Ah! Sunday, the worst day in existence. Signalling the last day of rest before you have to slave away at your job.
They aren't as bad as Mondays, though that's besides the point.
This Sunday was supposed to be miserable as any other Sunday. Unfortunately, it decided to be extra special.
Xenophanes slowly woke up from his slumber sometime around noon.
The moment he got up, he felt a minor chill spread through his body. He shivered at the sudden cold.
Xeno: 'What the? Did winter start already?'
It was odd, specifically when it's the middle of summer.
To investigate this anomaly further, Xeno swiftly cleaned up. Going outside, it didn't take him long to find someone.
That someone being Rem.
Xeno: "Rem!" He called out to her.
The blue maid turned to him with a bright smile the moment she heard his voice.
Rem: "Good morning, Xeno-kun. Did you sleep well last night?"
Xeno: "Same and all, Rem, why did the temperature spike all of a sudden?"
Rem: "Oh! Yes, Xeno-kun. You're quite observant." She complimented him earnestly.
Xeno: "Thanks, Rem. You still haven't answered my question." He responded deadpan.
Rem: "Rem believes it's because of your ideal weather, Xeno-kun."
Xeno: "My what now?" He raised a brow.
Rem happily gestured towards the window before opening it for him.
What hit him was a nice, cold breeze the moment the window opened.
And outside, the weather was actually how Xeno had described his favourite weather yesterday.
Heavy clouds blocking out the sun, with rain, not too light or too heavy, sprinkling down, accompanied by nice winds.
The sheer whiplash of the situation made Xeno go,
"Da, fuck." He wore an incredulous look.
Rem: "Xeno-kun, you shouldn't swear like that. It'll be a bad influence on Meili." She told him sternly.
Xeno: "Rem, you can't blame me for this. Just look—" He spread both arms, pointing outside.
"It's the exact weather I asked for, and it suddenly appears. Isn't that strange?" He looked to her for a response.
Rem: "There's nothing strange about it, Xeno-kun. This is a clear sign that the world knows your greatness and rewarded you."
She nodded to herself that like it was an obvious fact or something.
Xeno: "..."
...
A few minutes later.
In the kitchen, Rem was preparing lunch while Xeno just sat there watching her.
The reason he was even in the kitchen was because she had requested he be there.
Naturally, Xeno agreed. Sure, he had plans today, yet since it was raining, he put them on hold for tomorrow.
Xeno also noticed something else.
Other than the sound of the rain, after deciding to turn off his soundtrack for today, it was pretty quiet.
"Hey, Rem! What are the others doing today?"
Rem, who was peeling tatoes, answered without looking back.
"With this cold weather, everyone seems to be sleeping in. Even my sister is taking a nap. She was tired from working hard yesterday."
Xeno's eye twitched.
'What work? She literally took my skeletal hands all day yesterday. I bet she didn't even lift a finger herself.'
Xeno: "So you've been working by yourself all day?"
Rem, not knowing how ticked off her hero was feeling, replied,
Rem: "Yes, Xeno-kun. But don't worry. Rem has taken your words to heart and hasn't overworked herself. She made sure to take proper rest."
Xeno: "Good, Rem."
Xeno got up, crutch in hand.
"I'll be back in a moment."
Seeing her nod in understanding, Xeno left towards his destination.
That being Ram's room.
He couldn't bear his Rem working all alone, so he plans to forcefully wake Ram up.
Which went...
Xeno: "Ram! Quick! Roswaal is soaking wet because of the rain and wants you to change his clothes!"
Bang.
The door brust open in a matter of seconds.
Ram: "Where is he, Xeno!?"
...Exactly how you would expect.
...
'Worth it, ow!' Xeno thought, massaging his foot while sitting on a chair he made.
He was currently in the storage room alongside a grumpy Ram, who was currently cleaning it.
Xeno: "Come on, Ram. You're still mad? Don't you know sleeping for too long is not only wasteful, it's actually bad for your health? You also left poor Rem to work all alone."
Ram wasn't having it. She turned to Xeno, her annoyance very clear.
"If that's so, then why don't you also help in that case? Since you're so worried about her, why not make her burden lighter?" She argued.
Xeno just smiled confidently.
"Because it's my day off. Why should I work when you can do it?"
