Chapter 143: Chapter 142: Ice and Snow Game Festival
"So, like, do we really have to dress up like this?"
Uffie, who was drying her just-washed hair with a blast of magical hot air, stared at the tree in the room, struggling to find the words to describe her feelings.
Yes, a tree.
Galina’s new costume was a tree—or, to be precise, a Tree Man, but the kind that looked exceptionally tree-like.
It looked a lot like the Tree Men who destroyed Saruman’s home in *The Lord of the Rings*, only a miniature version.
She could tell just by looking that a material so realistic, yet flexible enough for movement, couldn’t be cheap. It must have been custom-made by a tailor who understood Alchemy.
The advantage of factory-made clothing nowadays was mass production and low cost, but it still couldn’t compare to handmade items in terms of variety and fine detail—especially not handmade items enhanced with Magic.
So, in a way, this Tree Man costume was actually pretty cool.
If it weren’t for the hole cut out of the very center, where Galina’s green-painted face peeked through, flashing a wide, toothy grin.
"This is my ultimate disguise. Absolutely no one will recognize me."
"I think if you walk down the street like this, you’re more likely to be arrested by the city watch than recognized," Uffie retorted.
Winter City’s security was indeed excellent, with reliable-looking Warriors constantly on patrol.
Not only were petty thieves and fraudulent merchants arrested, but even people with overly bizarre outfits were stopped for questioning.
"Don’t you know there’s a cosplay competition at the game festival?" Galina struck the pose of an angry Tree Man. "A costume as original as mine is sure to catch Mr. Raul’s eye."
"And who are you supposed to be?" Uffie couldn’t recall a character like that from any comic or game.
"The Tree Man from the classic play *Palomino and the King of Ancient Hills*, of course! It’s the only play I’ve ever acted in, even if I didn’t have many lines."
Galina waved her branch-like arms, defending her costume choice.
"Alright, fine," Uffie said, at a loss for words.
She put on her own Repin winter school uniform. When the school had first issued them, she never imagined she’d actually have an opportunity to wear it.
"Let’s go!"
On the way to the Ice and Snow Game Festival, they quickly ran into their first problem.
Leaving the room.
"Crouch. Lower! You know what, just crawl out," Uffie instructed Galina, who was stuck in the doorway because the canopy of her costume was too tall.
"I can’t. My shoulders are too wide."
"Turn sideways. I’ll pull you out."
After more than ten minutes of struggling, a person and a tree lay collapsed in the hotel hallway.
They felt as if they’d already gotten a full day’s worth of exercise and no longer wanted to go to the Ice and Snow Paradise.
"Help... help me up. I can’t get up on my own," Galina pleaded, struggling.
Finally, with the help of the hotel staff, they successfully made it out the main entrance.
The disguise effect of the Tree Man costume was excellent. The people lying in wait by the entrance, hoping to tear her Handscroll Destruction Deck to shreds, didn’t recognize her at all. In fact, they were startled by the sight.
To Uffie’s surprise, the costume didn’t actually attract that much attention.
There were quite a few people on the street dressed as Superpower Beasts from *Mechanical Warrior*, and they looked much weirder than a Tree Man.
The hotel wasn’t far from the Ice and Snow Paradise, and the Ice Crystal Castle was clearly visible from their window.
But this wasn’t the closest lodging to the main attraction. Right next to the park was a large Enchanted Tent Area.
It had been set up temporarily to accommodate the massive overflow of tourists that far exceeded the capacity of Winter City’s hotels.
The price was very cheap, but the extra space provided by the Enchantment was minimal, making for a less-than-ideal experience.
Galina was buzzing with excitement on the way. "Woohoo! The castle, the giant slide, snowball fights, and Raul! Here I come!"
"Didn’t you already go out and have fun while we were working on the game?" Uffie asked.
"Have fun? Do you have any idea how exhausting it’s been these past few days, having to find a new place to play cards after every single game?"
