861 Bear, gives advice Part 1 - Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

However, when it comes to hosting a tournament, I have no experience. I've never been on a school culture festival executive committee or a sports festival committee or any sort of committee. Well, I was kind of a shut-in, so I never participated in such activities in the first place. I always thought this sort of thing was the work of experts. In the professional world, maybe event planning companies would handle it? Though, I doubt such companies exist in this world. If someone who worked at an event planning company were to be transported to another world, they might be able to make use of their experience to start a business. "By the way, are Fina and Shuri participating?" "Riana asked us, so we're entering." "We are~" It seems the two of them are planning to participate. After finishing my meal, I decided to go see Riana with Fina. Meanwhile, Tirumina and Shuri said they were going shopping for dinner and parted ways. Fina and I head to the commerce guild. The commerce guild is as busy as ever, bustling with people. "Uh, where's Riana..." I look towards the reception area. "Oh, Yuna!" Riana spots me before I can find her and calls out. She delegates some work to another receptionist and then comes over to me. "Yuna, where have you been?" "Sorry, I had some business in the royal capital..." I didn't really think an apology was necessary, but seeing Riana's "Finally, I found you" expression, I felt compelled to apologize. "Did Fina bring you here? Thank you." Riana grasps Fina's hand gratefully. "Please, come this way." Fina and I are guided to a separate room in the back. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" It seemed like she had slipped away. "I said I was taking a late lunch." "So, I heard you have concerns about the Reversi tournament?" "Yes. Reversi is selling extremely well. So, I thought hosting a tournament would create excitement, but not many people have signed up." "Is it selling that well?" "Yes, it's a game that people of all ages and genders can enjoy." "But you say there aren't many participants?" "Yes." Well, Reversi is generally enjoyed with family and friends. It might not be the sort of game you enter a tournament for. However, some people would surely want to test their skills against others. "Have you discussed this with Milene?" Milene is the guild master of the commerce guild. She's a capable individual, with surely a few good ideas for attracting participants. "The guild master is so busy, it's hard to approach her about it. Besides, this was my idea." She didn't want to impose, it seems. If that's the case, why is it okay to come to me?—but that's just my pessimistic nature. Being asked for help means being trusted. Riana has helped me many times, so I'll try to squeeze out whatever few ideas I might have. "Do you have a participant list?" "Yes, right here." The documents are prepared and handed over promptly. The participant list contains names and ages. There are a little over ten participants, including Fina and Shuri. "What's the target number of participants?" "The more, the better. This number is quite low..." Indeed, this number is too few. "Can I see the tournament documents too?" She hands them over immediately. Let's see... Participation is open, and it's a knockout tournament where the last person standing wins. Simple enough. Hmm, what should I do? I have no experience hosting events. But I've read manga about events being organized and have participated in gaming events. Maybe I can get some ideas from there. "Is it possible to change the tournament rules now?" "Rules? As long as they're not too major." "Okay, I'll propose some changes, and you can tell me what's feasible." "Alright, understood." "First, it's better to have an age-restricted tournament. That way, children can participate, and adults won't have to worry about competing against kids." Age categories are common in tournaments. For instance, in sports, classes are divided into elementary, middle school, high school, college, and adults. Of course, there are exceptions. "That makes sense. I invited my father, but he said, 'Winning might bring scorn.'" If adults beat children, it's not entertaining. Losing would be embarrassing. For adults, winning against kids has no benefits, only drawbacks. Not exactly what Gentz said, but there's no incentive for adults. "If adults beat kids, observers might criticize the adults. That might deter them from participating." Some people might even suggest they should hold back. "Indeed, I hadn't thought that far. I assumed people, regardless of age or gender, would participate." "Separating the tournament by age might make it easier for both kids and adults to join." "What age do you think is appropriate?" I really don't know. I can't make a clear decision. "Um, 12 years old," Fina speaks up. "Twelve? Why?" "Because at 13, you can register with the adventurers' guild." I recall hearing about that during adventurer registration. "Thirteen might not definitively mark adulthood, but for kids, it's a gateway to becoming an adult. It's like being half-accepted by grown-ups." "That makes sense. It's similar in the commerce guild. There are kids who start being entrusted with jobs at 13." "Alright, let's set the children's division at up to 12 years old." That's around elementary school age in my original world. "I think that's good." "Then, the adult division will be 13 and above." At 13, challenging adults isn't unreasonable. If a middle schooler participated in the children's division, it might feel like bullying elementary students. "We could also divide by gender or senior age, but..." "That depends on the number of participants." Certainly, there might be only one elderly participant. "Let's set aside gender and senior age divisions for now and move on to encouraging participation." "Encouragement?" "Providing incentives. Is there a prize for winning?" Having prizes or rewards often increases participation. Some do it for honor, but that's rare. "We've prepared a small cash prize." Upon hearing the amount, it seemed low. "That's not enough to draw people in." "But we've spent on posters and booked the venue, which costs money." Yes, organizing an event requires funding. It can't be done for free. "We're also getting funds from those involved in Reversi sales, but it's not much." I wondered about the source of the funding, and it turns out it's coming from there too. "In that case, I'll offer something too. For the top three winners, I'll provide all-you-can-eat tickets for 'Kuma's Haven,'" I proposed. "All-you-can-eat tickets?" Riana asked. "Yes. The first place can have a meal for the entire family. The second place winner gets two individual all-you-can-eat tickets, and the third place gets one," I explained. "There's no real benefit to your shop, Yuna," Riana observed. "While it's true there's no direct benefit to the shop, if the event succeeds and Reversi sells well, my wallet will see some return." That's the Reversi royalty at work. I'm entitled to 10% of Reversi's profits. Essentially, it's money coming in without me needing to lift a finger. Thinking of it as giving back makes it easier to accept. Besides, I was already contemplating how to spend some of my earnings. This offer is reasonable. "With that, participant numbers should increase," I said confidently. "I think participation will indeed increase. But how do you define an entire family?" Riana questioned. "For the children's division, it would include parents and grandparents. If an adult with children wins, it would extend up to their children and parents, maybe?" We'll cap the winning family at second-degree relatives. It would be troublesome to include distant relatives just because someone won. "What if the winners are grandparents with a large family?" Riana queried. If they had many children and grandchildren, it could become a logistical hassle. We can't assume they won't win, so we need preset terms to avoid disputes. "Hmm, let's say any number is fine," I replied. "Are you sure?" she asked. "It's not like there'll be a hundred people. Thirty at most? That's manageable," I reasoned. "But wouldn't that be expensive?" she worried. Between the Reversi royalty and the proceeds from the magical beasts I sold, I've been figuring out how to spend the money. Covering thirty people is manageable. Besides, how many grandparents will actually participate? And the chances of them winning seem low to me. "If in this instance, a large family wins, we can impose a participant limit next time," I suggested. Besides, it would be wonderful if elder players engage with Reversi and someone strong emerges. "If you're okay with it, Yuna," Riana conceded. Satisfied that this issue was resolved, we moved on. "What's next…?" I ponder. Is there anything else to consider? "How about offering Kumayuru and Kumakyu plushies as prizes?" While we were considering our options, Fina spoke up with a suggestion.