Morning was coming. The sun was just about to rise up. The Moe Café crew were still asleep after a long day of training and working. And now, a new day was fast approaching. So what wonderful things was the new day gonna have in store for them?
"It's so cold!" Shouted Chibi who was shivering and still wrapped up in his blanket as he came downstairs.
"But why is it so cold? The weather was just fine yesterday." Said Spooky who turned into a ball as he sat on the couch.
"Let me open up the window and see what's going on outside." Said Jack as he walked up to the window.
Once he opened it, a strong icy wind blew right in his face, making his hair turn to ice.
"Close it back! Close it back!" Shouted Evan.
"What the hell happened?" Asked Joey.
"I-It s-seems t-that i-it s-snowed o-over n-night." Said Jack as he closed the window and slowly turned around shaking from head to toe.
"Where did all that snow come from?" Asked Rustage.
"Oh. I forgot to tell you guys." Said Melody as she flew downstairs. "We just entered the winter season. It always snows on the first winter night. Speaking of which, I kind of forgot that it was the first winter night. So I forgot to turn on the heaters. Sorry. I'll be right back." Said Melody as she flew off towards the basement.
Soon enough, the house started becoming warmer.
"Ahhh. That feels much better." Said Katie.
"You said it." Said Libellus taking off his blanket.
"Well, now that that's out of the way, how about we get some breakfast?" Said Melody as she came back from the basement.
"That sounds great." Said Noble as he and the others followed her to the dining room.
"So, does Exforia do anything during the winter?" Asked Johnny as he took a bite of his sausage.
"Oh yes. I forgot that this is your first winter in this world. On the last month of each year, each city in Exforia will have a winter festival. And since this is the capital, our festival will be the biggest one." Said Melody.
"A winter festival? That sounds like fun." Said Gaby.
"So what do you guys do during the festival?" Asked Hiding.
"There is so much to do. Everyone in the city does something. There will be decorations all around the capital, tons of entertainment, food stalls everywhere, parades, costumes that will be given out by Fantasia and on the last day of the year, at midnight there will be a huge fireworks show. All preparations for the festival take place on the first week of the month."
"Wow. There is so much." Said Steve.
"Sure is."
"What will you be doing?" Asked Poxal.
"Well, since the winter festival in Osval will be the biggest, we'll be having tons of visitors. Not to mention that the festival has two sides to it. The first side of it is all the stuff I just talked about that happens before midnight. After that, the real fun begins."
"What do you mean?" Asked Nux.
"Well, we night girls will be putting on our own show." Said Melody as she stroked Nux's cheek and winked at him which gave him an instant nosebleed.
"I wonder what we should do." Said Hirito.
"I have an idea." Said John.
"And what's that?" Asked Evan.
"How about we bring some of our world's winter entertainment to this world?" Asked John.
"What do you have in mind?" Asked Tekking.
"For instance, Melody mentioned costumes and parades."
At hearing that, Connor's face lit up.
"We can bring some of our world's costumes to this world." Said Connor as he stood up.
"That's right." Said John.
"Hey Melody. Would it be alright to alter a piece of land outside of the capital just for the festival?" Asked Recon.
"I wouldn't see why not. But why?"
"Oh I just want to use some earth magic to raise a few hills."
"Hills? What for?" Asked Melody.
"Skiing!" Shouted the others.
"That's right." Said Recon. "And not just that. Sledding and snowboarding too."
"How about ice skating too?" Asked Hirito.
"Of course. How could we forget about that?" Said Dono.
"What are you all talking about? What is this skiing and ice skating that you are talking about?" Asked Melody.
"It would be easier to show you." Said Hirito.
The Moe Café crew led Melody down to the magical training room.
"Want to go first Recon?" Asked Hirito.
"Don't mind if I do." Said Recon as he stepped forward and closed his eyes. "Revarte Ostra!"
The room started shaking and a snowy hill started popping out of the ground. Once the ground stopped shaking, people started appearing at the top of the hills with sleds, snowboards and skis and started going down the hill.
"Melody, this right here is one of our world's favorite winter entertainment. Sledding, skiing and snowboarding." Said Recon.
