Christmas Special Episode I
This chapter contains spoiler for future plot
Merry Christmas Everyone.
I simply wanted to write something for Christmas, so yeah, it's going to be a slice of life with some future spoiler.
Not to mention, I wanted to take a break for now since most of my week till new year is packed.
So, I just wanted to post something, and this chapter came to mind.
Omake — Slightly Cannon
The room was spacious and quiet.
Faint, pale gray morning light filtered through the curtains, coolly illuminating the room.
Judging by the dimness outside the closed window, it was still early.
"Probably around 6:00 A.M.," Morgan assumed.
Morgan slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before stretching his hands.
Just as he did, his body trembled.
Rather, it shivered.
The cool air from outside the window brushed against his skin, prompting him to hug his shoulders.
"Brr, I should be resistant to cold. What Christmas spell is this?"
Muttering that—
He stood up from his massive bed as his feet touched the cool epoxy floor.
Then, he walked toward the window.
In annoyance, Morgan dragged it shut.
Having done that, his gaze was drawn toward his phone, which lit up at that particular moment.
Picking it up, he saw that many messages had entered his phone exactly around 12:00 A.M.
Naturally, in order, they were from his girlfriend.
Then, his right-hand woman, and his left-hand woman.
It seems the rest of the messages were from people from [Clock Tower].
Mainly speaking, the employees and wizards.
Leo, Minerva, and a few others.
But that wasn't all.
He could even see a few from his school, such as the Student President, Haruka, and the rest.
[I–Net]
«You have 50+ Unread Messages…»
> [Girlfriend~♡]
> [Sia ♤]
> [Cecile]
> [Nerdy Nun]
> [Goriless]
> [Shady doctor]
Morgan's lips twitched when he saw the numbers of messages.
Regardless, he scrolled; he saw messages from many others.
One was from Shidou, but from yesterday, same with Kotori.
But she seemed to have attached another file with her message.
A specific one he had asked for.
It was regarding an analysis of the Neighboring World after the events from back then.
Ignoring all that—
Replying to one message was the most important thing here.
[Girlfriend~♡]
[My, I'm aware Prince Charming would have every female member of his work swarming to him first thing when Christmas approaches.]
[So, I have to do this myself~]
[Merry Christmas~ Kihihihi, I look forward to today.]
[Image attached ~♡]
Staring at the attached image, Morgan let out a somewhat awkward smile.
The content was a Kurumi special.
She was dressed in Christmas themed clothes holding a very.. uhm, suggestive position.
'Umu, this is good civilization.'
Immediately, he clicked "Save" into a very special, super-encrypted anti-D.E.M. folder.
After that, he replied to her message.
Having done that—
Morgan set the phone down on the drawer beside his bed.
Then he walked away from it.
"Time to make breakfast,"
Morgan whispered to himself.
Ever since his return from England, and with his family now back together.
The first thing he did was change houses.
Morgan got a much bigger, more spacious, and expensive one.
He headed to the right side of the room, toward his PC setup, where a small earpiece rested.
He took it, and slowly slipped it on.
Instantly, his field of vision changed as pixels flooded his sight, overlapping with an augmented overlay.
«Merry Christmas, Master~»
Beta appeared, floating cheerfully within the augmented space.
She was dressed in a Christmas-themed outfit while making an exaggerated pose.
Finally, she finished, forming a heart with both index fingers in an expressive gesture.
"Thank you, Beta."
Morgan smiled faintly.
«Is that all?»
Beta placed her hand on her chin.
With a tilted head, she looked at Morgan, which he too, confused, replicated.
«No, it's nothing…»
«Moving on.. I have already saved the schedule you planned before. Will you follow that?»
Beta held her hand right in front of her, asking the question.
"Yeah, definitely, but for now, I want to prepare breakfast."
«Understood»
Beta's eyes glowed softly as she gestured to the side.
A white holographic screen appeared.
It displayed a list of Christmas-themed breakfast options.
Morgan quietly exited the room to quickly start the day.
After closing the door behind him, he found himself in a long hallway stretching ahead.
But his attention was drawn back to the augmented display floating before him.
His expression stiffened.
"Beta… you know my cooking skills aren't exactly great."
«It's been seven months, and Master is still making the same excuse?»
Beta had a questioning tone, with brows raised.
She even mirrored the exact expression.
The one Morgan usually made when he felt uncomfortable.
"Ahem. Let's just stick to bread, eggs, and some toppings."
Without waiting for a response, Morgan quickened his pace toward the stairs.
«Hopeless…»
Beta thought.
Despite countless breakfasts and repeated attempts,
her Creator remained as terrible a cook as ever.
Was this a next-level skill issue?
Regardless, she floated after him.
Past the stairs, they finally landed on the ground floor, another luxurious floor in itself.
The living room alone was nearly three times the size of his previous home.
In addition, the dining area was a separate room altogether, as was the kitchen.
Wall cabinets lined the space, accompanied by a large freezer.
At the center was a table fixed to the ground, with a marble-tiled surface.
To add to that..
It had an inbuilt system that regulated different temperatures during different weathers.
And it was also thanks to another feature.
