy skit
It didn’t look like anyone was actually upset, rather, it appeared everyone was excited at the announcer’s skilled control of the event Calh the plaza
The only people that knehat the special prizes ere the people on the platfore
The only reason people were able to be this calm was probably because they had only been told that it wasn’t money
“First, thedivision! Euripedes-san, please come forward!”
“U-umu”
Euripedes, a stern-looking dith a stocky build and a beard, stood up and accepted the microphone from Rachelle
He backed away as though flinching froed to endure it with his pride as a man Was this the fate of a true artisan that didn’t tend to stand up in front of people?
“My choice is the work tha’ showed theit…”
He glanced down at the cheat sheet held in his hand, reading out loud—
“Registration number 102 title, Beloved Horse”
Hearing that, a stir spread through the audience The entry he had read out didn’t particularly shi+ne, but it wasn’t like it didn’t hold a certain charm to those that looked at it either
The youth that had made it didn’t understand why his entry was picked either, sih stunned
“Euripedes-san, please comment on your choice”
“U-umu”
Receiving Ilya’s glance, Ria nodded and urged Euripedes to continue
“There arethe variousin cos that are made For swords, that willpower is used to s, it is painstakingly used to ensure the safety of the people that reside in them For statues, it is to bestow them life”
Euripede’s voice was quiet, yet it still seemed to reach every last person in the plaza
“… True, this work is not as elaborate as the two before it However, it holds a love that wouldn’t lose to any other work and I could feel a breath of life stronger than all of the rest co from it That is why I, as a sculptor, chose this as the best entry… That’s all”
Euripedes, who had realized that he was being uncharacteristically talkative for himself, ended his explanation and placed the mic onto the table in embarrassment
“Euripedes-san, thank you for your words! As the grand prize fro division, the sculptor of Beloved Horse, Belmadi-san, will receive…! Lunéville’s symbol—”
Saying that, Ria held Haku up in the air
“Haku-chan’s statue!”