"Wow! This is fascinating." Said Melody who was starring in amazement.
"My turn." Said Hirito. "Revarte Ostra!"
Close to the hill, the ground started changing. Ice started forming. Once again, people appeared that started skating on the ice.
"And this is ice skating." Said Hirito.
"Amazing. What are those unusual shoes? And why do they have blades on them? Are they weapons?" Asked Melody.
"No no. Those are skates. They're special shoes used to move on the ice like that."
"This looks so fun. And you want to do this here in Osval?"
"Yup. That's the plan" Said Hirito.
"Oh I can't wait. This year's festival is going to be the best one yet." Said Melody.
The crew then went back upstairs to discuss everyone's roles in the preparations for the upcoming festival.
"Well, since the adventurers are good with magic, they should handle the skiing and ice skating stuff." Said John.
"Sounds good." Said Briggs.
"Gaby, Chibi, Libellus, Katie and I were thinking of setting up a food stall with some winter style cuisine from back home." Said Mental Quorum.
"I'm hungry already.��� Said Nux.
"As settled before, Steve, Joey, Rustage and I will be working with Fantasia on the costumes." Said Connor.
"And as for the rest of us, we're gonna help out with the decorations. We've got something special set in that department." Said Jordan.
"And what would that be?" Asked Animak.
"The good old Christmas tree." Said Spooky.
"Ah yes. It wouldn't be the same without it." Said Katie.
"What's a Christmas tree?" Asked Melody.
"Oh don't worry. This is gonna be a surprise." Said Poxal.
"But we're going to need a ton of decorations. So we better get to work as soon as possible." Said Noble.
"But won't we need permission to place the Christmas tree down?" Asked Jack.
"Oh don't worry about that. Leave that to us library folks." Said John.
"Well since we all decided on what to do, I guess t's time to get to work." Said SOS.
Everyone stood up and headed out.
"Evan, Nux, Briggs, Hirito and I will head out of the city to scout the area for the hills and ice skating." Said Recon. "Dono, Tekking, Animak, Johnny and SOS, you five head to town and find some craftsmen that can make us about two hundred sleds, a hundred pairs of skis and a hundred snowboards."
"Got it." Said Animak.
"Hey Connor. Do you think you could help us out with an order of five hundred pairs of ice skating shoes?" Asked Hirito.
"Sure thing." Said Connor.
"Alright then. I'll see you guys later. Good luck." Said Melody as she flew off.
Everyone split up and went to their various locations to get started with their festival preparations. Gaby, Chibi, Libellus, Katie and Mental Quorum went to their restaurant where they started preparing some winter recipes. John, Noble, Jordan and Poxal headed for the palace where after hearing their Christmas tree idea, a very excited king gave them permission to use the space in front of the Town Hall. Upon hearing the news, Jack, Spooky and Hiding headed to the forest in search for the best Christmas tree around. Animak and his crew headed to their good friend Oda and showed him their plans for the sleds, skis and snowboards. After seeing the large order, he called all his men and colleagues and got to work immediately. Connor, Joey, Steve and Rustage went to Fantasia and spoke to Chiika and Ouji about the costumes and ice skates. They were very excited about the costume ideas they brought to them. Ouji then introduced them to the best shoe maker in town who helped was very happy to help them with their ice skates idea. As for Recon's and Hirito's group, things weren't going that smoothly.
"I know I came up with the ice skating idea, but how exactly do I use ice magic?" Asked Hirito looking a bit puzzled.
"And now that I think of it, raising a few hills is gonna be tough. I don't know if I can raise them high enough. We're still struggling a bit with mastering our magic you know." Said Recon.
"How about we ask the spirits?" Said Nux.
"That's a good idea." Said Recon. "Hey spirits. You there?"
"Of course we are." Said a light spirit, appearing next to Recon. Soon after, all their other spirits started appearing one by one.
"Is there any way to use our elemental magic to create ice?" Asked Hirito.
"There is." Said a wind spirit.
"You use water magic." Said a water spirit.
"How exactly?" Asked Evan.
