27 Winter is Definitely Coming

-Morning, My House-

-Me POV-​

*Ding*

[Achievement Alert]

[Home Sweet Home]

[Live life comfortably in your own Home]

[Reward: 20.000 AP & 20.000 IP]

"…"

Just a moment ago, I'm trying to eat my breakfast, but then an alert suddenly appeared when I am in the middle of bringing the food to my mouth, leaving me with my mouth open.

'…Comfortably? Is that the Keyword for the Achievement?'

I closed mouth and start thinking.

'It has been 4 days since I live in this House, at the first day, I did feel nervous when the night fall, at the second day, the intruder alert going off but it's a false alarm because it was just an animal wandering close to the house, I resetting the alert through the system, I excluded normal animal from it, and I still wondering how Yukari didn't setting off the alarm when she appeared, after that, the third and fourth day going smoothly and I already getting used to lived in here.'

I look at my breakfast.

A bowl of rice, a plate of sauced chicken meat for the side dish, and a cup of normal water, everything are placed on top of mini table in front of me, oh, and I also use a spoon to eat, I could use chopstick like usual but I'm most comfortable using a spoon to eat instead.

At first, I start just eating the canned food, but then I felt something missing, it's the Rice, I grown up with eating that stuff dude, so I felt weird if I didn't have it on my plate.

With that said, I bought everything that I need for cooking.

[Cooking Master] = 6.000 AP.

[Let User professionally did everything that related with Cooking]

[10 kg of Rice and many Cooking Utensils and Essentials] = 400 IP.

After that I start cooking everything, rice, meat, even sauces. As long as I have the ingredient, I can cook everything I want.

While I finished having that though, I continue eating my breakfast.

But while we're still talking about cooking, let's talk about something similar, such as, making an apology cake for people that I 'attacked' on 'that' day.

Seriously, I feel bad if I just leave it and pretend as if it never happened, all of them probably think me as a freak or an asshole if I didn't apologize after what happen, I don't wanna be hated by cute girls, dammit!

With that said. I started making Cheese Cake 2 days ago.

In the First day, I baked 2 Cakes for Marisa and Alice since those 2 are closer from my home, and I also want to tell them some news regarding my collecting services to both of them.

"…What do you want-ze?"

Marisa squint her eyes while holding her entrance door.

'..She's immediately on her guard after she saw me.'

I showed her my hand that's holding a box.

"…What's that-ze?"

"An apology cake, I think I owed it to everyone because of what I did a few days ago."

I nudge the box to her.

She hesitant at first but in the end she takes the box from my hand.

She looks between me and the box before she opened it, revealing the yellow cream colored cake inside.

"Woah! This looks delicious-ze!"

"Beside the Cake, I also want to talk about something."

She's looking back at me with a smile now.

"Go in then, just sit whenever you want-ze."

She said before she disappeared into her house.

'…Thank god that was easy, now let's hope everyone also as easy as her.'

With that hope in mind, I step inside her House.

-Marisa's House-​

'…My eyes hurt.'

I see Stuffs and Books scattered on the floor, I'm forced to use my Vector Change to cut through some of them to create a path as I walked along the corridor floor.

"It's still messy just like the last time I saw it, I wonder how can you breathe while knowing how messy your house is?"

"Well, I kinda just put it there, aaaaaand that's it-ze." replied Marisa from another room.

'…Are you serious?' I thought, "…Do you want me to help you organizes everything? I can do it easily and fast enough that it'll not gonna take all day."

I arrived at a room, the Cauldron Room.

"No! Don't do it, I'm gonna forget the position of everything that I put on the floor-ze!" said Marisa as she poked her head from another room.

"…But Marisa, that's the point of organizing, it help you remember everything you have."

"And I think it's still gonna be useless-ze. There's no point if I organized everything but then it keep getting messy again in the future-ze."

'…But that's also the point of organizing thing, to discipline yourself so that you won't bring mess to your home, …you know what, I don't care, if she's that hard headed then it will just gonna do more harm than good if I keep pushing.' I think. "…I see, it can't be helped then."

"Yup, it can't be helped." She said proudly while walking into the room.

'Why are you goddamn proud about it?! I swear to god, I think I'll pop a vein when I'm dealing with this girl in the future.' I thought tiredly.

"So what do you want to talk about-ze? By the way, just sit whenever you want-ze." She said while proceeding to sit on a sofa that's in the corner of the room, it got piled up by many book but somehow it have a single empty spot so that Marisa can sit on it.

I look around.

"…There's no chair in this room."

"That's why I said 'sit whenever you like'-ze."

I sigh.

I walk toward her and then sit on the air a meter in front of her.

Marisa started opening her mouth but I immediately bring up my palm to her and start talking to cut her off.

"It's my ability, and you can replicate it with magic, but of course, I've no obligation to tell you about it."

She closed her mouth.

"…Good, now, the first thing I want to talk about is regarding my collecting service in the winter."

She looks confused with what I'm talking about until she dawned into something "Ah, the winter ingredients-ze."

