Morning came, and with it, the snow.
It was a blizzard.
The cows, horses, goats, and chickens had already been moved into their sheds, so they were safe enough. The only problem was that we couldn't leave the mansion. We would have to spend our time working quietly indoors.
...
Urza, Gral, no running wild inside.
And Hakuren, don't encourage them by joining in.
Good grief. If you're that bored, I can find some work for—and they were gone. They certainly had impressive leg strength.
However, it looked like they had been intercepted by Kuro and Yuki. Kuro glanced my way, his eyes asking for instructions on what to do with them. Since they’d been caught, there was no helping it. I decided to have Urza and Gral help with the dinner preparations. As for Hakuren, who hadn't run away... she was "volunteered" to keep an eye on them.
"I'm counting on you, but I'll be angry if you play with the food," I warned.
Now then, I should get back to work...
What is it, Kuro, Yuki? Do you want a reward for catching them?
I suppose I had no choice. I sat down and offered them a lap pillow. They were both quite large, so they had to take turns.
There, there. Good dogs.
I wasn't going to get any work done at this rate. I needed a change of pace, so I decided to take a walk through the mansion.
"Are you two coming along, Kuro, Yuki? Thank you."
I found Alfred playing with Tiselle. I hoped they would continue to grow up as close as they were now. I offered a quick greeting to the High Ogre Maid standing nearby and moved on.
Lu was holed up in her room researching magic tools. Entry was strictly prohibited because of the risk of explosions. I really wished she’d save that kind of research for days when we could actually run outside if something went wrong.
Tia was knitting. She was using the yarn she’d asked Michael-san to buy for her. I thought it might be a muffler at first, but it was full of holes, so that probably wasn't it. I wondered what it could be. I decided not to jump to conclusions; if I guessed wrong, Tia would likely get into a foul mood. Better to just ask.
"What are you knitting?"
"This," she said, spreading out the piece she was working on. I still couldn't tell. This was a predicament.
Apparently, Flora was holed up in the fermentation shed. I didn't mind her dedication, but I hoped she wasn't trapped there by the snow. Had she brought enough food and water? No, that wasn't really the issue... I decided to go check on her once the blizzard subsided.
Ann was busy with her cooking research. As for Torain, he was currently taking a nap. I felt a bit bad that Urza and the others had been so noisy earlier. I assumed those three were currently helping out... ah, there they were.
Urza, Gral, and Hakuren were huddled around a basket filled with a mountain of broad beans, completely absorbed in the task of shelling them. It seemed best not to disturb them, so I beat a quiet retreat.
As for the others...
Hiichiro was with Raimeiren. She doted on him constantly, but she wasn't just affectionate; she could be quite strict when necessary. I could leave him in her hands with peace of mind.
Frau was currently relaxing, having just put Fraciabel to sleep. She was enjoying some tea brewed by Holly. Since she’d be furious if I woke the baby, I kept quiet. We communicated through hand signs instead. Oh, so even Holly could participate in a silent conversation like this? That was impressive.
Er... but I thought it was a bit early for them to be discussing a second child.
While patrolling the mansion, I noticed the bathroom sounded lively, so I took a peek inside. Progenitor-san, Draim, and Beezel were having a drinking session while soaking in the tub. Several of Kuro's pups were also in the water with them. They were among the ones who didn't mind baths.
Having a drink in the tub while a blizzard raged outside... I felt a twinge of envy. Should I join them?
Kuro and Yuki looked at me, waiting for my decision.
...No. Since I’d assigned work to Urza and Gral, I couldn't very well join a drinking party in the bath myself. What a pity. I would return to work.
I went back to the workshop. My task for today was woodworking. For the past few days, I had been working on a Smartball game to be installed in the play area of Big Roof Shashato.
Smartball was a game where you rolled slightly oversized balls down a slanted board into a four-by-four grid of holes. Prizes were awarded based on how many lines you completed. Of course, it wasn't easy to line them up, and I didn't intend to make it easy either. I’d driven in nails to act as obstacles, and since the balls were launched by a spring, the player had to be careful with their power adjustment.
Regarding this Smartball set... unfortunately, it wasn't a standard size. It was massive. Once fully assembled, it would be about five meters tall and three meters wide. The balls weren't standard either; I was using bowling balls.
The project had reached this scale because of the spring used to launch the balls. I couldn't make the spring any smaller, so I’d ended up building the machine to match the spring's size. Transporting it was going to be a headache, but on the bright side, its size would make it easy for spectators to see what was happening. Or so I’d thought.
However, a problem had come to light during the testing stage. The countless nails I’d driven into the board couldn't withstand the impact of the bowling balls; they kept bending or snapping. It might have been fine once or twice, but the balls would be launched repeatedly during actual play.
I concluded that the stone bowling balls were the culprit. They were simply too heavy. To reduce the weight, I decided to make the balls out of wood instead. Making wooden spheres of exactly the same size was difficult, but I figured people would just have to accept slight variations as the "individuality" of each ball.
"Kuro, Yuki, I’m happy to have you stay with me, but could you please stop playing with those balls?"
...Billiards might be fun, too. Maybe I’d try making a table next time.
"Whoops—Kuro, Yuki. I’m taking those back. If you want to play, use these failed prototypes."
Evening came. Dinner featured several dishes using the beans that Urza, Gral, and Hakuren had worked so hard on. I enjoyed them thoroughly.
"Ann, please stop serving the clearly failed experimental dishes only to me. Let's put them out for everyone. You want to hear a variety of opinions, don't you? Hahaha. I love you, but that's a separate matter entirely."
Also, I told Flora that I didn't mind if she waited until after dinner, but she absolutely had to take a bath. Yes, she smelled quite... "appetizing."
After the meal, the blizzard still showed no signs of stopping.
"Alright, shall we all play together?"
Urza gave a spirited cheer, but I had to remind her that physical activities were off-limits inside the house. We’d played Karuta the other day, so I suggested we play some simple games with playing cards, like Old Maid.
I also reminded Flora to make sure she washed herself thoroughly once she was in the bath.
Late into the night, the blizzard finally seemed to have subsided. Everything had gone quiet. The snow must have piled up considerably.
If the weather holds tomorrow, maybe I'll try building a snowman.