148
Chapter 148
The Fox was someone who told petty lies ever since we first met.
So, attempting to manipulate her Harvest wasn't too surprising.
Also, while she was being cheeky, it didn't make me angry.
I could look at a lie of this level as just her being cute.
Because it wasn't a dangerous lie that threatened our safety.
Still, she had to be scolded.
No matter how small the lie, I couldn't just let it slide.
They say he who steals a pin will steal an ox, right?
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom-gom!"
"Hoo-hing...."
After scolding the Fox severely.
Next, I walked towards the waiting Participants to scold the Red Panda.
"Kyoo-ah... the weather is nice today...."
Avoiding my gaze, the Red Panda.
Was hiding the corpse of the Mandragora he tried to manipulate behind his back, sweating profusely and looking up at the sky. Meanwhile, he was stealing glances at me from the corner of his eye.
You're already caught, punk.
It's no use playing dumb.
"Gom...."
A sigh escapes me.
Our liar of a Fox.
She taught the Red Panda something real nice.
"Gom!"
"Kyoo-ah?!"
Bonk! I lightly struck the Red Panda's head.
Startled, the Red Panda finally looked at me.
"S-sorry......."
The Red Panda reflexively apologized as soon as he got hit.
He seemed to know what he did wrong.
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom-gom, gom-gom!"
"Kyoo-ah...... I won't do bad things from now on......."
I scolded the Red Panda severely too.
He kept his head bowed low and apologized repeatedly.
Alright.
I think this is enough scolding.
The lesson ends here.
Then what should I do with these manipulators now?
I briefly considered disqualifying them, but decided against it.
Because it seemed the Fox and the Red Panda would be deeply heartbroken.
Even though they did try to manipulate things,
They still worked hard in the competition so far, and it would be a pity to be eliminated without even being evaluated, right?
I didn't want to see them both feeling down on such a nice day.
Of course.
It doesn't mean I won't give them any punishment.
I'll forgive them, but they still have to pay the price for lying.
I have no intention of giving an excessive punishment.
I decided to give them a light punishment so they could reflect more.
I called the Fox over here.
Pointing to one side, I spoke to the Fox and the Red Panda.
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom!"
You two.
Go over there and stand on your knees with your hands raised until everyone's judging is finished!
"Hoo-hing... got it...."
"Kyoo-ah... but how do I stand on my knees...?"
Ah, true.
I misspoke a bit.
Then just stand there with your hands raised!
The two gave a small nod and stepped aside.
Then they stood tall in their spots, raising both hands with remorseful faces.
You better not lower your hands until I tell you to.
You'll be scolded very scarily then.
"Red Pandaaa... your hands went down a little bit...."
"Raise your hands higher!"
I left the monitoring to the White Spider and the Black Fox.
They both performed their assigned roles well.
Now then, shall we resume the judging?
I returned to my seat.
And judged the Fox's Harvest, followed by the Red Panda's Harvest.
The Fake Dolls handled the transport of the Harvest.
First, the Fox's total score was 15 points.
6 points from me, 6 points from the Scarecrow, and 3 points from Tosuni.
The Red Panda's total score was 14 points.
5 points from me, 6 points from the Scarecrow, and 3 points from Tosuni.
They both did pretty well.
After judging the Princess Doll.
And before judging the Fox.
Not many of the guys who were judged in between had a total score exceeding 10 points.
And the most likely candidate to win was still the Princess Doll.
The Princess Doll's total score was 23 points.
Not a single Participant had surpassed or tied that score yet.
***
The Participant to be judged this time was the Turtle.
He was a Participant who could properly appeal to Judge Tosuni.
Because the majority of his Harvest were Carrots.
With that amount, there were bound to be one or two high-quality Carrots mixed in.
"Woo-woong!"
Tosuni perked her ears up and wiggled her bottom.
She seemed naturally excited at the sight of so many Carrots.
"Woong, woong."
As expected, Tosuni didn't even glance at the other Harvests.
She tended to only give proper scores to Carrots.
If there were no Carrots, she would just point at any Harvest and give it 1 point.
Of course, just because it was a Carrot didn't guarantee a high score.
Her judging criteria for Carrots were surprisingly strict.
With such a strict and serious expression on her face.
Tosuni approached the judging with a grave attitude, acting like an Expert.
"Woo-woong...!"
Suddenly, her eyes went wide.
Trying hard to calm her trembling hands, Tosuni carefully lifted a Carrot.
Smooth and sleek.
Plump and thick.
It was a King Carrot radiating a brilliant orange hue.
Wow, even at a glance, that looks incredibly appetizing.
It looked good enough to make even someone who hated carrots drool.