"You know how the temperature of your fire can increase by concentrating more fire magic, right?" Said a fire spirit.
"Well, you do something similar with water." Said a dark spirit.
"All you have to do is use the same concentration of magic you used to increase the temperature of your flames and decrease the water temperature." Said a water spirit.
"I see. I'll give it a try." Said Hirito.
He then started releasing some water from his hands.
"That's right. Now just visualize the water turn to ice." Said a water spirit.
Hirito closed his eyes and started concentrating his magic more. Soon enough, the water that was coming out of the palm of his hands started making some cracking noises.
"It's working. Keep at it." Said Briggs.
The water that was flowing then turned to ice together with the little puddle that formed on the ground.
"You did it." Said Recon, slapping him on the back.
"Man. That was tough. But I think I got the hang of it now." Said Hirito breathing heavily.
"You better master it soon. Because an ice rink the size of this puddle won't be big enough." Said Nux.
"Well now that we got that out of the way, it's time to figure out how I'm gonna raise these hills." Said Recon.
"Raising a hill isn't as hard as it sounds." Said an earth spirit.
"That's right. Try altering a small piece of land in front of you." Said another earth spirit.
"Alter? How exactly?" Asked Recon.
"Just do anything." Said a fire spirit.
"Alright then."
Recon then concentrated his earth magic in one spot and managed to raise a wall as tall as him.
"Well that was easy." Said Recon.
"Good. Now why did you raise a dirt wall?" Asked an earth spirit.
"What do you mean why? You told me to."
"I said you could alter the land in front of you in any way you want." Said the earth spirit.
"We never said that you should raise a wall." Said a fire spirit.
"So let me ask again. Why did you raise a dirt wall?" Asked the earth spirit.
"Because… because I visualized a dirt wall." Said Recon, finally figuring out what the spirits meant.
"That's right. To use elemental magic, all you have to do is concentrate the magic you want to use and visualize what you want to bring forth." Said a wind spirit.
"I see. So basically, if I want to raise a few hills, I just have to visualize the hills, right?"
"That's right. But don't forget the flow of magic and mana control." Said a dark spirit.
"Because if you don't control your mana and let it all rush out, with your magic reserves, you will end up raising a hill all the way to the moon." Said a water spirit.
"THE MOON?!!!" Said everyone in shock.
"That's right. All of you have immense mana." Said a fire spirit.
"If you learn to control it, there's no telling how strong you will become." Said a light spirit.
"Or what magic you will bring forth." Said an earth spirit.
"Just like how Master Hirito changed water to ice with his magic, there are endless possibilities to what you can do with your magic." Said a fire spirit.
"I see. That's good to know." Said Briggs.
"But that's talk for another day. We've got a festival ahead of us and a lot of work to do." Said Nux.
"That's right. Now that the spirits explained everything, I think I can pull it off." Said Hirito.
"Alright then. Let' split up so that we can finish the work faster. Nux and I will go help Recon raise the hills. Evan and Hirito will focus on the ice." Said Briggs.
"Got it." Said everyone else.
They then split up and got to work.
John, Noble, Jordan and Poxal went to meet up with Jack, Spooky and Hiding who were trying to figure out what tree to get.
"I think this one looks good enough." Said Jack.
"Isn't it too tall? I was thinking about this one." Said Spooky.
"But that one's too short. How about this one." Said Hiding.
"Too wide." Said Jack.
"Hey guys. Found a tree yet?" Asked Noble who just arrived with his group.
"Not yet. We can't figure out what tree to get." Said Hiding.
"They all look fine to me. Although, we shouldn't get one that's too big or it won't fir in the space we got." Said John.
"That's true." Said Jordan.
"How about that one?" Asked Poxal who pointed to a tree in the distance. The tree was standing tall on top of a hill.
"That looks perfect." Said Spooky.
"Now the question is, how do we get it into town?" Asked Jack.
"Also, we shouldn't cut it down. After the festival we can come replant it back." Said John.
"That's true." Said Noble.
"I have an idea." Said John. "A few weeks ago I went and bought a magical item called the item bag that allowed me to store anything in it no matter how large it is. The only issue is that the larger the object, the more magic is sucks in. So we'll take turns with the bag."
