Winter had arrived.
For the most part, I stayed cooped up inside and didn't venture out.
The only ones who did leave the mansion were Kuro's children and the angels on patrol, or the centaurs arriving for their scheduled reports. The high elves also headed out for hunts from time to time.
Even those activities came to a halt whenever a blizzard blew in. Apparently, even monsters and magic beasts can't handle the snow and stay put. The general consensus was that even if a beast could move through a storm, it wouldn't be foolish enough to approach a territory held by a pack of Inferno Wolves.
Hakuren, Rusty, and Guronde all reassured me that they would eliminate any intruders long before they reached the village. They were certainly reliable.
Dos, however, was just sleeping in the kotatsu.
In any case, we spent the winter avoiding the outdoors as much as possible, focusing instead on work that could be done inside. While no one seemed to complain about the indoor tasks, the lack of conversation could be a source of stress. Perhaps that's why many of the residents gathered in the mansion's main hall even on blizzard days, relaxing and chatting. The hall was spacious and warm thanks to the heating, after all.
This happened every year. And every year, I found myself wondering if it was really productive for everyone to just sit around and talk, so I would impulsively organize events.
Mahjong, Reversi, chess, and bowling. I asked everyone to refrain from using swords or bows since we were indoors, but we still held physical competitions like sumo and arm-wrestling.
Additionally, we held a sake-tasting competition at the request of the dwarves, a new dish presentation at the request of the high ogre maids, and a sweets tournament because the Fairy Queen wanted one.
Because they were impromptu, the scale was usually small, but in recent years, the entire village seemed to gather within an hour of an event being announced. I suppose their communication network has become quite efficient. Their enthusiasm was truly impressive.
As a side note, I didn't organize any big-eating or spicy-food contests since I'm not a fan of either. Furthermore, almost everyone here—not just the villagers—has experienced food shortages in the past, so they hate seeing food go to waste. Therefore, the sweets tournament wasn't an eating contest; it was just a gathering to enjoy sweets.
For now, instead of the sweets tournament, we were holding a standard chess tournament. We ran the matches in a bracket format involving all participants. Those who lost would move straight to the adjacent bowling or mahjong areas. Of course, they were also welcome to stay and watch the chess matches if they preferred.
To ensure they didn't disturb the chess players, soundproofing magic was applied to the bowling and mahjong areas. This wasn't the "milder" version of the magic we'd been using lately, but the strict, original version. Stepping through the partitions where the magic was cast felt like entering another world.
In the bowling area, those eliminated from chess joined the regular bowlers to throw balls to their hearts' content. I planned to start an official tournament there once enough people gathered. We had various match formats, but the most common style in the Village of the Great Tree was forming teams of three and competing for the highest total score. The lizardmen, high elves, mountain elves, and beastmen were the most frequent participants.
At the mahjong tables, losers from the chess tournament mixed with the regular players. As soon as four people were ready, a game would start. The dwarves were out in force here; apparently, they loved being able to enjoy the game while drinking.
I had also prepared tables and oversized tiles for the minotaurs and giants, but since few people could handle them easily, the players were mostly a fixed group. Still, they seemed to be having plenty of fun.
The Demon King, Beezel, and Draim were there too. I thought those three were in the chess tournament, but I suppose they must have lost early. They were playing against a group of Zabuton's children.
The spiders had formed a team of about twenty and were occupying a seat. Their tile handling using silk was as rhythmic and efficient as a factory machine. I wondered who was calling the shots. I watched for a moment to see if they actually knew the rules... and they certainly did. I felt bad for interrupting.
Immediately after, the spiders tapped on a wooden board. I see—they used the boards as a substitute for speaking. They had already called "Pon" twice to take tiles from other players, and I’d been wondering how they were signaling it. Very clever.
As for Beezel, who discarded the winning tile... it might be hard to believe, but you have to face reality. That wasn't a "Toitoi." It was a "Chinrontou"—a Yakuman.
Since the spiders were the dealers, that was forty-eight thousand points. Yes, the highest possible hand. In our village, anyone who wins with a Yakuman gets their name recorded on a special board. Out of mercy, we don't record the name of the person who discarded the tile.