Morgan swiftly began preparing the ingredients.
«A little of this and that should work?»
"Got it."
Following Beta's instructions, they proceeded methodically.
Every measurement was exactly as it was given.
Yes.
Morgan was using his 'ascended computational prowess' to measure milligrams of salt.
Something that would make most Wizards cough out blood if they saw.
But neither he nor Beta cared.
In fact, at some point—
He and Beta even managed to strike that iconic seasoning pose as Morgan added a pinch of salt.
«At this rate, Master might earn three Michelin stars for roasting eggs.»
"Was that a jab?"
«Negative. Master simply sucks»
Morgan's lips twitched.
He nearly lost his grip and sent the pan of hot oil flying.
But he managed to steady himself just in time; he couldn't even argue with her.
«Master could've hired someone to prepare breakfast»
"Stoopid."
Morgan pointed a spatula at her augmented body with a deadpan gaze.
"There's a whole course waiting for us later today. Why go through the trouble of the ceremony now?"
«…acceptable.»
Like that, creator and creation continued bickering until breakfast was finally finished.
It was still relatively early, yet the day was already packed.
Shopping, preparations, and arrangements for the new year to come.
«Indeed. Considering the weather, outdoor activities may not be advisable.»
"Don't jinx it."
Morgan walked over to the dining windows and drew the curtains aside.
Sure enough, snow had engulfed every part of the city, dyeing it pure white.
Even now, it was still falling, in moderation.
"…New idea, Beta. A car powered by a Realizer."
«It's official. Master has lost it.»
Morgan rolled his eyes and shut the curtains again.
"Nay, this is innovation. Imagine cars that use mana to power themselves forever, and automated no less."
«Master is simply lazy.»
"Shut up and 'activate' [smart feature] already."
Smart home.
The house was equipped with a full smart-home system.
Lighting, temperature, and security cams.
Most functions could be controlled entirely through artificial intelligence.
Which in this case was Beta.
However, what made this setup different was—
This system allowed Beta to fully manifest a visible holographic body.
One that even others could see.
And to some extent, augment a semi-physical body for her to interact with others.
Not only that…
It allowed others to access several systems through Beta.
From holographic displays, to connect to their devices through Beta.
..to other functions.
Outside that was the temperature regulation system the house had.
Which, depending on how harsh the weather is, the temperature inside would be made to suit.
Essentially, Morgan's house was a cyberspace for Augmented Reality.
«[Smart mode: enabled].»
Just as Beta did, Morgan too had finished setting the table.
"Fuu."
Morgan sighed, wiping nonexistent sweat off his face.
After that, he made a gesture in the air, his index and middle finger swiping across it.
He summoned a panel displaying the current time.
[6:33 A.M.]
Morgan let out a satisfied smile while Beta floated away to get the rest of them.
During that time, Morgan finished up, folding his apron.
He set it on a hanger in the dining room before swiping his hand mid-air.
Going over the plans for the day.
He was going to meet with Kurumi at their destined spot.
From there, they were supposed to spend the day together.
And then, finally, at night, they were going to have a party.
Naturally, he had left the planning to them.
He was busy with other matters; that was why he slept so early.
"Nngh… it's too early to be waking at this time. It's Christmas, dammit."
Morgan heard a grunt.
It came from the side.
Ashley descended the stairs.
"Oi, oi, who was the one saying they had plans for the day with Sia and the rest?"
Morgan gave her an unimpressed stare as he looked at her disheveled appearance.
Her bedhead was a disaster.
Strands stuck out in every direction, paired with half-lidded eyes and a groggy expression.
Even her clothes were slipping down from her shoulder.
She yawned, covering her mouth with her palm while rubbing her stomach.
"That is that, and this is this. I would have never been late."
Morgan jabbed his thumb at her mockingly.
"Liar."
But she ignored him, tilting her head, stopping in front of the table.
Ashley then paused as she stared at the table.
"…Geh."
"Mhm? Is someone complaining again?"
"Brother, why is it egg and bread again?"
"Don't complain, just go eat!"
Morgan patted her head as he loosened the apron and folded it in his hands.
"Don't touch my head, I'll grow shorter, you—!"
"Tch, then stop complaining every damn time, you little runt."
Right.
It was completely normal.
This scene of bickering against each other was but another day in their lives.
While they cherished themselves,
it was another matter in a daily life situation.
Both were masters at being at each other's throats.
However, in the end, Ashley gave up.
Despite her sour expression, Ashley took a seat.
Even she, too, was a disaster of a cook.
Heck, Maya too was a disaster of a cook.
Now that she thought about it, perhaps it ran in the blood, to be a bad cook.
"Mmmmmmm~! I smelleee somethingggg!"
Just as Morgan, too, took his seat at the table, another airy voice floated in.
It was Maya.
Just like Ashley, she was a mess, though at least she'd learned proper etiquette and no longer wandered around half-dressed.
Still, she somehow managed to look like a complete social reject.
"What's with that look on you, Aunt?"
Ashley cringed.
"You're not one to talk, though."
"Kuh, you really are an eyesore, aren't you?"
"I wannnnnt to eeaaaat!"