"Oh my, what's with your groggy face?" A small ghost spoke up with a smirk.
"You look like you snuck a peek of the other side. Heeheehee." The chubby ghost smirked.
"Your fall term comes to an end today, you can't lose motivation on the last day. Buck up!" The lean ghost called to them with a wide smirk.
"An then tomorrow winter holiday starts." The small ghost reminded them with a wider smile, "What do you guys plan to do?"
"Hmm?" Grim looked to them in confusion, "The hell is 'winter holiday'?"
"It's what they call that big break you get in winter." the small ghost explained, "Usually kids go home to celebrate the new year with their family and have a big feast!"
"F-fgna!!" Grim cried out with a wide smile, "A feast?!"
Lotus smiled as she watched Grim and Yuu arrive at the bottom step of the stair case, "Always the food enthusiast..."
"Oh yeah!" The lean ghost nodded with a wide smile, "With roasted turkey and cake and a ginerbread house... Well, none of us can eat that."
"Us, ghosts, usually make our way back to the other side to see our families too." The small ghost explained again.
"And some of them never return to this side! Heeheehee." The fat ghost said hauntingly with a cheerful smile on his face.
"Eat and be merry with family..." Grim muttered in wonder.
"Grim, do you have any family?" Yuu asked Grim after hearing his words.
"My family...?" Grim hummed in thought, "Hmmm, I don't really remember. When I came to, I was by myself and starving. It was freezing and I was just waiting around for someone..."
He closed his eyes in thought, "...What happened after that? I can't remember..."
Dismissing the loss of any past, Grim wore a wide smile again and laughed, "Well, the past is the past, y'know! Can't change it so I'm all about the future! I'm on my way to becoming a great and wealthy wizard! Bahahahaha!"
"You've had your own share of tough times." The small ghost pointed out with a wide smile.
"You two can spend the holiday curled around the fireplace with us." The lean ghost said with a wide smile taking pity on them.
"Nyaha! A holiday and I get a feast, sign me up!" Grim cheered aloud with a paw in the air.
Lotus shook her head and sighed with an exasperated smile, "All that's left is the last class. Focus, Grim. Just for today, then you can take it easy till the end of Winter Holidays."
"Really?!" Grim stared at her with sparkling eyes before he cheered as soon as she nodded, "Yay!"
While they were watching the ghosts chatting with Grim happily over the event, Yuu glanced over to Lotus curious over what her family is like and if she would be gone for the holidays too.
.....
"Listen up, puppies." Crewel announced at the beginning of class in the classroom as they finished their roll calls, "I'm sure you're all looking forward to spending your vacation at home. But, every year, there are those who spend the entire time playing around and forget their homework! There will be plenty of desciple awaiting those puppies who can't be bothered to do their assignments. Special permission to use Mirror Chamber has been granted for you to travel home. Get your things and report to the proper mirror!"
"Alright!"
After class, Ace breathed a sigh of relief and said with a wide smile, "We're finally released from the shackles of our student life!"
"As expected of Night Raven College," Deuce groaned, "they don't hold back on the homework."
"Oh yeah, Prefect, you still haven't found a way to get back to your world, right?" Ace recalled this fact.
"I guess that means you two will both be at school for the holiday." Deuce concluded.
"Yup." Grim nodded in confirmation, "We're gonna put together a feast with the ghosts, y'know!"
"Gotcha." Ace nodded looking slightly relieved, "With all the ghosts here I guess you guys won't be lonely at all."
"Wait?" Deuce frowned as a thought hit him and he continued with deep concern, "If school is closed for the holiday, doesn't that mean the cafeteria and student store is closed?"
"F-fgna!" Grim cried out in bewilderment, "You're totally right. How are we supposed to have our feast?"
"I-I don't wanna go hungry over the break." Yuu said nervously.
"You should probably check with the headmaster as soon as possible." Deuce suggested calmly.
"Let's head over to the Mirror Chamber since the Headmaster has to be there to give his approval." Ace responded with a wide smirk.
"Good idea!" Yuu nodded in agreement.
Deuce called over to Lotus and asked curiously, "What about you, Lotus?"
"Me?" Lotus looked up from her book curiously as Ace looked over as well.
Since the trip, Ace grew very curious over his friend's situation and whether he should keep an eye out for her or not, especially since it seemed as though there was a screw loose in her head on numerous occasions. One of which was the time, she openly threatened the magicam monsters with footage of break-ins during Halloween Week so that the dorms could have peace during the nights when the school is closed. Due to the incident, Yuu and the ghosts helped Lotus cover up the story as something the Ramshackle dorm and the Diasomnia dorm came up with together.
"I'm not going back till the end of the four school years." Lotus responded bluntly, "Unless there's a family emergency, I'm focusing on my studies. So, I'm staying here with "
"Then, you can join the meal with us." Yuu said with a wide smile, "You weren't there for the Halloween Party last time."
"More like he left after the first half." Ace said with a sigh as he recalled that time.
"I've never seen how other places would celebrate Christmas, so I guess this works out..." Lotus noted with a wide smile.
.....
Back in her room, Lotus breathed a sigh of irritation as she grumbled, "So boring... Every night it's the same thing. These guys are too stupid to make fun with. When you think they'd be smart enough to hide somewhere in the room, they actually step outside and run like a chicken with its head cut off. Hmph!"
