kscans

Chapter 449 - The Art of Tofu Architecture

"—...Whoa."

"...Ugh, I'm sooooo tiiiiired!"

It must have been a total of four or five hours since we'd started working in earnest.

We chopped down a mountain of trees, the men worked together to level the ground, and Nia and Nonomi-chan-san processed one piece of lumber after another, which I then primarily assembled—

The result was a rugged log house that couldn't be called stylish by any stretch of the imagination... or more accurately, it was a wooden box with a door, and I wasn't even sure if it qualified as a log house.

It was only natural. The only two craftspeople we had were a jewel-crafter/seamstress and a pure seamstress. No one else had any know-how about construction, so this was a bona fide tofu house built almost entirely through brute force.

With the basic skills of [Magic Craft], they could process materials like wood or stone... but for them, who were used to making clothes, the scale of everything was completely different. They'd really pushed themselves, and I was grateful for their hard work.

Ultimately, all we needed were walls, a floor, and a roof. As long as we weren't out in the open, we could secure a minimum level of safety, and that was all that mattered.

During the event, we'd get a debuff that made us unable to act if we didn't eat and sleep properly, but conversely, as long as we fulfilled those two quotas, everything was okay.

It was only for about three nights and four days. Our superhuman bodies didn't need a luxurious suite.

"You two did great. Seriously, amazing work."

And so, I offered my heartfelt praise to the two ladies who had perfectly executed a job they had no experience with whatsoever.

The [Milmarinus], who had collapsed into a heap, and the Artisan of Vibrant Hues, who had dramatically thrown herself onto her back on the ground—frankly, for the guys, just the fact that this was a shelter prepared by these two probably gave it more value than a luxury hotel.

Well, I was the one who did the assembly, though.

"You too... Thanks for the manual labor..."

"That was a huge help... Just as expected from a ranker... heheh, heh."

The two of them were utterly exhausted, and for good reason. They had cut—or rather, converted—countless logs into lumber.

They'd struggled with the unfamiliar process of creating building materials, going through trial and error, muttering "not like this, not like that." They'd accomplished the mission impossible of creating architectural blueprints using the same methods for drafting clothing patterns. They tried to assemble it, but it wouldn't go together. They put it up, and it fell down. They thought it was finished, only to find gaps everywhere and have to start over.

Unlike me, for whom this was hardly physical labor, they had been wracking their brains for hours. In a virtual world, it was obvious which was more tiring.

The sight of large and small squares standing in a row like wooden prefab sheds was quite surreal, but as someone who knew the effort that went into this scene, I was genuinely moved.

Anyone who complained would be sentenced to a [Trembling Transmission]—well, no one would dare criticize a collaboration between Nono-Nia. Men are such delightfully simple creatures.

"Should we put up a nameplate or something? I mean, you can tell by the size, but still."

"Ah, good point. It'd be awkward if the guys went into the wrong one by mistake, so we should probably be clear about that."

The log houses we'd built consisted of one large and one small building for men and women respectively, and one extra-large shared building in between. The men's and women's buildings on either side were, of course, for sleeping, while the central shared building was a banquet hall and a place to store common supplies.

The food and materials we'd gathered—as well as the [Stardust Relics] each person had acquired—would all be stored here together.

We were clueless about this event, and the future was uncertain. During our earlier meal, the conversation had flowed in all directions, not just about the unusual ingredients, and in the process, a general policy had been decided upon by a unanimous vote of all thirty-six group members.

Our top priority was for everyone to survive and clear the event. We'd focus on helping each other, and all rewards would be split evenly. As such, the only "reward" presented so far, the [Stardust Relics], would be divided equally among the group members on the final day.

Again, it was a unanimous decision with no objections—well, not quite. Someone had suggested, "The two artisans and the chef will have a much heavier burden, so maybe we should give them a larger share?" but the three of them shook their heads, so the idea was rejected.

Conversely, the three of them suggested, "Actually, you should give a larger share to the combat members who are out there earning them," but all the combat members shook their heads, so that was rejected too.

That spirit of mutual concession was wonderful, and so very... Arcadian.

In that respect, this place was so unlike an MMO that it was almost scary how peaceful and utopian it was.

To begin with, we didn't even know what we'd get for bringing back the [Stardust Relics], or if we were even supposed to bring them back as they were. We'd said our goal was to survive, but we had no idea what would happen if we died during the event, or if we could even respawn... We knew absolutely nothing.

That's why our policy was "Let's just cooperate like crazy," and for better or worse, we decided to take it easy. I didn't mind that kind of laid-back attitude at all—

"...Can I ask you something?"

"Oh, what's up?"

As I was diligently carving a picture into a suitably sized piece of wood with the edge of my dagger to make a nameplate, a voice called out from behind me. I turned around at the suspicious tone and saw Nia staring intently at my hands with an equally suspicious expression.

Too close, too close. Don't try to rest your chin on my shoulder.

"That's, um... what is it?"

"A portrait of you, Nia-chan."

"Wh-What...?! I'll grant you two thousand steps, but that looks exactly like one of those monkeys!"

"Just kidding. I was trying to express the universal image of a girl."

"I'm telling you, it doesn't even look human!"

I swear, while I may have weaknesses like a poor naming sense, my artistic skills are about average for a person. Or so I believe.

I mean, come on, who normally carves pictures into wood with a knife...?

"Oh my, what an unexpected weakness..."

"Hold on, that's not it. If I had paper and a pen, it wouldn't turn into this poorly made, indescribable thing that looks like a Fukuwarai game gone wrong—"

"Hey, if you're aware of that, why did you say it was a portrait of me? Even for a joke, isn't that a little too much? Huh? Hmm???"

"Whoa, wait, wait, wait, calm down...! It was just a little fun! I just got carried away by the survival in the great outdoors, hey, sto—stop it, you...!"

After that, the two girls started messing around with me, and I became their plaything... In the end, my creation, the 'Indescribable Monkey Carving,' was put on grand display in the common area, a public shaming that served as my pardon for the prank.

So my dignity is not safe, huh?

Well, it's too late for that now. In fact, I'll hold my head high, as if to say, "Worship this avant-garde art."

---

His drawing skills with pen and paper aren't that great either.