February 8th was Hanna’s birthday.
Though snow had been falling in Kaina Village since dawn, the mood inside the Martha residence was bright and festive.
“Hanna, happy birthday.”
“Thank you, Grandmother.”
“Happy birthday, Hanna.”
“Thank you, Onii-chan.”
“Hanna-chan, happy birthday.”
“Thank you, Big Sister Elsa.”
“Happy birthday, Hanna-chan.”
“Thank you, Auntie Mine.”
“Hanna-chan, happy birthday.”
“Thank you, Reiko-oneechan.”
Gathered for the celebration were the guest of honor, Hanna, along with Martha, Jin, Elsa, Mine, and Reiko.
Earlier that morning, the village children had stopped by to offer their well-wishes. From noon onward, it was time for Jin and the others to celebrate.
They shared slices of the cake Elsa and Mine had baked, toasting the occasion with citran juice as they chatted merrily.
“Hanna’s eleven now, huh,” Jin murmured. He realized she had grown taller than Reiko before he’d even noticed.
“Hanna-chan, how are your studies coming along?” Elsa asked.
“Great! Laojun teaches me all sorts of things. I’ve already memorized the quadratic formula.”
“That’s impressive, Hanna.”
It meant she had already mastered middle school-level mathematics. Between her innate brilliance and the foundation of scientific knowledge she was steadily building, her future looked incredibly bright.
“If a school is ever established in Avalon, I’d love for her to attend,” Jin mused to himself.
It was a sentiment born of a fatherly desire to see her talents nurtured.
“If she goes, she can just use a Warp Gate to commute.”
“Jin-nii, that’s going a bit far.”
Elsa chided him. Whenever it came to Hanna, Jin tended to leave his common sense behind.
“Then perhaps a dedicated airplane…”
“That’s also a bit much.”
“I—I see.”
Hanna giggled at their exchange.
Outside the window, snowflakes danced in the air.
“It looks like we’ll have plenty of snow this year.”
Jin mentioned a common saying: a year with heavy snow brings a bountiful harvest.
“Jin-nii, why is that?”
“Hmm, let’s see... This is just my theory, but the country I came from was primarily focused on rice farming, which requires a lot of water. If the water runs out in summer, it leads to a drought and a poor harvest. Heavy snow usually means there won’t be any shortage of water.”
“But once the snow melts, won’t it be gone long before summer?”
“Well, if there’s a lot on the plains, it means there’s even more in the mountains. The snow piled up there melts slowly, becoming groundwater and underflow that keeps the foothills moist throughout the season... I think.”
“Mm, that makes sense.”
“The country you lived in is amazing, Onii-chan! Are there any other sayings like that?”
While Elsa was satisfied with the explanation, Hanna’s curiosity was piqued.
“Hmm, let’s see...”
Jin thought back to the casual conversations his middle school science teacher used to have.
“Things like: ‘When the kites fly high, it will be clear,’ or ‘When swallows fly low, it will rain.’”
Jin added that both kites and swallows were types of birds.
“Hmm... Birds flying high probably means there are updrafts. Since those happen when there’s a lot of sunlight, that means clear weather. Is that right?”
Hanna offered a sharp deduction.
“Exactly. And swallows eat insects. When rain is coming and the humidity rises, insects tend to fly lower to the ground... or so I believe.”
“That’s so interesting!”
“These are things people in the past passed down through experience. I believe it’s called ‘weather lore.’”
“We have those in Kaina Village too! Let’s see... ‘A morning with busy birds chirping will be clear.’ Right, Grandmother?”
“That’s right. There’s also: ‘When distant sounds are heard clearly, rain is on the way,’” Martha added.
“The birds chirping... I wonder why that is,” Jin mused.
“Jin-nii, on clear mornings, it gets bright earlier, so perhaps the birds all wake up at once?” Elsa suggested that on cloudy days, their wake-up times might be more scattered.
“Ah, that’s a good point.” Jin nodded.
“Then, what about the distant sounds?”
Jin had an idea for that one as well.
“It’s likely because sound waves are being bent.”
“Ah, refraction!” Hanna exclaimed, the realization hitting her. “If the air density on the ground is high and the air density in the sky is low, sound waves will curve, right?”
“Precisely. And when a low-pressure system approaches, warm air likely flows into the upper atmosphere.”
“That must be it!”
A similar phenomenon happened on cold winter nights when the ground surface cooled; the temperature gradient caused distant sounds to carry much further.
“Hanna-chan, you really are remarkable,” Mine said, her eyes wide with admiration.
“Not at all! It’s just knowledge I read in books.”
Hanna tried to be humble, but Reiko spoke to her with a gentle tone.
“No, Hanna-chan. No matter the person or the intellect, knowledge alone is not enough. It only truly matters when paired with the ‘wisdom’ to apply it correctly. And you possess that wisdom.”
“Reiko-oneechan, you’re making me blush!”
Hanna fidgeted, embarrassed by the praise. Her adorable reaction brought a warm smile to everyone’s face.
“Oh, right! Can I open my presents now?”
Everyone nodded as Hanna tried to hide her shyness.
“Let’s see, this one is from Onii-chan... Oh, a watch!”
It was a pocket watch made specifically for her, complete with a mithril chain so she could wear it around her neck.
“Sorry about last year,” Jin said, apologizing for his previous absence.
Hanna smiled at him. “It’s okay. I know you’re busy, Onii-chan. Besides, you didn’t forget this year.”
Next, Hanna opened the gift from Elsa.
“Oh, a doll!”
It was a handmade doll crafted by Elsa. While meant as a decoration, it contained a magic tool for air purification inside, capable of everything from removing dust to light sterilization.
“Thank you!”
“We tend to be most vulnerable to illness while we sleep,” Elsa explained.
Hanna realized the gift was also for Martha’s sake, which made her even happier.
“Oh, the snow stopped,” Elsa murmured, looking out the window.
Everyone followed her gaze. Against the backdrop of a blue sky that had finally begun to peek through the clouds, the silver-white mountains stood in sharp, beautiful relief.
“Spring must be just around the corner,” Martha whispered.