Ram: "You are the most shameless, laziest, and scummiest man Ram has had the disappointment of meeting." She deadpan.
Xeno: "Pfff, love you too, Ram."
While she was sweeping, her broom suddenly hit something.
"Hmm?" This successfully diverted their attention.
There was nothing there. At least that's what it looked like. But if one looked closer, they could see it. The floorboard was slightly raised.
Xeno: "What's that?" Both looked curiously at the discovery.
Xeno made his skeletal hands open the floorboard. Ram stepped back just in case there were bugs inside.
Opening it revealed what had been hidden. A stash of alcohol. Wine, to be specific.
Xeno: "Wine? What's this doing here?" he said, getting up and leaning in to see what was inside.
Ram: "I heard Roswaal's grandmother was a heavy drinker. This must be her secret stash."
Xeno: 'Roswaal was an alcoholic? I think that makes sense. Having a depression arc, being immortal and all.'
Unlike everyone else, excluding Beatrice, he was the only one who knew how Roswaal's immortality worked.
Stealing and overwriting the souls of his own kin.
Yes, that's horrible and all. What's more surprising is that Xeno doesn't really feel much about it, if at all, for that matter.
Getting back to the matter at hand, Xeno made one of the hands grab a bottle, bringing it out.
Ram: "Are you going to drink that? I didn't take you for the alcoholic type, but you are hopeless, so it's a given."
Xeno: "Actually, I've never even seen a bottle of alcohol. My parents never let me get near any, so I'm kinda curious what it tastes like." he admitted honestly.
Ram: "Is that so? Even if that's the case, since this belonged to Roswaal's grandmother, it's technically his property. You shouldn't drink it," she warned him.
Xeno: "A shame. I guess I'll have to ask Ros, then." He had no intention of doing that.
Before he could even try to drink it, the sound of the door opening caught his attention instead.
"There you two are!" Standing in the doorway, Emilia made her presence known.
"What are you two doing?" she asked curiously, seeing Xeno holding a bottle of wine.
Ram: "Xeno was sharing his sad and miserable life story. Ram was trying to advise him not to turn to alcohol, even if his life is completely pathetic and miserable." She lied with a straight face.
She was totally getting revenge, and it worked, judging by how sour his expression turned.
Xeno: "Yes! My life is terrible it hurts so much!" He exclaimed in mock sadness.
Emilia: "X-Xeno..." She covered her mouth with her hand.
Ram: "Don't believe him. He's just being dramatic."
His shoulders slumped in 'defeat'.
Xeno: "And the worst part? Nobody believes me. My suffering is just me making excuses." He dramatically grabbed his heart.
Emilia: "That's horrible." She said with empathy.
Ram: "Emilia, this shameless pervert is taking advantage of your kindness."
Xeno looked up toward the ceiling, raising his arms high and placing one over the other, theatrically speaking.
"If only! If only someone would hold me, hold me close, so this painful ache in my soul vanishes. I want joy, yet life won't give me any. I want love, yet time reminds me I have no moment to search for it. I want peace. A shame trouble doesn't get the memo. My life truly is miserable, abhorrent, and sad."
...
...
...
"What, too much?" Xeno asked, hearing their akward silence.
Emilia, flustered after realizing she got tricked, let out a cute squeak.
"Xeeeeeeeno!"
Xeno: "Sorry, sorry, Emilia. I just couldn't let Ram have the last laugh." He raised his hand, seeing Emilia pout.
"I still can't believe you fell for that. I was sure Puck would've swooshed in by now. Where is he anyway? I wanted to ask him something."
Emilia's expression turned to one of panic.
"Eek! P-Puck is busy, you know. D-Don't you think it's suuuuuper cold outside? Honestly, it's sooo cold, I-I think I'm going to freeze!" she exclaimed, holding herself and 'shivering' from how 'cold' it was.
"It's reeeeeeeelly cold! Even ice can't bear it. S-So I, you know... I'd love to talk more, b-but see you later!" She ran away as if she were on fire or something.
Xeno: "...Wow. I... just... wow." That was all he could say about... whatever just happened.
'Okay, so Emilia is hiding something. Got it.'
Xeno: "Okay, moving on. Ram, come on. You still have other work to do." He gestured for Ram to follow without looking back.