Filled with anticipation for the Ice and Snow Paradise, they had their tickets checked and entered the park. However, the scene that greeted them was a little different from what they had imagined.
The Ice and Snow Castle, the giant slide, and the ice and snow sculptures were all there, it was just that these popular areas were surrounded by layer upon layer of crushing crowds...
It even felt a few degrees warmer than outside because of how many people there were.
Fortunately, getting poked by Galina’s thorny, branch-covered costume was quite painful, so the dense crowd, which left no room to even stand, didn’t press in around her, creating a small open circle.
"Hello, Mr. Tree-man. Would you like a beverage?" a somewhat familiar voice asked from nearby.
"Who are you calling a Tree Man? And who are you calling ’Mister’!" Galina shot back unhappily.
"Ben?" She realized it was the young man from the toy store who had pitched *Yu-Gi-Oh!* to her.
"And you are?"
Ben flinched, startled by the green face that suddenly turned toward him, but his professional instincts as a salesman allowed him to keep his composure.
When there’s a profit of over 100% to be made, a merchant will dare to face any grotesque creature.
"I bought so many card packs from you. Has it only been a few days and you already don’t recognize me?"
"Oh, it’s Miss Galina—"
"Shh!" Galina immediately clamped a hand over Ben’s mouth. "Don’t say my name. It’s dangerous."
"Well then, Madam Tree-man, care for a beverage?" Ben tried again, whispering this time.
"Why’d you switch to selling beverages?" Galina asked.
"A good merchant must know how to spot a new market. The market for card packs in the Northern Domain is almost saturated; there’s no profit left. But I noticed that when people play cards, they love to shout. And all that shouting makes them very thirsty."
"So, beer, cola, or a Red Dragon Beverage? Room temperature or chilled?" Ben asked again, never losing sight of his goal.
’This kid’s actually pretty good at business,’ Galina thought.
"Uffie, what do you want to drink?"
"Uhm," Uffie seemed to wrestle with the decision for a moment. "A Red Dragon Beverage. Chilled, please. Thank you."
"You’re drinking something chilled in this weather? Are you crazy? I thought it was that time of the month for you," Galina said as she painstakingly fished out some Copper Coins. "One room-temperature cola."
"Here you go."
And so, Galina was handed a bottle of cola frozen into a solid block of ice.
"No, I wanted room temperature."
"That’s right, room temperature. The ambient temperature right now is minus 28 degrees. ’Chilled’ is four degrees above zero," Ben replied matter-of-factly.
"PFFT—"
Standing to the side, Uffie couldn’t hold back her laughter.
"I also offer a thawing service. It’s just One Copper Coin," Ben said with a sly grin.
"Hah." Galina scoffed. ’Does he have any idea what the one and only Magic spell I’ve mastered is?’
She raised a hand, conjured a massive fireball, and began to heat the cola.
Now *this* started drawing attention. No one had ever seen a Tree Man holding a fireball before.
"Is it this crowded every day?"
"Not usually. Today’s the opening day of the game festival, and the actor Raul is going to do a live gameplay stream. The drawing to pick the game should be starting any minute," Ben replied.
As soon as the words left his mouth, a powerful, energetic piece of music blared throughout the park, the frantic notes of violins stirring the crowd’s emotions.
"Countless times, I’ve worked ’til I’m drenched in sweat..."
As the lyrics played, Zog appeared on the Magic Vision Devices scattered throughout the park.
It appeared to be a live broadcast of the stage at the center of the park.
"Welcome, everyone, to the first-ever Northern Domain Ice and Snow Game Festival..."
After announcing the changes for the new Auto Chess season and teasing the online version of *Yu-Gi-Oh!*, it was time for the day’s main event: Mr. Raul’s game showcase segment.
While the large prize wheel on the screen was still spinning, Galina and Uffie received a message from their group chat, the "Repin Wangwang Team."
"All members, all members! Our game is the first one up on the stream! We need someone to introduce and demo it!"
Uffie immediately turned to Galina and said in a grave tone, "Jiajia, your organization needs you!"
