Chapter 42: I can hear the footsteps of winter.

By the time education for the engineers, the spread of knowledge, and the distribution of daily necessities had wrapped up, winter had arrived even in our hidden village.

Being in the north, the winters in this region are long and heavy with snow. The sense of direction around here isn’t all that different from Earth.

Well, thanks to Master’s efforts this year, we’ve got plenty of supplies to make it through winter. There’s even talk that we might get a baby boom come spring.

As the snow traps us indoors day after day, what else would married couples do under the same roof? That’s what Riara-san said with a voice steeped in bitterness as she hugged a bottle of sake. I suppose the atmosphere was thick with that kind of energy.

It was the same look you’d see in the eyes of a late-20s single woman—home for the holidays, watching couples holding hands in the bustling streets on Christmas, and getting poked by her mother with lines like, “Haven’t you met someone yet?” and “You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

Apparently, there hadn’t been any couples with the time or peace of mind to try for children lately, so this was the first chance in not just years, but decades. The deeper the winter, the hotter their flames burned—it was almost inevitable.

Huh? Our house?

We’re sticking to the peaceful route. I decided that myself.

---

“Welcome.”

“Thanks for having me!”

Maybe it was because the grumpy elf had practically spat out a weather report saying snow would start falling tonight, but Chris-san came over to stay in the annex.

With a ton of luggage, mind you—clearly planning to stay for months on end.

Our main residence, which serves as our base, is a large mansion with a first floor that includes a living room, a public bath, a dining kitchen, a reception room, and a workshop. Upstairs, there's the master's bedroom, study, four rooms for us, and two guest rooms.

In contrast, the annex built to Kasai-san’s specifications is a single-story 3LDK—kind of like a typical apartment floor plan.

Though we call it an annex, it’s not even a few minutes away on foot—it’s right there, practically within arm’s reach. For some reason, there are streetlights and hearth stones—stones that emit heat when infused with magic—lining the path, so it’s easy to come and go even in winter.

In a way, it’s even more convenient than visiting your next-door neighbor within the village.

Chris’s expression practically screams, “I’m not leaving this house ever again!” Let’s pray Kasai-san doesn’t end up mummified by the time spring rolls around. For the sake of the child they’re probably going to have, I hope he gives it his all.

He tossed aside his usual cowardice and said something like, “I’m ready for this.” Unless they’re terribly mismatched, things will probably unfold as expected over the winter.

“Sora-chan, I’m counting on you too—wait, what happened?”

After seeing off Kasai-san, who went to drop off his partner’s luggage in the annex, Chris turned to me and spoke. At the time, she was lying face-down on the sofa, a heat patch stuck to her lower back. Why, indeed.

“Please don’t worry. This is the price of rebellion.”

“She got punished for putting a ton of Sekitō in Master’s soup.”

“Ahh...”

“Yuria, you didn’t have to say that!!”

Sekitō is, to put it bluntly, red wasabi.

We got a big supply of that spicy stuff in the port town, so it was easy to use. Watching Master writhe in pain like he was breathing fire—that part was great. But I laughed too hard and didn’t manage to run away.

In hindsight, that was a tactical blunder. I ended up crying and apologizing with dirty words—I will never forget that humiliation.

...But just this once, my retaliation was totally justified. I mean, those guys left me out again while they enjoyed freshly cooked rice with sashimi and miso soup!

And the reason? They said I didn’t wake up because I was exhausted from “last night’s work.” What kind of nonsense is that? Unforgivable. I’ll make them pay twice over—including today’s score.

Still, I admit I shouldn’t have played with precious food. So next time, I’ll do it more cleverly.

"By the way, where’s this Shuuya-san?"

"My Lord said he was going to the workshop to make something or other."

"Ah, then I’ll stop by later to properly greet him. I wouldn’t want to interrupt."

My dear Master, who gave me quite the rough treatment, has holed himself up in the workshop with a bunch of materials.

Apparently, he likes to spend the winter working on his hobbies—so he’s probably crafting some magical tool or something. …I just hope tormenting me isn’t one of those hobbies.

"Understood, I’ll let him know. We’re planning to make a seafood hotpot today, so the two of you are welcome to join."

"Wow! Absolutely, count me in!"

Thanks to the cheat-level item box, we can enjoy fresh seafood even here. All that hunting we did on the island is finally paying off. The hotpot Master brought over has gradually gained recognition as a standard party dish.

Seriously, we do whatever we want around here.

"Chris, I finished carrying the stuff!"

Chris, who’d been listening with twitching ears to the types of fish being used, turned around before hearing the whole list—because Kasai-san had returned.