"Sounds good. Now as to getting the tree and its roots out, Hiding, Noble and Poxal can use their earth magic to get it out of the ground safe and sound." Said Jack.
"Good plan. Now let's go get us a Christmas tree." Said Jordan.
They then set out to get the tree. With Hiding, Noble and Poxal's help, they managed to take out the tree without a hitch and placed it in John's bag. They then made their way to town, each taking turns in carrying the bag. Once they got to the Town Hall, a large flower pot was waiting for them.
"We got the flower pot ready for the tree before we came to meet up with you guys." Said John.
"Nice. Now let's get this tree out and planted." Said Spooky.
They then removed the tree out of the bag which scared the people that were there for a moment. They all starred at the giant tree and wondered what these girls were doing with it.
"Now that that's done, let's get to decorating it." Said John as he took out a few boxes full of decorations out of his bag.
The people were staring at what the girls were doing and soon enough, a crowed formed and started helping out with the decorations as well. Soon after, the Christmas tree was finished and was looking marvelous. Jack then went to the top and placed the star. He then gave out a loud cheer and everyone around him started clapping and cheering along with him.
"We did it." Said Hiding, high fiving Jordan.
"We sure did." Said John. He then turned to the crowed. "Thank you all for lending a hand. We couldn't have done this without you."
"You guys did a great job in getting this tree." Said a man.
"Yeah. We should be thanking you for adding something more special to this year's festival." Said another.
The crowed the started cheering for the seven girls who smiled and thanked the people. This was surely going to be a special winter festival.
In Fantasia, Connor, Steve, Joey and Rustage were brainstorming costume ideas. Chiika's and Ouji's faces were lit up like never before and were writing down everything the others were saying.
"How about tuxedos?" Asked Joey.
"Sounds good. Clown costumes." Said Rustage.
"We're gonna need make up for that." Said Connor.
"Anything else?" Asked Steve.
"Hmm." Said the others.
Ouji and Chiika were sitting there quiet, with the pens still in their hands ready to write down what was going to come next. They already knew what was happening. Every time they would stop to try and figure out what to bring out next.
"I've got it! How could I have forgotten?" Said Connor as he stood up.
Chiika's and Ouji's smile widened and their eyes sparkled.
"What? What did you remember?" Asked the others.
"Anime… cosplays." Said Connor.
"Of course! Megumin!" Said Joey.
"Zero Two!" Said Rustage.
"C.C!" Said Connor.
"Rias!" Said Steve.
"We're gonna need wigs." Said Connor.
"And horns." Said Rustage.
"Do you think we could make some fake wings too?" Asked Joey.
Chiika and Ouji were writing down everything at top speed. They could already see the profits coming in.
Gaby, Chibi, Libellus, Katie and Mental Quorum were at their restaurant trying out different recipes. They asked the manager for a private kitchen to work in. The manager agreed. He knew that these five were exceptional cooks and he wanted to give them a place where they could work out their magic.
"One thing that we have to bring out is the gingerbread." Said Katie.
"And since its cold out, people are gonna need some warm food too." Said Mental Quorum.
"Speaking of something warm, how about hot cocoa?" Said Gaby.
"Sounds good. And since we're on drinks, we could prepare some cocktails." Said Libellus.
"Like Margaritas." Said Chibi.
"Mimosas." Said Mental Quorum.
"And Martinis." Said Katie.
"Now that we've got the drinks out of the way, let's think of deserts." Said Chibi as he wrote everything down.
"We already have the gingerbread written down." Said Katie.
"I'm thinking cheesecake." Said Gaby.
"Let's not forget roll cakes." Said Libellus.
"And Tiramisu." Said Mental Quorum.
"Ahhh. Tiramisu." Said the others.
"What about foods?" Asked Chibi.
"Hey. It's a festival. Which is basically a huge party. And what food screams party?" Asked Gaby.
"Pizza!" Shouted everyone.
"Exactly. We could also make dumplings." Said Gaby.
"That sounds great." Said Mental Quorum.