"Woong!"
Such a beautiful shape!
"Woong, woo-woo-woong!"
It's easily the best out of all the Carrots I've seen so far!
"Woo-woong!!!"
Tosuni shouted her judging score.
8 points, a whopping 8 points.
It was the highest score Tosuni had given so far.
Wow... even with all that, she still doesn't give a perfect score.
My, what a strict Judge.
"Woo-woong, woong! Woo-woong?"
I might give a higher score if I taste it.
Is it okay if I eat it?
That's what Tosuni asked.
"Turtle."
But the Turtle firmly refused.
He said he was satisfied enough with 8 points, so he would save that Carrot.
"Woong...."
If it were a meaner person, they might have lowered the score out of spite for not being allowed to eat it.
However, Tosuni didn't deduct any points.
Because our Tosuni had a very, very kind heart.
***
The Participant to be judged next was Tosun's Mom.
"Woo-hoo-hoom, please take good care of me."
After Tosun's Mom greeted Mr. Scarecrow and me.
She slightly turned her head,
Wink.
And secretly winked at Tosuni.
It seemed like a silent plea for a high score.
Uh-oh.
Another attempted cheater has appeared.
.......
...I should just pretend I didn't see that.
I can't exactly scold Tosun's Mom, can I?
After all, she is my mother-in-law.
Well, there was no problem even if I didn't step in.
"Woong, woo-woong."
Even if it was her own mother,
Our Tosuni evaluated Carrots strictly and fairly.
Examining the Carrots among Tosun's Mom's Harvest, Tosuni soon gave her score.
"Woong!"
2 points!
"Woom?! I, I think you gave the wrong score......."
"Woong, woong!"
I scored it correctly!
There are no re-evaluations, so get out!
As expected, when it came to judging Carrots, Tosuni showed no mercy, even to Tosun's Mom.
For reference, Tosun's Mom had pulled up quite a few high-quality Carrots, but she had eaten them all herself while waiting to be judged.
Next, Mr. Scarecrow and I gave our scores.
4 points and 3 points, respectively.
Receiving a total of 9 points, Tosun's Mom trudged to the side with her ears drooping.
After Tosun's Mom stepped away.
The remaining Participants also presented various Harvests.
Among them, Carrots were overwhelmingly the majority, and Natural Mana Stones and all kinds of fruits also took up a significant portion. Occasionally, there were Harvests that were no different from trash, the corpses of Mandragoras weren't that numerous, and not a single Participant had pulled out a Transcendence Ginseng.
Other than the Transcendence Ginseng.
There were a total of five memorable and interesting Harvests.
The purple Carrot pulled out by the Luna Rabbit.
It was just a Carrot that didn't have any special effects when consumed, and was simply very bad tasting.
The huge Mandragora pulled out by the Rabbit Elder.
It seemed to be an Evolution of the Mandragora, and since it was already dead, I don't know how strong it was.
The blood-colored Mana Stone pulled out by Ailee.
It was a High-grade Natural Mana Stone containing only Consumption Mana.
The oversized Carrot pulled out by Heuksuni.
She said it was okay to taste it before giving a score, so I tried it, and it was a Carrot with an average taste. It was just big, not particularly appetizing.
However, it received 6 points from Tosuni just for its size.
In addition, she also received praise.
Heuksuni, who received the praise, smiled foolishly and seemed extremely happy.
The Talking Pumpkin pulled out by the Little Yellow Dragon.
Even though it wasn't a monster, it spoke.
Although it only spat out predetermined lines.
It seemed to be in a similar category to the soulless Fake Dolls.
I don't know how it tastes.
Because I haven't tried eating it.
According to what Mr. Scarecrow said.
It seems there's no consumption effect either.
I heard he had eaten it a few times before, and there was no change at all to his body or his information.
Anyway.
Like this, the judging came to an end before I knew it.
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom!"
Now, I will announce the first place winner, gom!
First place is!
None other than!
"Gom-gom-gom!"
The Princess Doll, who received a total of 23 points!
"Yong-yong! Congratulations, yong!"
"Congratulations, my baby! They say you're first place!"
"Woo-woom, congratulations...."
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!
Applause poured out.
Although there were a few who felt regretful, there wasn't a single person who was jealous or envious.
Everyone sincerely congratulated the Princess Doll.
"...! ...!"
The Princess Doll scratched her head as if shy, then soon broke into a bright smile.
Congratulations.
***
"Teddy Beaaar... these guys are having a really hard time... how long do you want them to keep their hands up...?"
"I think it's okay to forgive them now! They both seem to be reflecting a lot!"
Ah, that's right.
I should tell them to lower their hands now.
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom!"
