When Luna negotiated, the Sister graciously lent them a room.

“It must have been hard for you with this blizzard. Please take your time and have a good rest.”

When she learned that the group was headed for the capital, the Sister was surprised, then lowered her eyebrows and shook her head.

“The blizzard has only intensified recently, and we can barely get out of the house. I hear it’s even worse around the imperial capital, and I don’t think you’ll be able to get there… For now, you’d better stay warm tonight and get a good night’s sleep.”

We walked down the cold corridor to the room we were assigned.

Luna growled with difficulty as she listened to the sound of the wind rumbling and shaking the building.

“It’s more intense than we expected. We’d better think of something.”

“Ugh, for the time being, let’s warm up like the Sister said. My brain is frozen, and I can’t come up with any good ideas.”

Noel opened the door to the room.

“This is the room. Please take off your shoes here.”

“Wow, I didn’t know that was the culture.”

Lexia took off her shoes, entered the room, and stood there in amazement.

“What is this?”

In the middle of the room, there was a strange low table covered with a futon.

“It’s an unusual table. It looks like a mixture of a futon and a table…?”

“I-I’ve never seen it before either…!”

Luna observed with caution, and Tito, who is from the Romel Empire, also rolled her eyes.

It resembles the heating appliance called a “kotatsu” in Yuuya’s world, but Lexia and the others, who had never heard of it, were intrigued by the unknown object.

Noel wiped her glasses as she explained.

“This is a magic tool for keeping warm that I invented at the Magic Development Institute.”

“Noel made this too?”

“Yes. I named it ‘Warm Table-kun No. 3.’ A magic stone is attached to the back of the tabletop to serve as a heat source. The simple mechanism has been widely used in villages and towns far away from the capital. I think it’s important to make it easy and simple.”

“Everyone in the country is using the magic tool invented by Noel… As I thought, Noel is amazing!”

“And it must be a very comfortable magic tool to be so widely used…!”

“Is there any danger of an explosion…?”

“It has been proven through repeated experiments and improvements to be safe. It has become a nationwide trend, with a reputation that once you enter, you will become obsessed with its devilish charms and will never be able to leave again.”

“Never to be able to leave again?”

“I-is it really such a terrible tool…?”

Next to Luna, who backed away, Lexia, who had been looking mystified, declared.

“Okay! Luna, Tito, let’s go in!”

“Are you listening? You’ll never be able to leave again, you know!”

“We need to get to the capital as soon as possible, right…?”

“There’s no point in being impatient because you can’t go on because of the blizzard. Even you two are curious about it, aren’t you?”

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about it…”

Luna and Tito looked down at the kotatsu and gulped.

They flipped the covers over the kotatsu and fearfully stepped into it, and──

“W-what is this? What is this comfort…?”

“Whoa! It makes me feel warm from the inside out and makes me want to curl up…!”

“It’s amazing! It’s very comfortable! I wish I could bring it back to Arcelia so my father and Owen could experience it too!”

“Fufufu, I’m so glad you liked it.”

Lexia and the others quickly became captivated by the kotatsu.

They pulled the futon up to their shoulders and warmed themselves.

“Phew, it’s so warm; it makes me so happy… I wish I could live here forever.”

“Fuwahh, it’s warm to my toes… amazing… Noel, you’re a genius…”

“It’s too comfy; I don’t think I’m going to move. Oh no, this is bad. I’m really going to be stuck here… Ugh…”

Even the normally calm Luna is captivated by the kotatsu’s charms.

While relaxing with her chin resting on the kotatsu, Lexia took notice of the orange fruit piled up in the middle of the table.

“By the way, what is this fruit?”

“It’s a fruit called mandarin orange.”

“Mandarin oranges?”

“That doesn’t sound familiar.”

“Yes. According to legend, it was the favorite fruit of the legendary sage.”

“The legendary sage?”

The sudden mention of the sage, who was so powerful that he was considered like a god, and who left behind numerous legends in magic, swordsmanship, and all other fields, made their voices involuntarily turn inside out.

“I-I have eaten mandarin orange once, too, given to me by my friend Emma. They are sweet, sour, and very tasty… I didn’t know there was such a legend…?”

Hearing Tito’s words, Lexia’s eyes sparkled.

“Such an amazing legend and delicious… I’ve got to try this one! Luna, pass me the oranges!”

“You can pick them yourself.”

“I don’t want to get my hands out of the futon.”

“Good grief. Here.”

Luna tried to hand the oranges to Lexia, but Lexia was waiting for her with her mouth open like a baby girl.

“Ahhhh.”

“…..”

Luna let out a sigh and looked down at the oranges──

“…[Boisterous Dance].”

Slice, slice, slice! As the strings dance, the skin of the mandarin orange is peeled off beautifully.

“Lu-Luna-san, you’re using that to peel the mandarin oranges…?”

“It can’t be helped. I’m too relaxed with ‘Warm-Table Kun No. 3’ to move.”

Luna said this to the surprised Tito and put a bunch of mandarin oranges in Lexia’s mouth.

“Here.”

“Mmmm. It’s really sweet and tasty!”

“Do you want some too, Tito?”

“Oh, I’ll just peel it myself…!”

“Fufu, don’t be shy. Here.”

“Oh, uh, uh… aaahh… hmm… it’s delicious! Luna-san, you can have some, too!”

“Mmm… it’s like an orange but softer and fresher.”

Noel looked on in wonder as the three of them fed each other.

Lexia offered one to Noel.

“Yes, Noel, you too!”

“If you can do it yourself, then do it yourself from the beginning!”

Despite Luna’s tsukkomi, Lexia is smiling and waiting for Noel to open her mouth.

Noel expressed her confusion.