Ram: "For a self-proclaimed gentleman, you sure are heartless." She crossed her arms.
Xeno stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at her with an expression that said, "Really?"
Ram: "It's freezing, and you expect Ram to work in such conditions?"
Xeno: "Why are you complaining so much? Don't tell me you can't handle a little bit of cold. Seriously, even Meili can handle this much."
Ram's eyes widened.
'Does he seriously not feel how cold it is?'
Xeno: "Come on. It'll be fine."
This time, he actually walked away. After thinking about it, Ram concluded.
'He gets stranger day by day.'
With that, she reluctantly left the warm storage room.
...
Today was Monday.
Immediately, something was wrong. Not just wrong, but very wrong.
Xeno could feel it. Everything felt so strange. His body felt warm, and occasionally something small would bump into him.
What was weirder was the fact that his face was ridiculously cold compared to the rest of his body. Like someone had put his head in a refrigerator.
He snapped his eyes open, and the first thing he saw was ice, ice, and ice–icles.
Xeno: "What the hell?" he said, getting up as fast as he could.
Rem: "Good morning, Xeno-kun." Rem's cheerful voice greeted him first thing in the morning.
Xeno: "Yeah, yeah, Rem. What the heck is going on?" He looked around his room. Literally everything was encased in a thin layer of ice.
Rem: "Sorry, Xeno-kun. I'm afraid I don't know."
Xeno: "Why are you so calm about this?"
He was in a state of panic, frantically looking around his ice-covered room.
It was then he realized something else.
Rem: "Rem is just as worried, Xeno-kun. But she has to stay strong for your sake. So please don't worry. Rem is here." She placed her gloved hand on Xeno's.
Xeno: 'What is she doing in my room!? How did she even get in?'
He turned even more panicked. He swiftly removed his blanket in an attempt to get up.
Only for dozens of lesser spirits to fly out and spread throughout the room, much to their shock.
Xeno: "What the heck!?" he yelled, slightly jumping back against the ice wall.
"Ah! Damn it."
The lesser spirits circled around the room repeatedly.
"Oni-chan... yawn... you're being so noisy. I want to sleep, but it's so cold," said a sleepy voice.
Xeno snapped his head toward the side of the bed, only to find a shivering, sleeping Meili by his side.
"Oni-chan... it's so cold... it's so... cold."
"Why is Meili here!? Why were there spirits in my blanket!? Why is Rem in my room!? And why is everything frozen!? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?"
Rem: "Xeno-kun!"
...
"Okay, let's start from scratch."
Xeno, Rem, and Meili sat in a warm chair that Xeno made. He pointed toward Meili, who covered herself in a thick blanket, still shaking from the cold.
"Meili, you came here because it suddenly became way too cold, jolting you awake. You came running to me, presumably to warn me, so how did you end up falling asleep in my bed?"
Meili sank her head deeper into her blanket.
"O-Oni-chan, I was, but... your bed was so warm, and the cold was unbearable. S-So I... snuggled in and accidentally fell asleep," she recounted, embarrassed.
"Right, then there's you guys. What were you two doing here?"
He turned his attention toward Rem and the swarm of lesser spirits surrounding them, using their limited magical ability to heat up the area.
Rem beamed. She explained her actions as though they were completely normal.
"It was nearly time for Rem to start her work, so Rem was mentally recharging her spirits by watching Xeno-kun sleep."
Meanwhile, one of the spirits contracted to Xeno transmitted its intent, they wanted to keep Xeno warm through the cold.
Xeno: "..."
"You know what, forget it. Let's just go deal with whatever's happening right now."
Meili: "B-But it's so cold. I don't wanna go."
Xeno let out a visible sigh.
"Lesser spirits, go inside Meili's blanket and keep her warm. There, now let's go."
Everyone moved simultaneously. Xeno and Rem got up and left the room, while Meili reluctantly opened her blanket for the lesser spirits to quickly get in before chasing after them.
Marching toward the kitchen, the figure of Roswaal stood in the way. He was wearing a winter version of his attire. Noticing them, he turned to them with his usual smile.
Roswaal: "My, myyy, that's quite the displeased expression you have there, Xeno. Whatever is the matter?"