"That's right, the winter ingredient only come out when the season is in its peak, so there will be nothing appeared in the first month of winter, which also mean, I won't be delivering anything to you in those month."

"I see."

"Now, the second thing I want to tell you is that, I have a House now."

"Wait, you have a house-ze?"

"Yup, it's actually not far from your House, and that's why I'm telling you first instead of Alice"

.I point toward the direction of my house through her wall, Marisa moved her head to its direction.

"And because of that reason, I don't need money anymore, so you and Alice won't need to pay me anymore when I deliver your ingredient."

She blinked in confusion, "Why-ze?"

"Training and a good relation with my neighbor"

She starts thinking for a moment with what I said, before she voices her though.

"All right, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth-ze."

"Thank you, excuse me for a bit but I always wondering, how did you get your money if all you do collecting random stuff and no customer for your store anyway?"

"That's a secret-ze! *wink*" She winked at me.

"…" I gave her my flat stare, '…Fuck this shit I'm out.'

And I left.

After that, I went to Alice's House, I explained everything again just likes the time with Marisa, and she responded differently, she's nicer and more understanding than Marisa.

And the next day or yesterday, to be exact, I decided to went to Reimu's Shrine; I baked 2 Cakes on that day after I decided to went to her place.

Yeah, 2 cakes, the first cake disappeared as soon as I turned my back, it got replaced by a note that said "Thanks for the cake, by Yukari nee-chan."

Of course, I can't do anything since the Cake already gone, but instead I complained to her, even though I'm the only person in the House, "if you want one, please give me a message ahead of time so that I can make it alongside Reimu's share, I can save sometime that way."

Unexpectedly, she replied by making a note fall on top of me, it said "I'll hold your word for it."

I start feeling dejected because apparently my House wasn't enough to keep Yukari away from me.

I decided to stop moping around and proceed to bake Reimu's Cake again.

The conversation with Reimu happen just like with Marisa, excluded messy house and shorter conversation.

"An Apology Cake"

"You are forgiven!"

Really. Short. Conversation.

I've forgiven by Marisa, Alice and Reimu. Today, I'm aiming for Akyuu…I wonder how she's doing right now.

-Late Morning, Human Village-​

I walk inside the Village, Hieda Mansion is my destination.

I place the Cake inside my waist pouch; it's to keep them safe and still warm until I give it to her.

I see the villager start wearing thicker clothes now that the autumn season nearing its end.

'Should I make an Accessory that has warming effect on Akyuu?'

As I'm considering that idea, I saw a woman villager hurriedly walking to me.

I'm start thinking if I knew this person or not until I saw her title.

It's one of the Hieda's servants.

She explained the situation and brings me to the other servant.

So apparently, Akyuu start acting strange.

She's eating less, acting unmotivated, constant sighing, and she start daydreaming.

She starts doing this a few days ago and the servants believed that I can snap her out of it.

It's logical and all because it's the servants wishes that they want their master to be healthy, but I want you guys to answer a single question.

"Why me?"

All of them avert their eyes.

"Oi! What if I make her situation worse, then what do you guys do about it then?!"

One of the younger servants brings her hands together to me.

"Please, Arah-sama, just talk to Akyuu-sama for now."

"Kuh…" Pleading from a young girl, my only weakness, how did they know?! "*sigh* All right, I'll try."

They start celebrating.

'…For the love of god, how come they are so sure about this stuff?'

-Hiedaa Mansion-​

I stuck my head into the Mansion Main Room to take a peek inside.

I saw Akyuu in her usual spot, reading.

I look closer and I start to notice the strangeness from Akyuu.

Akyuu lazily reading the book UPSIDE DOWN, and by reading I mean, she flipped the pages in the correct direction.

If the Servant didn't say anything about this then I absolutely will believe that she training some kind of technique to help her read a book upside down.

"Ho boy…"

I start walking into the room.

Akyuu not even taking a glance at me and continue to read.

I sit in front of her.

A minute pass and she still reading her book

"…Akyuu-chan."

I call out to her.

She lowered her book and looking at me

She wears bored expression but I replied with a smile to her.

A few moments pass until she sends me back her warmest smile and an unexpected word that flown out from her mouth.

"…Onii-sama."

I flinched.

-Inner Mind-​

A Commander received a communication call from his subordinate.

"Commander, the enemy has been broke through the first barrier!"

"What?! Take them down immediately!"

"We can't, Sir! It have Super Defense Matrix, our normal bullets can't penetrate its defense!"

"I see, then I give permission to use 'Reason Round' and 'Self Restraint Grenade'."

"Affirmative, Sir!"

And thus the bullets and the bomb wreck through the enemy defenses.

"You all just delay the inevitable, we are all immortal, and we'll always come back!!"

"And our side will just gonna keep bringing your people down, you uncultured worm."

