Chapter 68: The First Snow (2)
**”Breath!”**
The ultimate snow-clearing tool!
In the blink of an eye, the path down the hill was cleared. The speed was remarkable. This much snow would normally take an entire army several days to clear.
“Ugh… I’m so tired… haah… haah…”
“Stop breathing weirdly. If you’re tired, just close your mouth.”
“My mouth hurts!”
Having done the work of a hundred soldiers, Rurin started groaning in exhaustion.
Still, we had cleared the path from the orchard to the city and all the way back up to the restaurant. Of course, the path wasn’t very wide—Rurin’s breath in her human form wasn’t that broad. The snow still reached thigh height on either side, though much of it had melted due to the heat from her breath.
“Hello!”
“Hello!”
A familiar voice came from the entrance. It was Linte and Mate. They had waded through the snow, their pants soaked.
Truly diligent friends. I’d heard they always arrived earlier than anyone else.
“Wow, the path is clear! Brother!”
“It really is… Could it be… Lord El?”
The two brothers stared at me with sparkling eyes. Though, strictly speaking, it wasn’t my doing—it was my incredible snow-clearing tool at work.
“It’s nothing special. Just a simple magic spell.”
It was common knowledge that I was a magician. Though, they likely assumed I was just an ordinary human mage, not someone of the 9th class.
“Amazing!”
Mate raised his hands like an excited child. His expression perfectly matched his boyish demeanor.
“Let’s get to work. Amazing or not, we’ve got a job to do!”
“Yes, brother…!”
With expressions of relief, Linte and Mate bowed deeply toward Rurin and me, then began making their way up the hill.
“They’re idiots.”
“Why do you say that?”
“There’s just something about them.”
Rurin stretched her mouth wide in a yawn and then narrowed her eyes as she noticed the gloves she was wearing.
“You know, I was just sleeping, but I’m all dressed up with gloves and a hat! I’m amazing!”
“What nonsense. I dressed you. Come on, let’s head back up.”
“Fine. But after working, I’m eating and then going straight to sleep.”
As we were about to head back up the path together, a loud scream echoed from above.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Linte, who had been making his way up the hill, suddenly slipped and tumbled down, landing face-first in the snow halfway down.
“See? Idiots. Haha!” Rurin laughed, smugly shaking her head. It was, admittedly, a pretty funny sight. Her fur hat bobbed with every chuckle, the little pom-pom bouncing.
It turned out that the area Rurin had melted with her breath had frozen over, creating a slick, icy slope on the hill.
“Brother!” Mate yelled, then promptly slipped and followed suit, sliding down the hill like a runaway sled.
“Ahhhh!”
*Thud.*
Mate spun around, skidding on his rear before crashing into the pile of snow beside the path.
The ice had turned the path into a full-blown skating rink. Not slipping was near impossible. And since I couldn’t use magic or breath with everyone watching, I wasn’t about to make a fool of myself like them.
“Rurin, let’s teleport back to the restaurant. There’s no way we’re making it up without slipping.”
“Got it!”
*Bang!* Rurin dashed toward me and knocked her head into my chest before casting the spell.
After teleporting back to the restaurant, we quickly set to work again, using magic to bring a load of sand from the seaside. We spread it over the icy hill to prevent any more slipping.
By the time we finished, Seral, Miltein, and Ment had arrived for work. Seeing how none of them slipped, it seemed the sand was doing its job.
We’d skipped breakfast due to the snow-clearing rush.
Around lunchtime, Seral came down to the restaurant with the ranch workers, saying she hadn’t prepared anything to eat. She insisted on treating everyone to lunch. Miltein looked particularly happy about that.
Even Knoll and his wife, Reine, came up to the restaurant.
“El! We were worried about all that snow, so we came to check on you. We spent all morning shoveling in front of the butcher shop, but business is out of the question today. So, we thought we’d help clear the snow up here, but it looks like you’ve already taken care of it! Haha. So we’re just here for a meal.”
“When did I ever say we should help? This woman!”
“You didn’t?”
“I might have said something similar…”
“Let’s step outside for a little chat, dear. Just for a moment, El.”
“No! No! No! Let’s not chat! El, just give me a drink—ouch! Don’t pull my ear!”
Reine dragged Knoll away by the ear as he protested.
“Hello…”
Behind them, Elena timidly appeared. Despite the sand, it seemed she had slipped a bit, as her clothes were slightly dirty.
“Elena? What brings you here?”
“Well, the snow was really heavy, so I wanted to check on you! I’m glad the path is clear… though it was still a bit slippery. But everything looks fine. Thank goodness.”