"Ah, Makoto-san… Then I’ll head to the room for now. See you later, Yuria-san, Sora-chan!"

"Yes, see you later."

"Have fun starting your new life, okay—!"

This time, it looks like romance is winning over food. Chris smiled brightly and left the main residence arm-in-arm with Kasai-san. Honestly, seeing her so happy is what matters most. As for Kasai-san… well, he can go ahead and get cursed by every young man in the world who dreams of marrying a cat-eared beauty.

You might be tempted to ask, "What about Master?" but that’s no good. Because he’s my prey.

---

Dragging my legs, which are still a little weak, I peeked into the workshop. As expected, Master was fully absorbed in his work.

I approached while making my presence known, leaned over his back, rested my chin on his shoulder, and peeked at what he was doing. He was intently carving something onto the top of what looked like a four-legged table.

"What are you making?"

"Something good."

I asked while draping myself over his back, and Master replied without stopping his hands, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. “Something good,” huh… not that it wasn’t obvious from the look of it. I am Japanese on the inside, after all.

"A kotatsu?"

"...Correct."

With a quick twist of his body, Master pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his arm around my waist. Uh, is this really the time for this kind of thing? What about your work?

"When it gets cold, you can’t help but crave some warmth, right? I thought it might be nice to huddle close under a kotatsu, like back home."

"That’s true. Please, be sure to cozy up with Lulu or Yuria then."

Honestly, he should stop messing with my scrawny body and go shower those well-endowed women with affection instead. Seriously, why is he always rubbing my belly like this?

"Hey, Sora."

"What?"

As I tried to peel his hands off my stomach, Master suddenly spoke with a weirdly serious tone.

"Have you… put on a little weight?"

"...Wh, what—"

Wh-What the heck is he saying all of a sudden?! I was completely caught off guard and lost my words.

“No, I’ve been meaning to say it since this morning, but this part here…”

“W-Wait, please don’t—don’t squeeze me like that!?”

Master was unabashedly kneading my stomach over my clothes, squishing it with zero restraint, and I felt an uncontrollable urge to punch him. But I also hated that he’d take it like I was worried about my weight.

“Well, at this point it actually feels nice to hold, so I’m kind of happy about it… but if you put on any more, it’s diet time.”

“Eek!?”

I caught that ominous tone. I won’t be able to leave the house all winter. And there’s only one kind of exercise a pervert like him would have in mind… I have to avoid that at all costs!

“I-I’ll be fine. I’ll lose weight on my own!”

“Really?”

“Really!”

So please, stop rubbing my belly! And don’t sneakily grab my butt, either!

Anyway, I have to figure out how to lose weight, but we don’t have anything like a treadmill, and the pool in Fere’s room is way too small for serious swimming.

“So, how exactly do you plan on losing weight?”

“W-Well, I’ll ask Yuria for a diet menu first… a-and, um, what about a sauna? Like, one built next to the bath!”

“A sauna, huh? Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”

Alright, his attention’s drifting. I quickly slipped out of Master’s arms and left the workshop.

I want to try the sauna too, so if he actually makes one, that’d be a nice bonus. For now, I just have to be careful about my weight.

Sigh, this is such a downer.

---

When I told Yuria about the diet plan, she gave me a bright smile at dinner and actually served me a bit more hotpot than usual.

Did I do something to make her dislike me…?

---

◇◆ ADVENTURE RESULT ◆◇
【EXP】
—Experience points gained over time—
◆【Sora Lv.83】+40
◆【Lulu Lv.33】+30
◆【Yuria Lv.31】+35
◇—
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Sora Lv.83 [833] → Lv.87 [873] << Level Up!!
Lulu Lv.33 [331] → Lv.36 [361] << Level Up!!
Yuria Lv.31 [312] → Lv.34 [347] << Level Up!!

【RECORD】
[MAX COMBO] >> 34
[MAX BATTLE] >> 34

【PARTY-1 (Main)】
[Shuuya] [Lv95] HP 2100/2100 MP 3460/3460 [Normal]
[Sora] [Lv87] HP 33/63 MP 1253/1253 [Fatigued]
[Lulu] [Lv36] HP 835/835 MP 40/40 [Normal]
[Yuria] [Lv34] HP 1840/1840 MP 89/89 [Normal]

【PARTY-2 (Sub)】
[Fere] [Lv30] HP 282/282 MP 1030/1030 [Normal]

【PARTY-3 (Sub)】
[Makoto] [Lv66] HP 3450/3450 MP 150/150 [Normal]
[Chris] [Lv13] HP 200/200 MP 20/20 [Normal]
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

"The food, the food is so delicious I can’t stop!"
"Well then, please eat as much as you like, my lady."