Glancing at the Flaringo, which was gradually returning to normal under the effects of the medication, Mr. Blau said to Caine directly, "Forget it, just report this."
He added, "To be safe... ask Vaporglade City to send a few more professional Beast Master to station here in Solvale Town."
"That serious?" Caine looked up in surprise at Mr. Blau's suggestion. "Fried and the others will finish their patrol and return soon. Do we really need to bring in reinforcements from Vaporglade City?"
"You don't understand." Mr. Blau shook his head, his expression dark as though he were reliving some terrible memory.
Seeing this, Caine wisely kept his mouth shut and refrained from asking further.
Both of them were professional Beast Master, privy to certain information that couldn't yet be disclosed to the public.
If someone with more experience like Mr. Blau had already deemed the situation this severe, Caine knew better than to argue.
Rising to his feet, Caine patted the now fully-recovered Flaringo on its rear, sending it back to its original habitat in the Water Grove Area.
With that, this sudden incident came to a temporary conclusion as Caine reported the situation to the Beast Master Association in Vaporglade City.
No one's daily life was affected.
Solvale Town still maintained its tranquility and peace, as always.
...
In the days following her return from the Spirit Beast Reserve, Ash had been quietly keeping an eye on the situation in Solvale Town.
Unfortunately, despite several days passing, she had not noticed anything unusual.
It seemed as though the Flaringo that suddenly went berserk at the Spirit Beast Reserve was just an ordinary accident.
With the upcoming monthly exams and preliminary tests, Ash had no time or energy to pay attention to anything else.
The countless preliminary tests were nearly overwhelming her, and even her dreams at night were filled with exam papers.
Thus, amidst the stress of exams and preparation, time passed, and December arrived.
The once-cool weather had turned thoroughly cold, forcing Ash to switch to a thick down jacket.
"Achoo!"
Ash woke up in the morning to the cold wind blowing in through the gap in the window.
She stared at the ceiling for a while before realizing that her final exams were over, and her winter vacation had begun.
Yawning, Ash sat up in bed.
The schools on Gaia had holidays far earlier than she was used to, and the habit of having school until the end of January or even February back on Earth made her feel a little out of place here.
She picked up her flip phone from the bedside and checked the time, then stared blankly at the date displayed on the screen for a moment.
[ Saturday, December 31 ]
That date seemed oddly familiar... Wait!
December 31th?
Ash suddenly smacked her forehead, realizing why she felt a strange familiarity with this date—today was her eighteenth birthday!
"I'm finally an adult..." Ash thought to herself, feeling a mix of emotions.
Her mood didn't change much.
For her, a birthday was simply a reminder that another year had passed, with nothing particularly special to celebrate.
Instead, she was more focused on today being the New Year's Eve.
Since it was the New Year's Eve it had to be celebrated properly.
After all, it was her first New Year since arriving on Gaia.
With this in mind, Ash quickly threw off the covers and dressed.
Her movement allowed the cold wind to rush in, causing Larvanine, which had been sprawled across the bed, to shiver and let out a pitiful groan.
"Larvanine~?"
Larvanine turned over and groggily looking at Ash, as though asking if it was time for breakfast.
"You..." Ash smiled and shook her head and then reached out her hand to gently pat Larvanine's head. "How is it that in winter, all you do is only eating and sleeping? If I didn't know it better, I'd think that you do hibernate like bears."
"Larvanine~!"
Larvanine let out a defiant cry, seemingly protesting against Ash's words, but it didn't have much effect.
"Alright, let's get up. Today is New Year's Eve, and we have a lot to do." Ash withdrew her hand from Larvanine's head and turned around to head to the bathroom.
Larvanine shook its head and didn't stay in bed.
After yawning, it lowered its head, grabbed the corner of the blanket in its mouth, and, as usual, helped Ash straighten out the messy bedding.
Only after that did it bounce off the bed and jump into the bathroom.
Meanwhile, Ash was brushing her teeth at the sink.
When she saw Larvanine entering, she stepped back to give it space.
Larvanine gathered its strength and jumped up to the high stool in front of the sink, which Ash had prepared just for it.
It wrapped its right antenna around the special toothbrush Ash handed to it, and together they brushed their teeth in front of the mirror.
Outside the house, the snowflakes fluttered down, blanketing the world in a silvery white color.
After finishing wiping Larvanine's face, Ash noticed, while hanging up the towel, that a thick layer of snow had already accumulated outside the window, though she didn't know exactly when it had started to snow.
She looked at the snow clinging to the evergreen trees outside the window and softly murmured, "So it's snowing, no wonder it's so cold today..."
"Larvanine~?"
When Larvanine heard Ash's voice, it also tilted its head and looked toward the window.
Unfortunately, the glass was covered in condensation, and the visibility was very low, leaving Larvanine only able to see a vague, blurry white.
"Do you want to see it?" Ash glanced down at the curious Larvanine, then extended her hand to open the window just enough for Larvanine's head to poke through.
Immediately, a biting cold wind rushed into the warm room through the open window.
Both Ash and Larvanine shivered at the sudden chill.
But soon, Larvanine was completely captivated by the silvery-white world outside.