"Wah! Wait, wait, wait!"
Voices echoed across the plaza as snowballs flew through the air.
Rei dodged one hurtling toward him and lobbed another right back in retaliation.
He watched the scene unfold alongside Set—over ten Children split into two teams, locked in a furious snowball fight.
The kamakura they had built a short while ago still sat in the center of the plaza, serving as the dividing line between the two sides.
Naturally, it had been Rei who taught the Children the rules of a snowball fight.
The game of throwing snow at each other already existed, of course, but Rei had given it a concrete rule set.
Not that he actually knew the precise regulations himself.
He had only half-watched a broadcast of an international snowball fight competition on TV once, so it was only natural he did not remember the finer details.
Even so, having seen it on television, he at least retained the broad strokes—a truly rough outline at best.
Both sides would plant a flag in their territory, and whoever knocked the enemy flag down with a snowball won. Rules of that caliber.
Naturally, getting hit by a snowball meant instant elimination was a given.
Though Rei had never actually played himself, he imagined it was something akin to a survival game.
"Ah! It hit you! Why is Rusez still in?!"
"Because I blocked it with my hand, obviously!"
"Even so, the snowball hit you. You're out!"
"I blocked it, so I'm fine!"
Their bickering reached Rei's ears.
And just as naturally, the two squabblers turned to Rei to settle the dispute.
"Rei-niichan, if you block a snowball with your hand, that's fine, right?!"
"Rei-niichan, even if you blocked it with your hand, the snowball still hit you, so you're out, right!"
They peppered him with questions, but since he could not remember the exact rules, he had no real answer to give.
"Ah, right. I'm pretty sure the rule was that you're out if a snowball hits you, so even if you block it with your hand, you're probably out."
"See?! See?!"
"Muuuuuu!"
Rei watched the exchange, then pulled a sandwich out of his Misty Ring and took a bite. He tossed another to Set.
"Gruu."
Stuffed generously with slow-simmered Orc meat, the sandwich was far too hefty to qualify as a light snack.
But for Rei and Set, it was just the right portion for a treat.
"Now that I think about it, I wonder how the nikuman turned out."
"Gruruu?"
Several days had passed since he had taught the Golden Bread Pavilion how to make nikuman.
Unlike the udon he had actually made before, nikuman—and by extension, steamed bread—was something Rei had never prepared himself.
What he knew amounted to nothing more than the general method and the core idea.
Yet Rodrigo, the cook and owner of the diner, had brimmed with confidence that he could refine the rough prototype into a proper dish.
For the timid-looking Rodrigo to say so with such conviction, there was reason to be optimistic.
"Should we drop by and check later?"
Since the plaza sat right on the main road, the Golden Bread Pavilion was not far at all.
When the Children had dragged him here to play in the snow, he had seen that the pavilion was open for business.
"Gruu..."
At Rei's words, Set purred, sounding less than enthusiastic.
The makeshift nikuman Rei had fed him probably had not tasted very good.
Rei gave the slightly sullen Set a gentle stroke.
"Come on, don't worry. If his skills as a cook are legit, it won't be a makeshift anymore."
"Gruu?"
Rei nodded back at Set, who tilted its head as if to ask, "Really?"
"Yeah. He must be a capable cook to keep a place running on the main road."
"Wow. Did you feed Set-chan something bad, Rei?"
"No, it's not that it tasted bad or anything. It's just still in the prototype stage, is all... hmm?"
Rei finally noticed the person who had slipped into the conversation as though it were the most natural thing in the world, and turned his gaze toward them.
Mirene stood there, fixing him with a slightly unfocused glare.
"Where did you come from?"
"Where do you think? I was just walking by, spotted Set-chan, and came over. So, Rei. You mentioned a dish in development. It's not something awful, is it?"
"Awful... no. But I'll admit it was a bit underwhelming."
"...Really?"
Mirene shot Rei a dubious look.
It was frustrating—truly, deeply frustrating—but she knew perfectly well that Set loved Rei.
If Set were forced to choose between her and Rei, there was no question it would pick Rei.
That was exactly why she could predict that even if Rei fed Set something terrible, Set would offer only a token protest without genuinely minding.
Of course, knowing that Rei loved Set just as much as Set loved him, she was not genuinely worried.
"Rei-san, is it true you bullied Set-chan?"
"...Where did you come from, either?"
Rei repeated the exact same question to Yohanna that he had just asked Mirene.
Since they were in the middle of town, Rei had not been paying close attention to his surroundings.
The fact that neither woman harbored any hostility or wariness toward him probably explained why he had failed to notice their approach.
(If they heard I fed Set a makeshift nikuman, you'd think they'd be hostile about it. Or wait—does their awareness actually surpass my own senses when it comes to Set? ...The fact that I can't rule that out is what's truly terrifying.)
Given the depth of affection Mirene and Yohanna always held for Set, Rei found himself somehow accepting it—which was strange even to him.
"I told you, I'm not bullying it."
Rei insisted, but the two were not about to believe him so easily.
Just as Rei opened his mouth to try again—
"Ah! It's Mirene-neechan and Yohanna-neechan! Hey, hey, neechans! Come play snowball fight with us too!"
A Child with sharp eyes had spotted the pair and shouted.