"By the way, a hot food that'd be good with this weather would be chili." Said Libellus.
"Oh yeah. And since we mentioned pizza, I thought of two more Italian foods. Ravioli and lasagna." Said Chibi.
"Nice choices. " Said Gaby.
"Well, I think that would be enough when it comes to foods. Anything else?" Asked Katie.
"I don't think so. We've got deserts, drinks and foods." Said Chibi as he checked his notes.
"That settles it then. Let's get to work." Said Libellus.
Dono, Tekking, Animak, Johnny and SOS just got to their good friend Oda in his shop to drop the orders.
"Ah, ladies. Welcome back. What can I help you with today?" Asked Oda.
"Oda, we need you to be in top form." Said Dono.
"I'm always in top form when it comes to my good friends. So what other wonders would you like me to create?"
"Well, Recon came up with these and we want to know if you will be able to make them." Said SOS as he handed Oda some sketches of a sled, a snowboard and a pair of skis.
"Hmm. Yes. I could make these. What are they for?���
"We need them to be able to be smooth on the bottom so that the can be able to move on the snow downhill." Said Tekking. "This is a sled that can allow a person to sit on and ride it downhill on the snow. This is a snowboard which is like a sled. But this time, the person stands on it and rides it downhill. We also need it to have a space where the person can fix his legs in so that he doesn't fall off the snowboard as seen in the sketch. And as for the skis, they are like two smaller snowboards. One for each leg. And these sticks will allow the person to navigate through the snow as he goes downhill."
"I see. This is fascinating. You girls never cease to amaze me. So how many of them do you need? Ten each? Twenty?" Asked Oda.
"We need two hundred sleds, a hundred pairs of skis and a hundred snowboards by the end of the week." Said Johnny.
Oda's mouth and eyes opened wide.
"Can't you do it?" Asked Animak.
Oda quickly regained his composure and smiled.
"Me? Who do you think you're talking to? Hey lads! We've got a large order from the girls!" Shouted Oda as he called out to his colleagues.
"Well it's about time." Said one.
"And I was getting bored too." Said another.
"Don't you worry ladies. We'll have these orders ready in no time. We'll deliver them to Miss Melody's place as usual." Said Oda.
"Thanks guys. We knew we could count on you." Said Animak as he and his group winked at them which got a loud cheer from Oda and his men.
Back at Hirito's and Recon's group, it took them quite some time to get used to controlling their mana output. But after a few hours, they managed to get it. Recon, Briggs and Nux raised three hills covered in snow, each suitable for sledding, skiing and snowboarding. As for Hirito and Evan, they managed to create ice just suitable for ice skating. They made two ice skating rinks. One for adults and the other for kids. Now all that was left was decorating everything and adding the finishing touches.
"By the way, having everyone walk back up after coming down the hills is quite tiring. Can't we figure out a better way to get people up there?" Asked Briggs.
"Don't worry about that. I've got it covered. Hey light spirit. Let's do it." Said Recon.
With the help of the spirits, Recon cast a spell at the bottom of the hill. The space in front of them started distorting and soon after, a portal appeared in front of them.
"No way. Is that an actual portal?" Asked Nux.
"Sure is. With this bad boy, people can get up there in an instant. Follow me." Said Recon as he passed through it.
And sure enough, by passing through that portal, they instantly got to the top of the hill.
"This is amazing. But how did you create it so easily?" Asked Briggs.
"About a month ago, I've been trying to see if I could teleport. And in training to do that, I accidentally created a portal instead. So with the help of my light spirit, I managed to master portal creation. And thanks to my large mana reserves, I can create up to ten portals and keep them open as long as I want."
"That's amazing. You really have to teach me how to do it once the festival is done." Said Nux.
"Will do." Said Recon as he and the others went back down the hill.
"No way. Is that a portal?" Asked Evan as he and Hirito came to meet them.
"Sure is. We're gonna use them to transport the people up the hills." Said Recon.
"That's amazing." Said Hirito.
"How's the ice rink coming up?" Asked Nux.
"We're almost done. All we've got to do now is add the finishing touches." Said Evan.
"Alright then. We'll come help out." Said Briggs.