Xeno: "Not. In. The. Mood. Now that you're here, let's get this over with." He turned to the two behind him.
"Rem, go make some tea for everyone. Along the way, call Beatrice as well. She's at the third door toward the kitchen. If she refuses to come, tell her, 'I'll stop making food for her for an entire month.' Meili, you go drag Ram here. Say 'it's Roswaal's order' when she refuses. Me and Ros are going to bring the two troublemakers to the dinning room."
Rem: "On it, Xeno-kun." She went ahead posthaste.
Meili: "Fine, Oni-chan!" She huffed, reluctantly doing what she was ordered.
Xeno: "Let's go, Ros." He said without looking back.
Roswaal: "Of course, our feeearless leader." He joked, amused by his sudden leadership.
...
Travelling towards the west wing of the manor, where Emilia' room was located.
Along the way, Roswaal decided to pass the time by conversing with Xeno.
"This is quite the unfortunate circumstance that's fallen upon us. Though, you appear to be handling this rather nicely."
Compared to Roswaal, Xeno was still wearing his usual clothes. The difference was that he was wearing a hooded jacket.
Xeno: "I'm not. I had the worst wake-up call of my life. I swear those two better give me a satisfying answer, or I'm going to punish them severely." He said, very fed up.
Roswaal: "Is that sooo? If you don't mind me asking, how are you going to do that?" He asked, very curious. He didn't think Xeno could punish Emilia of all people.
Xeno smiled, his sadistic imagination going wild.
"I'm going to force that stupid cat to eat a medium-sized salted, lemoned, spoiled fish dipped in ketchup, stuffed with garlic, onions, and coffee beans. To top it all off, it's ice cold." His smile turned into one of twisted glee just thinking about it.
Xeno: "For Emilia... eh, I'll just softly chop her head and pinch her cheeks." He said, losing his smile.
The sheer, deranged bias of his punishments silenced even Roswaal.
...
The two stood in front of the door leading to Emilia's room.
Roswaal: "Caaare to do the honors? Seeing how far you had to travel." He suggested.
Xeno: "I have better stamina than you," he muttered before knocking on the door.
"Emilia! Open the door."
The two heard a girly squeak and rushing sounds behind the door, indicating she was inside her room.
Emilia: "X-Xeno!? U-Uhh, uh, give me a minute. N-No, make it five," she responded from inside.
Roswaal: "Lady Emilia, forgive us for the intrusion, but a crisis has arrived. Please allow us to enter."
Emilia: "R-Roswaal, you're here too!? I-Uh..."
Xeno: "Oh, give it up already. We know you and Puck are responsible for this. Open the door."
Emilia: "W-Whaaaat? Me and Puck? Xeno, you probably got the wrong idea. Puck and I would never do something—" she rapidly fired back.
Xeno: "Just stop! Emilia, I'm in a very destructive mood today. You have five seconds to open this door before I vaporize it." He grabbed the doorknob. It was cold as ice.
"Your time begins now. One, two, three, four, five. Time's up." He spat rapidly.
Emilia: "W-Wait! I'm c-changing!"
She tried to excuse herself, but it was too late. Xeno had already pushed open the door.
The instant he did, freezing wind rushed past them.
Looking inside, Xeno was shell-shocked.
It looked like there was a blizzard inside Emilia's room.
Emilia herself was standing nearby, holding both of her hands out with a stammering expression.
She looked like a child caught doing something naughty by her parents.
Both of them stepped farther inside her room, despite Emilia telling them not to.
Emilia: "X-Xeno!? Y-You can't just do that! To waltz in here without permission from the owner of the room is very rude! Y-Yes, that's reeaaally rude... See, um... let's start over, okay!?"
Xeno: "Nope." He flatly rejected.
Emilia: "Whaaat!?"
Xeno: "Stop stalling, Emilia. Where is that furball? I know he's behind this."
Emilia: "Pu-Puck is, uhh...? He didn't do any... erm... Well, that's not really right... uhh... I don't know."
Puck: "Lia, it's fine. Xeno is right, unfortunately. There's no point hiding it when it's gotten so out of hand."
The spirit in question was plopped on the bed, tucked and wrapped in a hand cloth. He turned his head toward the annoyed Xeno.