“U-um, what kind of ritual is this? Wouldn’t it be more efficient if I ate it myself…?”

“Well, you may be right, but efficiency is not the only thing that counts. There are some important things in this world that cannot be obtained by efficiency alone. For example, heart, love, and bonding… Yes, the love from me to Noel is put into the food through my fingertips, which makes the good food taste even better. That’s how it works.”

“I-I see, such a theory…! There are still infinite truths in the world that I am unaware of, aren’t there? I am ashamed of my inexperience.”

“No, you shouldn’t misunderstand it. Lexia is just forcing that idea on you.”

“No, I’m not forcing it; it’s true! So, here you go, Noel, ahhh!”

“A-aahh…”

Lexia put a piece in Noel’s mouth.

“How’s that?”

“Hmm… It has the perfect balance of sweetness and sourness. … It certainly tastes better than usual…?”

“See, that’s love!”

“Don’t be fooled, Noel. It just happens to be delicious mandarin oranges, I’m sure.”

Luna muttered calmly, but Noel suddenly pondered.

“…I remember when I was a child, my sister used to feed me all kinds of food when I had a cold. The porridge and fruit she gave me then tasted exceptionally good.”

“She’s a good sister.”

Tito smiled, and Noel nodded a little happily.

“Yes. We lost our parents early, and my sister raised me. She was a good cook, and I loved the stew my sister made. …But for some reason, I was not good at baking bread; I often burnt it… and my sister would get depressed every time I did.”

Noel’s serious expression suddenly relaxed as she remembered Flora──

Lexia leaned forward vigorously.

“I’ve never seen Noel smile like that before!”

“E-eh?”

Lexia grabbed the puzzled Noel’s cheeks between her hands and squeezed them together.

“Hey, hey, Noel, smile like you did before! You look prettier when you smile!”

“…U-um, am I that expressionless? I don’t mean to be that way myself…”

“Sure, your expression might be a little stiff.”

At Luna’s words, Noel opened her mouth as if an idea had occurred to her.

“That reminds me, I used to get scolded by Schleiman-sama that I didn’t expressing myself well enough. That my expressionless face can be misinterpreted, and… I have to be careful.”

“That’s what makes it hard! Come on, smile, smile!”

“U-umm, mm… like this, huh…!?”

“You’re too tense. You’re getting all stiff.”

“I-I tried my best to relax! Relax──ah, it’s gone, it’s so hard to smile…!”

“Kuh…! It’s not so easy, is it…?”

A cheerful time passes around Noel, who tries her best to smile.

The sun was soon to set, and Noel lit the lamp-shaped magic tool in the corner of the room.

Luna is surprised to see the dazzling light.

“This lighting… It’s brighter than a normal lamp.”

“It’s a strange light, different from fire…”

“This is ‘Glittering Bright-chan No. 6,’ you know? It is a special lamp fueled by magic ore. It is brighter than ordinary fire, and since it does not emit heat, it is safe and can be used semi-permanently with a small amount of magic ore.”

“It’s amazing! With this, I can stay up as late as I want and read romance novels!”

“There are more effective ways to use it…”

Afterward, they received some preserved food from the Sister as a courtesy, ate it, and prepared to go to bed.

“Lexia-san, I’ve laid out the bedding for you; let’s sleep over there.”

“Ugh, no, I don’t want to get out of ‘Warming Desk-kun No. 5’…”

“It’s ‘Warm Table-kun No. 3.’ I know what you are feeling, but your body is going to get sore, you know.”

“No problem, I’ll sleep here tonight…”

“The ‘Warm Table-kun No. 3’ is an excellent heating device, but it has been reported that if you sleep with it on, your skin will dry up and mummify.”

“I don’t want that!”

Thus, the night in the snow country ended with a lively atmosphere.

＊＊＊

And the next day.

“Will we be able to leave for the imperial capital today…?”

Tito muttered as she looked at the snow hitting the window.

Luna shook her head as she looked at the blizzard, which had weakened somewhat from yesterday but was still roaring.

“I guess we better not yet. If we go out there, we could get lost and get wiped out. It would be better to wait for the blizzard to weaken more before going out. …No, it’s not because I don’t want to leave the ‘Warm Table-kun No, No. 3,’ you know.”

Luna and Tito are better than top-class adventurers in combat, but as expected, they have no way to move in this blizzard.

The wind and snow were howling, the buildings were creaking, and they had nothing to do but eat mandarin oranges and relax.

“Hmm, ‘Warming Desk-kun No. 5’ is very comfortable, but it’s so boring because there is nothing to do.”

Lexia looked out the window at the snowy landscape.

“That’s right! Let’s go outside and play in the snow!”

“What about the blizzard?”

“You’ll get lost!”

“Don’t worry. The blizzard has eased up a bit, and the backyard is surrounded by the church walls, so the wind should be light.”

Lexia had already explored the church this morning and found that the backyard was suitable for playing in the snow.

“First of all, you’ll be too weak from just staying warm in a warm room. You need to get your body accustomed to the cold in preparation for the battle against the ice spirits!”

“You say that like it’s a good thing, but the whole point is that you just want to play, don’t you?”

“Yes, is that bad?”

“Why are you so upset?”

“Besides, this is all part of learning about the world and broadening your horizons!”

“I see. As royalty, you want to become familiar with the games of other countries and experience the culture and climate firsthand, is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

“Don’t go all in on Noel’s favorable interpretation!”

Lexia didn’t care; she put on her warm clothes and started to get ready.

Luna also got up to do her part, and Noel followed suit.

“Come on, Tito, let’s go, too!”

“Ugh, I’m too comfy to get out~…”

Lexia pulled the melting Tito out of the kotatsu and headed outside in high spirits.