"What the fuck is this?!"
Subaru sat on his bed, utterly shocked by the sight in front of him. He never imagined anything like this could happen.
His entire room was encased in ice.
Everywhere he looked—from the bed to the desk, the closet blocking the door, the curtains, the windows, and even the walls and ceiling—everything was covered in a thick layer of frost. Even the blanket he had wrapped around himself was frozen solid.
'It was just a bit chilly yesterday! How did it get like this?!' he thought, feeling thankful that he had put on his insurance before going to sleep; otherwise, he would have turned into a popsicle by morning.
He surveyed the room with his Six Eyes, noticing a significant increase in the red mana in the air, nearly three times what it had been the day before.
His mind quickly turned to the culprits behind this chaos, and he knew exactly who it was, 'Emilia! Puck! You two have gone too far?!' he thought, filled with anger.
He then stomped his way to the door, after breaking the ice around the lock with a cursed energy bullet, he stepped outside.
He was immediately greeted by the blue-haired oni-maid with a bowl cut. "Subaru-kun! You're awake!" she exclaimed, rushing toward him.
She was dressed in her maid outfit, which covered most of her body, including her chest, and she wore blue gloves—This was the winter maid outfit she had mentioned yesterday.
"Remmy! Thank goodness you're here! Where is everyone? Are they okay?!" he asked, glancing around at the frozen mess on the floor.
Rem looked pleased that he was concerned for her and replied, "They're all awake, Subaru-kun. Rem was going to wake you up sooner, but Nee-sama was feeling especially cold today, so I had to warm her up!"
Subaru just stared at her, and the image of Ram and Rem cuddled together under a blanket popped into his mind—
'Great, that image is going to stick with me for a while,' He made a disgusted face.
"Dammit, Remmy! I didn't need to know that!" he exclaimed in outrage.
"You're right! Rem is so sorry. Rem should have come to warm you up earlier! ALso, If you'd like, Rem can make you some tea!"
"That's even worse! Did you even hear what I just said? And yes, I would love some tea, you know my favorite." He replied, before shaking his head vigorously.
"Ugh, don't distract me! Remmy, we need to have a meeting. I have an idea of who's responsible for this mess, so please gather everyone in the mansion and bring them to the living room. We need to get to the bottom of this!"
"Hai, Subaru-kun!"
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"Well, well, weeeeell! My dear Rem mentioned you were having an urgent meeting. What's the matter, Subaru-kun?"
"Do I really have to say it? Just look around you!"
Roswaal stepped into the mansion's living room, which was covered in ice, just like everywhere else. There was Subaru sitting on a frozen couch, while Rem was beside him, taking care of her sister Ram, who was shivering under a blanket.
"Oh dear, it's not that urgent, Subaru-kun. It's just a bit of ice and cold," Roswaal said nonchalantly.
"Not urgent? Look at poor Ram! She's freezing!" Subaru exclaimed, pointing at the shivering oni.
"Ram was perfectly fine in her bed until that scoundrel poisoned my sister and forced her to bring Ram here. And the fact that you can just sit there sipping tea while we're freezing is infuriating. Are you even human?" she said, trembling.
"Now, now, it's not my fault some people can handle the cold better than others. Like a certain Oni, for example."
"How can someone as hopeless as Barasu handle a cold like this? Achoo!"
"Because I'm built different."
"That doesn't—Achoo!" She sneezed into Rem's waiting tissue.
"Don't worry, Nee-sama! Rem will take care of your sneezes!" she said cheerfully.
"Hmmm, you might have a point. This situation has definitely spiraled out of control," he remarked casually.
"I assume you know who's behind this mess, which is why I called this meeting to begin with," he continued.
"Of course, through the process of elimination, we already know who the culprit is, right?"
Subaru glanced around. 'Only four of us are here: me, Ram, Rem, and Roswaal. Emilia, Puck, and Beatrice are missing…'
"I suspect Puck and Emilia are responsible, but is Beatrice involved too?" he asked.
"Absolutely! Puck and Beatrice are quite close. If something were to happen because of Puck, she would definitely be informed and would act accordingly as well."
"Wow, I didn't expect her to be involved too. So, how's Arlam Village holding up? I doubt they can deal with this extreme cold…" he remarked, recalling their situation. A sudden drop in temperature could be really damaging, especially for their crops and animals.
"You don't need to worry, Subaaaaaru-kun. This cold is only affecting the mansion and its vicinity. The village is completely safe."
"Really? Why's that?"
"It's thanks to the hard work of two individuals who are making sure it doesn't spread."
"Seriously?! They're doing that and we're over here suffering in silence! I can't accept this! Rem, get your lazy bum of a sister up, and Roswaal, you're coming too! We need to have a talk with that naughty Half-elf and her sassy cat!"
"Tch, handle it yourself, scum. Ram is perfectly fine right here—"
"As you wish, Subaru-kun! Come on, nee-sama, let's go!" Rem interrupted Ram, lifting her up and moving along with Subaru, much to Ram's anger.
They soon arrived at the door leading to Emilia's room, where they could hear the howling wind from inside.