The five of them then went and decorated the ice rinks. They added some fences and railing on the sides and planted a few trees around the ice rinks.
"Hey. All this ice gave me an idea." Said Evan.
"And what would that be?" Aske Nux.
Evan then stepped feet away from the ice rink and started shooting out ice. It took them a while, but the other four figured out what he was doing so they went to lend him a hand. A few minutes later, they were done.
"I think that looks good." Said Recon.
"I'm sure the kids are gonna love it." Said Briggs.
"Well, now that we're done, how about we head home?" Said Hirito.
"Sounds good." Said the others.
Before the five of them left, with the help of the light and dark spirits, they cast some illusion magic over the area.
The week went by real fast. People from all over the country were making their way to Osval just in time for the festival. One the first day of the festival, King Osval gave a small speech and welcomed everyone from out of town.
"Welcome to Osval my friends. Another year has passed and it is now time for yet another winter festival. This year, the festival will be much more wonderful than the previous ones. I assure you on that. As you can see, we have a giant tree next to the city called a Christmas tree. Courtesy of our wonderful friends, Lady John, Lady Jordan, Lady Noble and Lady Poxal. Also, keep your eyes out for the parades since the costumes this year are said to be quite amazing. If you would love to have some costumes for yourselves, Fantasia is the place to go. And I am also told that the food this year is going to be exquisite. So make sure to keep an eye out for The Moe Café crew's food stall. And last but not least, if you would please turn around and look out above the walls…"
That was the cue for Briggs and his crew to remove the illusion spell that revealed the hills and the top of a giant ice castle. The people were amazed by what they were seeing.
"As you can see, some very talented adventurers came up with some wonderful new entertainment for all of us. So once again, I welcome you to Osval to our annual winter festival. Enjoy yourselves as much as your heart desires." Said the king as he finished his speech that was received with a ton of cheers from his people.
Most of the folks in town went straight out to see what entertainment the king was talking about. The Moe Café adventurers were right there to guide everyone. Surprisingly enough, most of the people managed to master ice skating, sledding, snowboarding and skiing almost immediately. As for the kids, they were really excited by the giant ice castle. In the city, the captivating fragrance of The Moe Café's food stall was attracting a ton of customers. Since they didn't have any other job on their hands, John, Noble, Jack, Jordan, Poxal, Spooky and Hiding went to help out at the stalls. So they were able to serve everyone without any problems. As for the crew at Fantasia, they were also full of customers that wanted an order of costumes. Thanks to how popular Connor's crew ideas were, a ton of tailors came in to help make the costumes. So by the beginning of the festival, Fantasia had a ton of costumes in stock. The Christmas tree that John and his group planted and decorated was also very well admired by the people who never saw a tree look so beautiful and magnificent. The star at the top captivated everyone and seemed to draw people to it. And on the last night of each week, the parades lit up everyone's faces even more. Especially the Moe Café crew that didn't know what the Fantasia group planned. They constantly cheered as they saw some of their favorite waifus and husbandos pass down the streets. And at midnight, Melody and her girls started their own festival.
The weeks went by fast and the festival was a huge success. The wonders of the capital's winter festival reached to the four corners of Exforia. With each passing day, more people who heard about Osval's festival would come in to experience the most talked about event of the year.
And finally, on the last night of the festival and of the year, Melody and the Moe Café Crew stood on top of one of the hills that the adventures created.
"This winter festival was truly the best one ever." Said Melody.
"It sure was fun." Said Libellus.
"And you guys. You did an awesome job out here." Said Rustage as he congratulated the adventurers.
"Can't believe we actually pulled it off." Said Nux.
"Well, I say that this festival was a total success." Said Katie.
"It sure was." Said Noble.
"Look! It's starting!" Shouted Poxal as he pointed to the city.
From the capital, dozens of fireworks lit up the sky signaling the end of another year. This was the crew's first New Year. It's been six months since they came to this world. They've had a lot of fun and some amazing adventures these past few months. And now that the New Year was here, more adventures were gonna come their way. Especially the biggest adventure yet, that will have their names go down in history. But that's a story for another time.