Elena breathed a sigh of relief.
So, she came all the way up here out of concern for me. How nice of her.
All these people thinking of me… it was touching.
“Master!”
Even the young Greik showed up. Due to the heavy snow, he had deployed soldiers to clear the roads and led them to the hilltop first.
Mate, who recognized Greik’s true identity, was initially shocked, but Greik explained the situation to him calmly, easing his nerves.
Of course, Rurin also knew Greik’s identity, but she couldn’t care less if he was a baron or an emperor.
“With so many people gathered, just having lunch seems a bit boring. To celebrate the first snow, how about a little competition?”
“Competition?”
“Competition?”
“Oh my!”
The room buzzed with excitement at my words.
“It’s just a fun game. I’ll be cooking up a pot of food with various ingredients. You’ll take turns eating. Whoever can’t finish their bite or spits it out gets eliminated. The last person standing wins. And the prize for the winner is… this! A tax exemption certificate for Greik City!”
“What?”
“Are you serious?”
The crowd buzzed again, especially at the mention of the tax exemption.
“Yup. This certificate, issued by none other than Baron Greik himself, exempts the holder from taxes for a year.”
“How did you get your hands on that?”
“I helped the lord with something, and he gave it to me as a reward.”
“Hoho, that’s a good prize.”
The crowd’s eyes lit up. In this world, just as in my homeland, taxes were a constant burden, an unavoidable evil that took a chunk of everyone’s hard-earned money. A tax exemption, therefore, was a highly coveted prize.
“I will win this, Master!” Greik, the issuer of the exemption, was determined.
The certificate was something he had personally issued, as part of an idea he had for an annual competition to bring joy to the people. I had helped him come up with the concept.
Technically, it bore the official seal of the lord, so it was the real deal.
“If I win, it disappears anyway.”
Greik muttered, revealing his true motivation.
“Hey, I don’t really need that thing.”
“I can’t participate as the host, so I’d love for you to win it for me.”
“If I win it for you? Hmm… suddenly, I want it. Hehe. You need that certificate?”
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to have it.”
“Then I will be the winner! And if I win, you owe me something, alright?”
The dragon seemed more interested in the potential reward than the prize itself and eagerly declared her participation. As the host, I couldn’t compete, so having Rurin join was fine.
“Let the cooking begin!”
I smiled mischievously as I prepared a pot, filling it with various ingredients. Afterward, I drew lots to determine the order.
Miltein was first, Knoll second, Linte third, Seral fourth, Elena fifth, Mate sixth, Rurin seventh, Greik eighth, Reine ninth, and Ment tenth.
We gathered around a boiling pot placed on a four-person table. I pulled out a blindfold.
“Alright, Miltein, you’re first.”
“Oh, why am I first? I never have good luck.”
Miltein, determined to win the prize to buy a gift for his girlfriend, approached with a resigned look.
I blindfolded him, ensuring he couldn’t see a thing, then handed him a fork and guided his hand to stir the pot.
“You just need to point with the fork. Don’t try to stab anything. I’ll feed you whatever you point to.”
Miltein nodded, stirring the pot carefully before stopping.
“By the way, I’ve included some… interesting ingredients. They won’t kill you, but they might shock you. Some are spicy, some might tingle a bit, but none are harmful.”
“Why are you telling me this right when it’s my turn? Helly, I’ll buy you a present, I swear!”
Shouting the name of who I assumed was his girlfriend, Miltein bit into the food I fed him.
“Uaaagh!”
“Oh no! Even your new girlfriend…”
“Uuurgh?”
Everyone around him was making a fuss. Mate chimed in, adding to the drama. Miltein, unable to chew, froze.
“If you don’t chew within ten seconds, you’re out.”
I started counting, and Miltein, gritting his teeth, began to chew.
“Blech! What is this?!”
He spat the food into a prepared bin.
“You’re out! That was a marshmallow, a delicious candy made from sugar.”
“W-what?”
Miltein looked at the marshmallow in disbelief. With the blindfold on, fear and confusion had heightened his senses, making it impossible for him to chew. It was a fascinating psychological difference.
“You idiot. It’s just candy, you could’ve eaten it.”
Knoll shook his head, clearly unimpressed.
“You don’t get it! When you don’t know what it is, it’s impossible to just eat it!”
“Enough, the losers can sit back and watch. Haha!”
Miltein stepped aside, defeated. Next up was the confident Knoll.
With a smug grin, Knoll donned the blindfold and stirred the pot. He soon paused, ready for his bite.
“Honey, no matter what it is, just swallow it. Got it?”
Reine’s warning came naturally from behind him.