'Nowhere to hide, Emilia. We got you cornered,' He smirked, signaling Roswaal to take the lead, and he did by knocking.
"Pardon the interruption at this hour, Emilia-sama. Do you have a moment? We'd like to talk."
"Roswaal?!" Emilia exclaimed, clearly taken aback. She began to panic, "Uh—Um—e—just a moment, please? Actually, make it a minute, no, an hour!"
Roswaal gestured for Subaru to take over. He called out, "Emilia, just come out already, the jig is up, we know it's you."
"Jig? What jig? Is he your friend? Hi, Jig! Nice to meet you, I'm Emilia, just Emilia!" Emilia casted the spell "Deflect."
"Emilia-sama, your talent for lying is as impressive as Barasu's cooking skills," sadly, it didn't have much effect.
"Nee-sama! Subaru-kun is working hard to learn how to cook, please don't insult him!" she pleaded, while Ram simply sneezed in response.
Subaru ignored the commotion behind him and stepped forward. "I gave you a chance, Emilia. I'm opening the door now," he declared, gripping the handle, which would have frozen anyone else's hand but his.
"W-wait! Don't come in! I'm still changing—"
"Don't care."
He swung the door open, and a blast of icy air surged out of the room and into the hallway. Infinity shielded Subaru from the chill, while Ram practically teleported behind Roswaal, with Rem right behind her Subaru-kun.
"Subaru! You can't just barge into someone's room like that! I'm in the middle of changing!" she exclaimed, clearly flustered.
"That's a reeeeeally naughty thing to do! You should wait for permission to do so!" She pouted at him, clearly upset.
Subaru then pointed at Roswaal, who said. "I gave him full permission to do so."
"Roswaal!" she cried out in disbelief.
"Now, Emilia, let's stop playing around. Where's Puck? I just want to have a word with him," he said, stepping closer to the source of the frigid air, while Emilia instinctively shielded it.
"P-puck? He's not here! He's with Beatrice at the library!" she fibbed.
"Oh really? Then why is there a tornado in this room? And why is it coming from behind you? We just want to take a quick look, nothing more," he pressed, inching closer.
"H-huh? No! There's no tornado! In fact, don't you think it's a bit warm here? I mean… kind of… you know!"
"It's alright, Lia. There's no point in hiding it any longer," a high-pitched voice chimed in from behind her, causing her to slump and glare at the bed with her hands on her hips.
"Puck! What are you doing? I was so close to deceiving them!"
"No, you weren't," Subaru interjected as he stepped beside her to get a glimpse of the culprit. On a tiny rug, resting his head on a comically small pillow and covered by a little blanket, was none other than Puck, the source of this mansion's plague.
Subaru took notice of the torrents of red mana flowing from him into the atmosphere. There was no longer any doubt about who's behind this mess.
Puck innocently smiled and said, "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused. Please don't be mad with Emilia and Betty; they were just trying to help me out."
"Yeah, no."
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The residents of the mansion were gathered in the dining room, with Roswaal occupying his usual seat, accompanied by a diligent Rem and a trembling Ram covered by a blanket. Emilia was next to Subaru, while Beatrice—who had been dragged away from her library—sat directly in front of him. Puck was positioned at the table right infront of Subaru.
Everyone's attention shifted to Puck, with Ram giving him her most intense glare.
"A what now?" Subaru inquired.
"A magic release period. It's something that only affects magical beings like me," Puck explained.
"Ooooh, so it's like a mating season for spirits then?" Subaru replied, causing Puck to do a double take.
"So all that mana release is because you're looking for a wife? Wow, why didn't you say something? I could've helped! I know a few cats who would—"
"No, no, stop!" Puck tried to interrupt, but it was futile.
"—be interested in a fluffy cat like you, so Emilia." He continued, ignoring Puck's protests and turning to his daughter. "You might be getting a mother soon, or maybe even a sibling or two. How does that make you feel?"
"No! Stop!" Puck yelled, swatting Subaru in the face with his tail.
"I'm not an animal, so I don't have a mating season! That's a really rude thing to say!" he pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"…You are literally a cat, though." Subaru replied flatly, while Emilia giggled at the exchange.
"Just take it easy, Puck. You know how Subaru loves to joke around," she said, having been on the receiving end of his teasing before.
"Hmph, it's typical for Subaru to be rude to others, even if he calls it a 'joke'," Beatrice huffed.
"Really now, at least Puck and Emilia offered apologies, but did we hear anything from you? Nope. Nothing at all. So much for you, miss 'Manners'"
Beatrice huffed even more, "Betty has no reason to apologize. She was simply looking out for her Bubby, infact."
Realizing that arguing with Beatrice would lead nowhere, Subaru shifted his focus back to Puck.
"So, what's the deal with this 'Magic Release period'?" he inquired. He could probably use the Six Eyes to find out, but where's the excitement in that?
"Well, you know how a gate holds your mana? Sometimes, that mana accumulates beyond its limits, so I had to let some of it out," he explained.
"Some?! You call this 'some'?" he exclaimed, waving his arms at the frozen furniture. After receiving an infuriating smile, he turned to the group.
"What about you all? Have you experienced this Mati–I mean, Magic Release period? Or is it just a spirit thing?" he asked the group.
