One night, while I was lying in bed, a kitten arrived.
It was Miel.
Miel slipped under the covers by my neck and wiggled her way down to my right side. She settled in and started to sleep.
Oh, that was rare. Was it because of the cold? No, that couldn't be it. Miel and the other kittens were famous for sleeping anywhere at any time, but they always spent their nights beside their mother, Jewel.
The fact that she had come to me meant... Jewel’s delivery was likely drawing near, and she was no longer letting the kittens stay close. I had to assume Miel had come to me because she was troubled about where to sleep.
There, there.
As I lay there feeling Miel’s warmth against my side, Rael, Uel, and Gael arrived. They followed Miel’s lead, entering by my neck only to find their sister already occupying the right side. Consequently, Rael claimed my left side, while Uel and Gael moved down to settle between my legs.
...
I was touched that they wanted to be with me, but I couldn't move a muscle. It was a predicament—albeit a happy one.
Just as I was resigned to my fate, a High Elf entered the room. Upon discovering the pile of kittens in my bed, she plucked them out one by one and deposited them outside the room.
Uh... ah, yes. Quite right.
Forgive me, kittens. I couldn't find the words to defend you. Just make sure you find somewhere warm to sleep.
The next morning, I found them in Aegis’s hut. They had claimed the best spots in the house, leaving the owner—the phoenix chick himself—relegated to the leftovers.
It was cold out, but the weather was clear. I headed toward the ranch area to fulfill a request: building an outdoor bath.
I didn't think construction was a job one should be doing in the dead of winter, but the horses and cows in the ranch had made a rare, direct plea, so I felt I had to oblige. Initially, I thought they had simply grown tired of the trek to the hot spring area, but I was wrong.
Apparently, the goats were so jealous of the others' trips to the hot springs that their behavior had become unbearable. The cows and horses were effectively asking me to do something about the friction before it got any worse.
I see.
The reason the goats couldn't visit the hot springs was their paralyzing fear of the dungeon where the teleportation gate was located. The culprits were Arako the Arachne and the Earth Dragon. Since both residents rarely left the dungeon, the goats weren't used to them.
Ideally, I would have had the goats interact with Arako to bridge the gap, but it was winter. Arako and the Earth Dragon insisted the cold didn't bother them, but just looking at them shivering made me feel cold myself, so I refused to bring them out.
Thus, the goats remained unable to go to the hot springs, fueling their envy of the horses and cows. I’d pegged the goats as the type to claim unreachable grapes were sour, but I suppose I was wrong. They had their charming sides, too.
Still, they shouldn't be making life difficult for the other livestock. And for that matter, they shouldn't be making things difficult for me, either. I’d appreciate it if they didn't bite me while I was working. I was building this bath for them, after all.
Even though it was technically for the goats, I didn't cut corners. I selected a site on the north side of the ranch and used the Universal Farming Tool to dig through the snow and soil. I made the area roughly twenty meters square.
I didn't want anyone drowning, but since the animals varied in size, matching the depth to the smallest creature would have resulted in a puddle rather than a bath. I wanted the cows, horses, and sheep to be able to use it as well.
To accommodate everyone, I avoided steep steps and instead used slopes for the edges. The deepest point was about two meters. I leveled the bottom and created flat, terraced sections at various heights along the slopes so animals of different sizes could stand comfortably. This would allow them to sort themselves out naturally.
Once the structure was finished, I shoveled snow into the basin until it was piled high. Now, all I needed was magic to melt and heat it.
Normally, I would have asked Lu, but she was pregnant and I didn't want her out in the freezing air. I was scanning the area for a volunteer when I saw Granmaria flying overhead.
"Can I ask a favor?"
"Leave it to me," she replied confidently.
Granmaria conjured a Flame Sphere and slammed it into the mountain of snow inside the pond.
...
Nothing happened. The Flame Sphere simply vanished into the drift.
Was it...
"Did it fail?"
The moment the words left my mouth, there was a violent roar as the snow evaporated instantly.
I learned later that using magic to turn snow into water required a delicate touch. Granmaria explained that if an amateur tried it, the result was usually an explosion. So, in other words, it was a failure.
"I am so sorry," she said, looking quite adorable in her dejection.
Since the explosion had drawn a crowd of Kuro's children, I asked them to handle the melting and heating. They split into two teams: one for snow-melting duty and one for water-boiling duty. With so many of them working together, the outdoor bath was ready in no time.
It looked wonderfully warm.
"The first bath goes to you," I told Kuro's children. "You worked hard for it. You’re the ones who boiled the water, so don't be shy."
As it turned out, they didn't have time to be shy. The goats were already charging toward us, eyeing the steam.
"Get in quickly! And Granmaria, don't be depressed."
"No, but... you're right. I should have melted the snow first and then boiled the water. It was foolish of me to try and turn snow into hot water all at once..."
"Next time will go better. My instructions were a bit vague, anyway."
The outdoor bath proved to be quite popular. Kuro's children used their magic to keep the temperature steady, so there was no worry about it cooling down. However, I was worried that the animals might refuse to leave because of the biting wind, so I lit a large fire nearby to keep the surrounding air bearable.
This bath was intended only for this winter. Once spring arrived, I planned to bring Arako and the Earth Dragon out to let the goats get used to them. Since this was a temporary fix, I hadn't really thought about a drainage system.
If I needed to empty it, I could always ask Granmaria... No, maybe not. I’d think of something else.
Just as I began to feel that winter was finally ending, I noticed Zabuton's children were secretly measuring my height.
...Why?
They weren't just measuring me; they were doing the same to Alfred and Tiselle. Furthermore, the High Elves, Lizardmen, Dwarves, Beastmen, Mountain Elves, and Civil Official Girls had all started requesting large amounts of cloth recently. I’d even caught them doing what looked like fittings.
The only logical conclusion was... the parade we had last year.
Don't tell me we’re doing that again. It’s so embarrassing. I wasn't going to tell them not to do it, but I’d much prefer to be in the spectator stands.
Apparently, that wasn't an option.
Fine. It’s only for one day. I’ll play along. I won't go back on my word... Wait. What on earth is that?
The Mountain Elves were constructing a yagura. It was about three meters tall—relatively low for a tower—but its most striking feature was the six massive wheels attached to the base.
"We’re going to install a seat on top of the tower so the Village Head can give his greetings from a position of prominence..."
"I see. Let me double-check something... do you plan on moving this tower while I'm actually sitting in that seat?"
"Naturally. We’ve already factored that into the design."
"Right. We need to talk."
Winter was definitely coming to an end.