Puck: "Mmm, sorry for causing trouble. Please don't get mad at Lia and Betty, okay? Those two were only looking out for me."
Xeno: "Great! Wonderful, even. Just what I needed. How was she involved in this?" He pinched the bridge of his nose.
Roswaal: "It seems time for me to interjeeect. Beatrice is the one responsible for keeping this cold weather isolaaated. So it's because of her that this chill hasn't spread past the domain and into Arlam Village."
Xeno: "Sigh... Alright, you two. Dining. Room. Now. You both have a lot of explaining to do."
His tone carried an air of finality. The half-elf and the Great Spirit had no choice but to obey.
...
Fast forward to everyone gathered in the dining room.
Including Ram, who was cocooned within layers upon layers of heavy clothing. She was wearing pink earmuffs on top. She shivered from the cold, with a scowl on her face.
Rem, who was standing beside her sister, had also changed into an outfit more suited for the winter, with a lot less exposed skin.
Beatrice was also here. Initially, she tried to run away, but threatening her with no food for a month was more than enough to make her comply. She didn't have a wardrobe change.
Xeno was sitting alongside Meili. She, too, was wearing heavier clothes, though not as many due to the numerous lesser spirits inside her clothes warming her up. Xeno, on the other hand, as described before, was still wearing his Earth clothes with a simple hooded jacket he made.
Which brings us to the stars of this mess.
Emilia also didn't have much of a change. Her clothes now simply covered her shoulders and thighs better. She was twiddling her fingers, looking like an embarrassed child.
Finally, Puck sat on the table, surrounded by everyone.
Xeno: "What the heck is a magic release period?"
'And why does it sound like a mating season?'
For context, in Japanese, when you translate "Magic," "Release," and "Period," it makes the word "Hatsumati." A made-up word that sounds similar to "Hatsujouki," which means "Mating Season."
Rem: "The magic release period is a phenomenon that affects only a few beings, those who possess potent magical energy."
"A person's magical power is highly dependent on their Od's attributes. Due to this, its output is really limiting." She stated serving everyone hot tea.
Xeno: 'Their Od, huh?'
During his water magic lesson, Xeno learned many things about magic, one of them being Od.
It's essentially the soul, a container for magic that stores mana taken through a gate. The stronger one's Od, the more magic they can utilize.
Xeno: "If that's the case, Puck is releasing mana because... he oversaturated? Did I get that?"
Roswaal: "If by 'oversaturated' you mean him having too much mana, you would be cooorect. But yes, indeed. It's necessary for him to emit it before it gets to this point. Otherwise, his Od will reach its liiimit, causing the mana to release and overflow. Hence the name."
Now that he had the full picture, Xeno came to a conclusion about Puck's situation.
Xeno: 'Puck having a period.' He sipped his tea, amused.
Emilia: "Yeah, that's what it is. I'm sorry for not saying anything about it." She apologized, her head hanging low, feeling guilty and dejected for the mess she had inadvertently caused.
Xeno: "It's fine, Emilia. Puck, how long do we have to deal with this? A few hours?"
Puck: "Two days."
Xeno: "Oh, two days, that's all. No biggie! The heck do you mean two days!? Are you trying to kill Ram and Meili here? Why do you even have so much mana in you?"
Puck: "Woah! Calm down, Xeno. It's just that prior to moving to this mansion, I had no problem letting out my magic regularly when I lived with Lia back in the forest. But now I have to tone it down a bit, so I guess this is all backlash from that, heh."
Xeno slouched in his chair.
"Great... now what are we supposed to do?"
Xeno rested his head on his left arm. But when he asked, he noticed something strange.
Everyone was looking at him expectantly.
Xeno: "What? Why is everyone looking at me for?" He was confused.
Meili: "W-Well, Oni-chan, you're great at solving problems under pressure."
Rem: "Meili is right, Xeno-kun. Whenever there's trouble, you're the one who charges in and solves it. Rem believes you can solve this with your brilliant mind as well."
Ram: "S-Sister is being too g-generous, but R-Ram agrees. Y-You're usually an i-idiot, but whenever s-something th-threatens your l-lazy life, you b-become astonishingly c-competent."
Roswaal: "I agreeee."