The Commander scoffed at the enemy last word as all of them and their 'Onii-sama' ship sunk down and disappeared

-Outer Mind-​

"*Cough* That's…I…Uhhhh…"

I feel awkward and embarrassed because I can't believed she actually said that word, I only teased her and never actually believed that she will call me 'Onii-chan' or even 'Onii-sama', and now I'm at lost for word.

I look at Akyuu, she's in shock.

"Ah, so you think I wasn't real just now and because of that you just carelessly call me by that name?"

Her face turning red and she cover it using her book.

"…Just so you know, your book is upside down all this time."

She lowered the book and starts glaring at me.

"Don't worry, whatever you do, you're still cute in my eyes, Akyuu-chan."

She tried to throw her book but she stopped mid way.

She placed the book slowly on her side, and then proceeds to thrown her body at me.

"Offhhh!!" I catch her, of course.

She hug my waist while keeping her head on my stomach, I can't see her faces because she's currently facing down.

I blinked.

I start patting her purple color head slowly.

"…Books, you will help me carrying the books."

"All right"

"…A lot of book, many many books."

"Okay."

We stayed there for a few minute, me patting her head slowly and she's not moving from her spot, it's a wonderful scene if it's not ruined by a shrieking and giggling Servants at the corner of my hearing range.

'…I think I just realized what we are to the Servants, a Real World Romance Drama.'

-Early Afternoon, Human Village-​

"Please don't be mad okay? I actually feel complicated after you called me that."

"Hmph!"

She pouted, but even then, she still holding my hand.

Me and Akyuu are walking while holding our hand, just you know, I'm not the one who start the idea to hold our hand, it was Akyuu.

As for the books, even though she said a lot of books, it's actually not that many; it's only 10 books that she wants to be returned to Suzunaan. Since I don't want to fill my hand with the stuff, I store all of them inside my waist pouch, Akyuu and the Servants look surprised with what I did, which led me to this situation.

"What's the weight limit of the waist pouch?"

"…I think we shouldn't have this kind of conversation on the street or even while walking."

"…I don't care…"

"You should care, and that's why I beg you to stop getting mad."

"Hmph!"

"…*sigh*."

She's really curious with the waist pouch. I don't blame her because she's the Record Holder of Gensokyo; curiosity is one of her nature. But I won't tell her anything about the Doppelganger Belt on my neck, I don't need to explain what will happen if she knew that I have this kind of item.

Let's change the subject.

"…Hey, Akyuu-chan."

She keeps walking.

"What do winter looks like?"

She stopped and turn to looked up to my face

"…What?"

"Well, you know I'm from the outside world right?"

She nodded.

"There's actually many and different places in the outside world, and the place where I'm from, there're no winter in there."

"Wha-really? There's actually a place that doesn't have winter?" she's baffled with what she hears.

"Yeah, the only seasons in the place I born are dry and rainy season."

"That's…The outside world really is an interesting place." she said with wonder.

"So I was wondering, what does the winter season looks like?"

I look straight at Akyuu's eyes.

Slowly but surely, her eyes turn into a determination one.

"Don't worry, by Miaree name, I will guide you along when winter came." she said confidently.

"Then I'm looking forward to it, Hiedaa no Akyuu." I smile.

Me and Akyuu continue our walk with happy feeling.

'Oh wow, that works better than I expected.'

A few minutes later we arrived to Suzunaan.

Just like the last time I saw, Kosuzu Grandpa manning the counter and Kosuzu comes out from the book isle with duster in hand.

After I bring out all the books (I just told them it's Magician magic), I feel like now is the time to take out the Cake, we can share it with all these people, I'm sure Akyuu won't mind about it.

I take out the cake and everyone surprise with how the delicious the cake look.

Kosuzu giving me the puppy eye before I said to ask Akyuu if she can share it with everyone because it's her cake, she's so cute.

But Grandpa, you're not cute at all, stop doing it! I'm gonna puke!!

Akyuu said okay, and everyone celebrated.

While everyone eating, I ask where the section of any article about the outside world.

Grandpa directed me to it.

I take out some of them to be read but to no avail, it's in different language.

I can buy the language skill that I needed to read this in the system, but meh, I feel like it's a waste of point.

After everything and done, me and Akyuu get out from there with Akyuu renting more books, this time it's only like 3 books only, I don't have to store it in the waist pouch if it's this small.

Before we went back to the Mansion, I suggest we take a detour.

Akyuu ask, what for.

"Something to help you keeping warm, just like the necklace that you currently wear."

She looks at her necklace, a gift that I gave her for her birthday.

"Thank you for always wearing it."

"…" she just nodded while tightly gripping at it.

A wooden hairpin, that's our choice before I enchanted [Warm Radiation] with the system.

"Hahaha, your forehead totally visible!"

"…Muuuu…"

She hit me, but it was useless, I still laughing.

Author note:

Heyo, Author here, procrastinating is a dangerous attitude perk to have, really dangerous.

TH 15.5 already come out several days ago dude, the new characters are cute, really cute. I want to play the game, but alas, my toaster laptop locked me from that option.

See you guys in Late January or in February.