Chapter XV

It's started to snow. We are now in the ninth month. The snow began to fall later than usual because I had been told that it typically starts around the middle of the eighth month. But for some reason, this year, it began snowing around the first day of the ninth month. How can I describe it? There isn't much difference between the snow here on Hestia and the snow on Earth. The only difference is that the snow starts falling like hail, but this hail isn't hard. It's like small snowballs falling from the sky. Once it hits the ground, after a few seconds, it becomes soft like the snow we had on Earth. If left for a bit longer, it turns into a slimy substance as it melts. This snow is fascinating. And it's extremely cold. Yes, the temperature in the forest has suddenly dropped. It's fascinating to see the entire forest covered in snow, everything turning white. White is a beautiful color, by the way.

For someone from Earth like me, it feels like Christmas. It seems they don't know the concept of Christmas here. It feels strange, but nice, to experience Christmas in what feels like a normal family. To thank the Blackwoods, I'd like to prepare a typical Christmas meal. Back home, we had Christmas meals, but they were devoid of meaning since there wasn't any emotion during those meals, or perhaps the emotions weren't directed toward me. I'd like to prepare a Christmas meal for them. It's one of the few things I can offer them right now. Even if it's just that, I'll do my best to give it to them.

I've already started preparing for this Christmas meal because during the first week of the tenth month, we'll go to the Lumina Lake, the place in the forest where everyone goes to bathe at the end of the year. Yes, during the first week, all the villagers go to bathe there. It's a tradition they have here to cleanse themselves of the dust, miseries, and all the bad things from the past year before heading to the Kingdom of Luminas. Since the first week will be busy with preparations and the bath at the lake, there won't be much time for a meal. So, the Christmas meal will have to be prepared during the last week of the ninth month. That gives me three weeks to get everything ready for this meal.

For the Christmas meal, I'll prepare several dishes. We'll have roasted meat, which I'll marinate with a blend of local herbs and spices. I'll also make a vegetable stew using the fresh produce we have—root vegetables like yams, a local tuber called "glyroots," and green leafy vegetables. There's a fruit here called "soulberries" that I'll use to make a sauce to accompany the meat.

I'll make some bread using the local flour, and for dessert, I'll make spiced cakes using "honeypear" syrup and dried "sunplum" fruits. I'll also make some special holiday pastries filled with "mooncream," a creamy filling made from the milk of the Lactabeasts.

To prepare the ingredients, I first gather all the herbs and vegetables from the garden and nearby forest. For the meat, I'll need to help Zane with hunting and then properly marinate and slow-roast it. The bread requires kneading the dough and letting it rise near the hearth for warmth. The spiced cakes involve mixing the honeypear syrup with local spices and baking them slowly to perfection.

For the mooncream pastries, I need to milk the Lactabeast again, which I've gotten quite good at. I'll mix the milk with a bit of honey and some other ingredients to make the creamy filling, then bake the pastries until they're golden brown.

This Christmas meal is my way of thanking the Blackwoods for their kindness and making me feel at home. It's a lot of work, but seeing the joy on their faces will make it all worth it. With three weeks to prepare, I need to stay focused and make sure everything is perfect.

As the snow falls and the temperature drops, I can't help but feel a warm sense of anticipation for this special meal. Even though it's different from what I knew on Earth, the spirit of giving and togetherness feels just as strong.