Emilia: "I'm sorry, everyone. Xeno, don't worry. I'll help you think of some ideas if you want."
Xeno: "..."
Xeno: "Everyone... you all... I... can't believe it... Th-That..."
"YOU'RE ALL DUMPING THIS ON ME WHILE YOU ALL DOODLE AROUND! SERIOUSLY!?" He slammed the table. A tick appeared on his forehead as he finally snapped.
Xeno: "Roswaal, aren't you the greatest magician ever? Can't you just abra kadabra this cold away or something along those lines?" He pointed toward the magician.
Roswaal clutched his chest dramatically.
"Xeno, you truly flaaatter me with your high opinion of me. But to 'abra kadabra' all this cold away requires a high degree of control. Even for someone like myself, that task is difficult. If my hands were to falter even for a moment, then the mansion would be engulfed in flames, let alone maintaining it for two whole days."
Xeno: "Ugh, fine. Listen here, all of you are going to help me brainstorm something, or so help me, I'm going to punish each and every single one of you." He sat back down, his entire posture saying he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
Everyone, fortunately, agreed, either out of guilt or fear of his punishments.
...
You know, you would think someone would come up with a decent idea by now, but nope. Everyone was either not fully helping or just couldn't think of something.
It was getting on Xeno's last nerves. He was almost tempted to just use his abnormally high spirit affinity to call a bunch of fire lesser spirits to warm the area up.
Which wouldn't work due to the sheer amount of spirits required. It would take hundreds, if not nearly a thousand, to make a difference.
And besides, he didn't want to solidify his position as the "Spirit Slaver" that Puck gave him.
He needed to distract himself for a bit.
Xeno: "Hey, Ros, is a magic release period exclusive to spirits? Or do other people also experience it?"
Roswaal: "Why yes. Talented magicians also experience it, like meee."
Xeno: "Wait, if you experience it, then do everyone else also experience it? Can I experience it?" He asked, eying everyone.
'I don't want to experience a magic period.'
Roswaal: "Well, in myyy case, I use magic on a daily basis to keep it regulated. My daily routine requires it, after all. My Od has sooome leeway."
The magician finished by shooting a gaze at Ram, who blushed furiously. Something Xeno noticed. His pupil turned red.
Xeno: 'Gluttony, please tell me I'm imagining things. She doesn't—'
[Ram is 120% in love with Roswaal.]
Xeno: 'Nah. Hell nah. Seriously? Out of everyone on the entire planet, you love him? That's it, Ram. You lose any right you had to judge me. Not with this clown master-servant hentai plot going on.'
Rem: "Sister and I don't experience it. We're not skilled enough in magic."
Beatrice: "Betty manages the surplus mana by keeping her Door Crossing technique active. As for you? Your skills are even worse than the maids." Ouch, That definitely stung.
Emilia: "I'm not a powerful magic user either, so I don't have it."
Meili: "I got it, Oni-chan! Why don't we just go outside? Being outside is way better than dealing with this." The child assassin interrupted with a plan.
Xeno: "Good job, Meili. Rem! What's the weather outside? Let's all go out on a picnic and give ourselves a nice two-day vacation while this furball here rots."
Puck: "Hey!"
In response to the question, Rem only shook her head.
Rem: "I'm sorry, Xeno-kun. Rem would've suggested that as well, if not for the rain outside."
Both Xeno and Meili felt as though cold water had been poured over them.
Xeno: "Damn it!"
"Xeno!" Emilia and Rem reprimanded him for swearing in front of Meili.
Xeno leaned back, burying his face in his hands as he thought.
...
Xeno: "Wait... it's still raining outside!" He suddenly jumped up (slowly stood up), questioning Rem. Everyone turned to him with interest, feeling like he had a plan.
Rem: "Yes, Xeno-kun. It has been raining since yesterday."
Xeno: "And does it look like it's going to go away anytime soon?"
Rem: "No. It's most likely going to persist through the whole day. Sorry."
Xeno: "No, that's perfect! Ladies... and you two. I got it, a way to deal with this."
Emilia: "Really!?"
Xeno: "Beatrice, ready your magic. It's time to make history, people!" He spread his arms wide, excited.
"It's the beginning of the first ever Grand Snow Festival in Roswaal Manor."