"Talented magicians experience it, like meeeee," Roswaal stretched out the words. "In my case, I use my magic daily to keep it under control." He nodded toward Ram, who turned away, blushing.
'Eh? Why is he... Never mind, I don't want to know,' he thought, shivering at the image.
"Nee-sama and I don't have it; we're not skilled enough in magic," she replied.
"Betty manages the surplus mana by keeping her door-crossing spell active, I suppose. Unlucky for her, some pest always finds her, so Betty has to put in more mana than usual." Beatrice chimed in with a jab at our favorite sunglasses-wearing butler.
"Well, my gate is pretty terrible, what about you, Emilia?" he ignored it.
"I'm not a powerful magic user either, so no, I don't have it," she said, leaving Subaru confused.
'Really? But Emilia has an incredible amount of magic reserves; how is she not a gifted magician?' he pondered, then a thought struck him.
"Hey, Puck, weren't you nearly out of mana when we rescued those kids? Why do you need to release excess mana now?" he asked.
"Well... you know how spirits can draw mana from the air to cast spells? Contracted ones can draw from their contractor's gate. After that incident, I took some from Emilia... probably more than I should have," he admitted sheepishly.
"You think?! And how long will this whole debacle take?"
"Two days."
"Two days?! By the time you're done, you'll have to deal with Ram's frozen body," he said, pointing at an annoyed Ram.
"Ram will not—Achoo!"
Emilia said, "Um, how about we find something to do to keep ourselves occupied? I'm really sorry for not mentioning this to you all earlier."
Subaru was lost in his thoughts and didn't notice her at first, but then a lightbulb went off in his head. "Hey... Since Betty is holding back the cold, why don't we enjoy the rest of the time outside? No need to deal with Puck's mess, right?" he proposed.
"Impressive as always, Subaru-Kun! You have my admiration!"
"Okay, you heard her! Let's go!"
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"Are you kidding me?! Why is it raining outside?!" he shouted, noticing the rain drenching everything. With his Six Eyes, he could also see the barrier Beatrice had set up, a wall of black mana preventing the red one from escaping.
"Looks like we're stuck in the mansion," Emilia remarked.
"Not that I would have let you leave anyway; the master of the mansion can't be seen living right outside, after all," Roswaal added, not helping whasoever.
"Yeah, I guess so. What should we do, Subaru? What should we do..." he mumbled the last part to himself, pondering how to tackle the situation.
"Wait, I've got an idea!" he exclaimed. "Why don't we collect all the fire stones in the mansion, pour water into the bath and heat it up! We could make a hot spring to get us through this!"
"Impressive as always, Subaru-Kun! You have my admiration!"
"You said that before, but whatever, let's go!"
"As much as Ram would love to help, that's not an option." Ram decided to be the party pooper as always.
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'This is even worse than finding my whole room frozen,' he thought, his face twisted in sheer horror. What he was witnessing felt like a crime against humanity, something so grotesque it could warrant the death penalty without a trial.
It was the main mansion's main bathroom… But the bathtub was filled with ketchup.
"Wh-what is this… who could possibly do something like this…" he muttered in despair, horrified at the sight of the world's most beloved condiment being so disrespected.
"That would be me, Subaru-Kun! I made it just for you because I know how much you love it!" came the cheerful voice of Rem, blissfully unaware of his despair.
"Why…"
"I noticed how you kept adding it to everything you ate, so I thought I'd surprise you with a bath full of it!" She twirled around him, striking a playful pose.
"I wouldn't mind a compliment from you, Subaru-kun!" She closed her eyes, eagerly awaiting his praise.
"Absolutely not! Are you out of your mind? You've ruined the sacred image of ketchup itself! How could you?!" he shouted, causing Rem to look at him in shock.
"Oh no, it's frozen! I didn't think about that!" she said, trying to explain herself.
"No, that's not the issue!"
"Don't worry, Subaru-kun! Rem will get the fire crystals so we can have a ketchup bath!" she knelt close to the monstrosity as she said that.
"No! Forget it! I'll come up with something else!"
Ram shot an annoyed glance at the scene, "Tch, you scum, how dare you make my lovely sister act so foolishly." She spat, while Roswaal gently patted her head.
"Now, now, it's all in good fun. Let them enjoy it," he said.
"As you wish, Roswaal-sama."
"Um, maybe we could think of something else while we wait for Puck's Mana release to finish?" Emilia suggested from the side.
Subaru pondered this, 'What can we do… everything here is frozen, so our options are limited. Ros-ros doesn't want to go camping, and with the rain… Wait, it's raining right now, and it's so cold that ice is forming, which means…!'
"I've got it! I know how we can pass the time and get through this mess!" he declared.
"Oh! Does subaru-kun have one of his genius ideas! Rem wants to hear it!" She said excitedly.
"With how cold it is, the rain outside is bound to turn into snow! Once that happens, we can…" he declared to the group, receiving enthusiastic nods from everyone. Even Roswaal seemed excited about the prospect.
"Impressive as always, Subaru-Kun! You have–"
"Rem, shut up! Every time you say that, things go horribly wrong!"