You can lower your hands!
I shouted in a loud voice.
"Kyoo-ah, he says we can lower them... that was really hard...."
"It was hard for me to pretend it was hard, too."
The Fox and the Red Panda, who were being punished, lowered their hands.
And the White Spider and Black Fox, who had been monitoring them, approached my side again.
"By the way, since you announced the first place winner, the judging is completely over now, right...? Then it must be time to present the prize...? What is the winning prize...?"
"I'm curious! It seems like you'll give something really good!"
The two asked with faces full of curiosity.
Hearing that question, the Participants turned their heads towards us one by one.
The Judges, Mr. Scarecrow and Tosuni, also shifted their gazes to me.
"Come to think of it, even as a Judge, I didn't know what the prize for winning the competition was."
"Woong, woo-woong?"
A situation where everyone's expectant gazes were concentrated.
Ugh, what pressure.
"Gom, gom-gom-gom......."
Um, the winning prize is.......
After saying that, I paused for a moment.
Because I haven't decided on a prize yet.
I only just realized that fact myself.
I'm in trouble.
What should I do about this?
...What do you mean, what do I do?
I'll just have to improvise and decide right now.
Time to improvise!
"Gom-gom, gom-gom...!"
The winning prize is...!
I will reveal it tomorrow!
I considered shouting that for a moment, but held back.
It didn't seem like a good choice.
It might cause resentment.
"Yong-yong! Papa, please tell us quickly, yong!"
"I wonder what amazing thing our Bear Baby prepared?"
"I'm curious, I'm curious!"
"What in the world could it be...?"
"If it's a prize Gom-jjang prepared, it definitely won't be ordinary! Everyone can look forward to it!"
"Woom, I am also very curious about how special the prize is."
Thump, thump.
Everyone looked at me with sparkling eyes.
Their gazes seemed to hold an even higher level of expectation.
Ugh, don't look forward to it.
"Gom-gom...!"
None other than...!
As I was stalling for time again.
An idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
I couldn't delay it any longer here.
Since nothing else came to mind, I decided to just wing it.
I blurted out the thought that had just come to me.
"Gom-gom-gom gom-gom!"
A One-Day Date Ticket with me!
The moment I shouted that.
A brief silence flowed.
And not long after, everyone showed a bewildered reaction.
"Yong?"
"Woom?"
"Kyoo-ah?"
"Hoya...?"
Did I hear that correctly?
That was the look on the faces of the group staring blankly at me.
"Woong...?!"
Blinking her eyes,
Tosuni held out a sharp Carrot and stared right at me.
Wait, Tosuni.
Why are you being so scary?
First, won't you put down that sharp Carrot?
"A One-Day Date Ticket with you? Hmm...."
"Is that really the winning prize...?"
Everyone was flustered, making subtle expressions.
It seems I've messed up.
The reaction was much worse than I expected.
Should I have announced a different prize?
While I was thinking that.
"Ho-eh, ho-eh...!"
The Fox was showing a slightly different reaction.
"Ho-eh-eh-eh-ek!!!"
She suddenly screamed.
"Ho-ek! Ho-eh-eh-eh-ek! An incredibly good prize just dropped!!!"
As if it was a truly amazing prize.
The Fox started making a fuss and going wild.
Then,
"Kkoo-oh-oh! She's right! Being able to go on a date with Dongsaeng-Oppa is definitely a great thing!"
"Woo-uh-uh-uh!"
"Go-oh-oh-oh!"
Jjokkomi, Mother Bear, and Urami.
My family added their support to the Fox's opinion.
Everyone who had been wearing ambiguous expressions until just now saw that,
"...Um? So it was a good prize?"
"Hoya...? Is it good...?"
"Is it a good thing...?"
Mr. Scarecrow and the Black Fox.
The White Spider tilted her head and expressed her doubts,
"Yong... Come to think of it, you get the chance to be stuck alone with Papa all day, yong. So it is a good prize, yong."
"That's true. Since you get the chance to monopolize the Bear Baby, it's definitely not a bad prize."
"Woo-woom, a date ticket with Son-in-law Bear does seem like a good prize. Opportunities for just the two to be together are rare."
Little Yellow Dragon, Ailee, and Tosun's Mom.
In this order, the three slowly became convinced,
"Turtle, turtle."
"Woong... True, no matter how much I think about it, there's probably no prize better than a chance to monopolize the Teddy Bear."
The Turtle, Luna Rabbit.
They nodded their heads one by one and began to agree.
"I'm jealous of In-jjang!!! I'm so jealous!!!"
"...?"
Like this,
Everyone was incited by the Fox one by one, and public opinion skewed to one side in an instant.