For once, Lotus did not hide her irritation as she grumbled those words in dismay. The people around here was much smarter than these guys since they didn't have the longevity of a cultivator and relied on resources to survive. They knew better that every action should count for something to their own benefits, especially when that came to their own desire to live. These guys just continue to die off with her even lifting a finger. They made for better dummies for her to practice with, but that was all.
In her ring, Xiao Li, who heard this shook his head and sighed in exasperation. This woman just had to be his master...
.....
It was the start of the Winter Break when Grim and Yuu left for the Mirror Chamber. Curious, Lotus, obviously, followed after them.
"There's already a bunch of people headed home." Deuce noted from the crowded Mirror Chamber.
"Haha, they all look so antsy." Ace laughed with his luggage in hand then looked around, "And, the Headmaster is..."
"Everyone, please make sure to keep a hold of your belongings as you enter the mirror chamber. If you let go for even a moment, your things will end up in a completely different location. I recommend shipping anything you can't live without through the student store."
To their surprise, the headmaster didn't have his usual top hat and attire on. Instead, he wore a yellow vacation shirt with apples, ferns and black birds decorated on it. He kept the mask on but wore a white fedora hat with a black ribbon followed by shorts and sandals. An attire made for vacationing in this world, apparently.
"He's in full vacay mode!" The four cried out in unison.
"What a unique sight." Lotus said with a laugh.
"A Hawaiian shirt in the middle of winter!" Ace exclaimed in shock, "This guy's ready to become a snowbird down South!"
"He's not even trying to hide where he'd rather be." Deuce sighed in dismay.
"Hey you, Headmaster!" Grim called out, "We've got a bone to pick!"
"Oh?" Crowley looked over in surprise, "what are you all doing here?"
"Are you really looking for a way to get me home?" Yuu asked in exasperation.
"Ah!" Crowley looked to him bluntly before it hit him, "Aaaahhh! A way back to your world. Hahaha. Don't be like that, of course I'm looking. My plan is to expand my research by going down south to see if I can find any leads, for I am very serious."
"That's not what people wear for 'research'..." Ace said in exasperation.
"Yeah, yeah!" Grim called out with a frown of dismay, "You're just gonna take it easy, y'know!"
"What are you talking about?" Crowley scolded them with a frown, "This is how they dress in the south. You have to try to fit in when you visit foreign lands. Escaping this cold and spending time gazing upon the ocean while drinking coconut juice from a hammock..."
As he said this with a detailed imagination, he clarified with a wide misleading smile, "I am most definitely not thinking about enjoying myself to the fullest."
"Y-You sure went into detail...!" Deuce said in shock.
"That's no fair!" Grim cried out, "We wanna go to the south too!"
"Whaaat? That would completely ruin my fun..." Crowley groaned before he realized his words and quickly cleared his throat, "Ahem! There will be a great deal of danger involved in my investigation, so I must go alone. And I have a very important job for you to take care of here at school. It is a crucial task that affects the very existence of Night Raven College."
"He's getting full of himself, again." Yuu grumbled nervously.
Lotus thought for a bit before speaking up, "Well, have you thought about how we're going to eat over winter break?"
Crowley nodded with a wide smile, "If you were to accept this job then, on top of your usual food expenses over vacation, I promise to provide for you a great feast. With roasted turkey, cake, a gingerbread house... How about I throw in thick and juicy spare ribs and a mountain of french fries, does that tickle your fancy?"
"F-Fgna?! Thick and juicy spare ribs? A mountain of french fries?" Grim's eyes widen like a saucer in surprise as a wide smile appeared on his face, "I suppose there's no harm in hearing you out."
"Ah," Lotus chuckled, "It seems the headmaster got him hooked again."
"It doesn't take much to pay you off..." Ace said with a loud sigh.
"Ahem." Crowley spoke up, "All of the fires around campus, from the cafeterias to fireplaces, are maintained by fire fae. They have been living in the hearths in the Main Cafeteria for many years now. But if they are not given perfectly dried logs everyday they will disappear. Without those fire fae, this school would be wrapped in a cold that would freeze it solid."
"I had noticed that even without a heater, it's always nice and warm around here." Deuce spoke up curiously.
"So, it was magic." Ace pointed out rather impressed.
"There is a ghost that's supposed to be in charge during long holidays but..." Crowley sighed, "His daughter had a child this year, it seems, and has returned to the otherside to meet his grandchild. So, I'd like to ask you to take care of it in his stead."
"A ghost has a grandchild...?" Yuu looked to Crowley in confusion.
"Let's just call it a miracle of love and leave it at that..." Crowley pointed out with a sigh.
Lotus laughed, "It means the daughter of this ghost is still alive and had a child amongst the living. They're amongst the living, so he's gone back to see the newborn with his own soul for now."
"Oh..." Yuu nodded in understanding, "Congrats to him, then..."
"Yes, yes, yes." Crowley spoke up, "Back to the point, this is crucial, if you'd like to stay warm over the holiday. All you have to do is mover around some firewood daily and you can spend your holiday warm and with a full belly... It's two bird with one stone. Isn't this a wonderful arrangement?"
Crowley said the last bit with a wide joyous smile.