Mirene was the leader of the C-Rank party Scorching Wind, and was widely regarded as one of the rising stars of the younger generation.
Though Rei had stolen a fair amount of her spotlight since arriving in town, she was undeniably skilled among her peers.
Yohanna, while not as famous as Mirene, had earned a reputation as a leading figure among a group of capable adventurers—the Former Mobile Unit members—known to those in the know.
In truth, though, Mirene and Yohanna were far more famous for their rivalry over Set than for any individual accomplishment.
The Children playing in the snowball fight recognized them for precisely that reason.
"Eh? Me?"
"...Hmph. Fine, I suppose. If Mirene wants to run away because she lacks the confidence to beat me, I'll let you off the hook."
"Mm. Fine. I'll play. But if I win, I get the right to play with Set-chan."
"Fine by me. Just don't forget that the same applies when I win."
Sparks were unmistakably flying between the two as they traded words.
Don't just decide that on your own without even asking me, Rei wanted to say, but the sheer force of their presence kept him silent.
"Gruu?"
If Set had looked reluctant, Rei would have firmly shut down their self-serving declarations.
But Set showed no sign of minding the two women's behavior. If anything, it seemed thrilled at the prospect of anyone willing to play with it.
Since Set was hoping for it, it would be odd for Rei to put a stop to it... or so he reasoned, ultimately deciding to watch the exchange in silence.
"Listen up! We absolutely cannot lose to the other team! We will win this, no matter what!"
Mirene delivered a rousing speech to the Children on her team.
Though they could not grasp the full depth of her words, the Children naturally had no desire to lose a snowball fight.
Morale soared, and their fighting spirit surged.
"Everyone understands, right? If we lose to Mirene's team, it'll be too embarrassing to show our faces outside ever again. So we absolutely have to win. Got it?"
Not to be outdone, Yohanna rallied her own teammates with equal fervor.
There was no way they would let the other side beat them, and Yohanna's squad roared with determination.
With two teams clashing at full intensity, a referee was clearly needed...
"And so, naturally, I'm the referee."
Being the only neutral party present, Rei was conscripted into the role.
"Grururu."
Beside him, Set purred happily for some reason.
For Set, who had almost no experience playing in the snow with a group like this, simply participating in the snowball fight—even as a referee alongside Rei—was a delight.
"Alright, ground rules. If a snowball hits you, you're dead. Step out of the plaza. Even if you block with your hands or feet, the moment a snowball touches you, you're disqualified. And absolutely no putting objects inside snowballs, or crushing them as hard as you can."
That last part was directed not at the Children, but squarely at Mirene and Yohanna.
What was truly frightening was that both women looked genuinely disappointed.
Of course, they probably had no intention of hurling such weaponized snowballs at the Children...
But the moment Mirene and Yohanna faced each other as opponents, Rei got the distinct feeling that neither would hesitate to use every trick in the book.
Sure enough, both seemed to have been planning exactly that, nodding back at Rei with visible reluctance.
"Got it? I mean it. Don't try anything like that. If you break the rules, I won't let either of you play with Set. Right, Set?"
"Gruu!"
That's right, Set rumbled in agreement.
Once in actual combat, Set would mercilessly crush enemies with its formidable physical abilities.
But outside of battle, Set was a pacifist through and through.
That was precisely why it warned the two women not to do anything dangerous during the snowball fight.
Mirene and Yohanna might constantly fight over Set, but to Set, they were kind souls who showered it with attention, played with it, and brought it food.
Naturally, it wanted them to stop fighting.
"Ugh, fine."
"If Set-chan says so..."
Though clearly reluctant, both women relented... and seeing that, Rei spoke once more.
"Then fight fair and square. No dirty tricks. ...Begin!"
At his signal, both factions launched volleys of snowballs at each other.
Since getting hit meant instant disqualification—even if blocked—each thrower immediately dodged after releasing their shot.
But not everyone could move that flawlessly, and Children began getting hit.
"Ow!"
"Cold!"
"Uwah!"
"Wait, seriously!?"
Voices straddling the line between shrieks and cheers erupted as struck Children filed out of the plaza one after another, gathering at Rei's side.
Pedestrians on the main road glanced over with curiosity, but the combatants had no attention to spare for onlookers.
Show even the slightest opening, and snowballs would come raining down.
Mirene and Yohanna were specifically targeting each other, but even their stray throws caught Children in the crossfire.
"Damn it, you just won't go down!"
"Right back at you!"
They screamed as they threw, dodged, and—in the same fluid motion—scooped snow from the ground and packed it into fresh snowballs.
With dazzling—or perhaps gratuitous—use of their adventurer abilities, they waged an all-out war to pelt each other.
The Children around them were exchanging fire too, but as adventurers, the two women fought on an entirely different level.
"Take this!"
"Not a chance!"
The spectacular battle raged on... until finally, both women seized what they were certain would be the decisive throw and hurled their snowballs simultaneously.
Each dodged the other's final shot... but before they could press the advantage, Rei's voice cut through the plaza.
"That's enough!"
What?! Mirene and Yohanna turned toward Rei, frustration written plainly on their faces... but he simply directed his gaze behind each of them. There, right where each woman's flag stood, snowballs thrown by the opposing side had struck true.
"This match is a draw."
And in the end, that was exactly how it concluded.