As I moved to write the name on the board, my hand paused. What should I call them? The spiders looked at me with expectant eyes. In this case, it should probably be a team name.
...
Would "Team Chinrontou" work? No? Ah, I see. "Team Yakumanz," then. They told me they planned to win with all sorts of different Yakuman hands in the future. Good luck to them.
The chess tournament proceeded smoothly through the brackets. We were just waiting for the Best 16 to be finalized. As expected, Kuroyon and Malbit had comfortably made the cut. Six of Kuro's other children, Tia, Kierbit, Ruincia, and Ria were also still in the running. That left four spots.
As for Lu... ah, she lost to Kuroyon. And Flora? She was still playing, but she was in trouble. Her opponent was Suarlou.
And... it's over. Suarlou won.
I gave Flora a few words of comfort. Yes, yes, Lu too. Whoa—Kuro as well? Poor guy.
Who did Kuro lose to? Wait, the eagle? Using Aegis’s chirps as encouragement, the eagle had actually made it into the Best 16. Not bad at all.
As the chess tournament reached its peak, the children arrived after finishing their lessons. Oh, look at that—they weren't running. Their studies were clearly paying off. However, the way they marched in a synchronized line was a bit much. It was actually quite funny to watch.
I know, I know. It's snack time. Since the Fairy Queen was already in position, I figured it was about time. Ann and her team were preparing everything, so I told the kids to sit tight—but they offered to help carry the trays. Alright then, let's do it together.
I had actually been thinking of a few events the children could participate in, but... no, swords and bows are still off-limits. Galf and Daga are professionals, so it's fine for them. They don't scuff the walls or floors. When I tried it, I managed to mark up both, and the look Ann gave me was heartbreaking. So, no swords or bows.
I know the kids are better at it than I am. I can't win. Honestly, I think Urza and Alfred are already stronger than me. I'm being quite serious.
After handing out snacks to the children, the Fairy Queen, and anyone else who wanted some, I enlisted the help of the available high elves and mountain elves to set up an area for the kids. It was just a space partitioned off from the rest of the hall. In the center, we placed four billiard tables I’d built specifically for children.
"You all know the rules, right?"
I’d made several billiard tables before, but they were all adult-sized ones I’d put together on a whim. They were too big for the children to use properly. These new ones were built to scale; everything from the cues to the balls was child-sized, which had been quite the project.
"Whoa, hold on. Wait a second."
The mountain elves were currently checking the level of the tables. For billiards, a perfectly level surface is essential. They used leveling tools to adjust the height of each leg. Finally, they rolled a ball across the felt for a final check.
"Alright, it's good to go. Take turns playing, and no hogging the tables."
A few of the civil official girls stayed behind to supervise, so I left it in their hands. I actually had something else I needed to build in a hurry. The children weren't the only ones who couldn't use the standard tables; the minotaurs and giants had the same problem, just in the opposite direction.
"To any of the high elves or mountain elves who are free—could you help me manufacture some oversized tables and cues?"
I would handle the balls. I still can't make perfectly spherical balls without using the Universal Farming Tool. This is something I'll need to research more in the future.
Night fell, and we all relaxed.
The chess tournament saw Kuroyon and Malbit clash in the finals. After drawing three times in a row, dinner was served, so the match was postponed until the following day.
In bowling, the lizardmen's team took the victory. It was incredible—all three of them bowled perfect games. As for mahjong... they were still at it even after dinner.
The children seemed to enjoy the billiards well enough. However, it didn't seem to suit Urza. She was fine when it was her turn to shoot, but she got restless and irritated having to wait for the others. She felt the same way about bowling. She'd probably be much happier if she could just throw balls one after another by herself.
Alfred, on the other hand, took quite a liking to billiards. The way he lined up his shots with the cue was already looking sharp. I'm sure his actual accuracy will improve with practice.
"Hahaha. It's only your first day, don't worry about it."
I decided to set up a dedicated room specifically for the children's billiard tables and leave them there for good.