“Well done! This time, you can try casting the spell.”
“R-Right. Umm... Awake!” Lydie held out her hand over the snowman and intoned the spell. A faint light cocooned the snowman, and it soon began to hop around like the others. She brightened up at the sight. “Ooh, it moved! Look at it go!”
“Of course it did. I’m a good teacher.” Allen laughed, patting her head.
The snowmen leaped and tumbled, moving about freely around the field. The other children squealed in delight. Her face shining, Lydie gazed at them for a while. But then she sighed and hunched her shoulders.
“I can use magic all right...but making the snowmen is still tricky. I never knew it was so difficult.”
“What do you mean? They’re looking great for someone who’s never made one before.”
“Y-You think so?” Lydie’s face creased into a smile. “Hee hee...well, if Papa approves, they must be—hm?” Someone tugged at her sleeve. She turned around to find a group of children gathered around her. They all looked at her with stars in their eyes and piped up all at once.
“Hi! Could you make my snowman come to life too?”
“Mine too! Pretty please!”
“Huh?! O-One moment—be patient! One at a time!” Lydie was a bit overwhelmed, but she looked much happier than she had been earlier.
“Hmph. She’s taken a step forward,” Allen said to himself with a satisfied nod.
Charlotte walked over to him and smiled at Lydie and the children. “Lydie’s so popular already. I’m so glad I asked you to look after her.”
“Oh, it’s not like I’ve done anything much. Where’s Roo and Gosetsu, though? I don’t see them with you...”
“They went to compete in the magical beast race at the foot of this mountain. They heard that the prize for the winner is some prime meat.”
“All right, then we’re having steak for dinner, I suppose.” He was sure that those two—the rare Fenrir and the relatively infamous Infernal Capybara—would leave everyone else in the dust. They were probably racing neck and neck with each other for first place by now. “Hm, I bet it’s quite a sight—uh, Natalia. What’s up?”
Natalia was staring intently at the hopping snowmen. After a little while, she snapped out of it and started tugging at Allen’s mantle with a rather serious expression. “Dark Overlord! Teach me that spell too! I want to build a big one and make it move!”
“Ask Lydie to teach you. If you work together, you can make a humongous snowman in no time.”
“Of course! Let’s team up, Lydie!” With a whirl of her coat, she dashed off exuberantly to join Lydie.
“Agreed! Having you on my team is like having a hundred more people!”
The crowd of children grew more and more animated. Big cheers went up every time another snowman came to life.
Watching the snowmen bouncing around her feet, Charlotte smiled softly. “You really can do anything, Allen. Even make snowmen move around.”
“It’s a spell I made up when I was a kid.” Allen picked up one of Lydie’s snowmen and gazed at it. Though it was lopsided, it flapped its limbs energetically with a life of its own. Lydie’s magic power was less than a tenth of what it had been when she lived as a saint. But her technique was something special. Memories of childhood came back to him, and he smiled wistfully. “Whenever there was snow, I used to make snowmen move like this. Sometimes I used them as my army to challenge the biggest beast of the mountain; sometimes I made them carry the pieces of ore that I’d dug up.”
“I’m not surprised, but you were such a mischievous boy... I thought you might have played in the snow with Eluka, though.”
“Ah, we did that too. One time, we each made a hundred snowmen and waged war on each other.”
“You two were as mischievous as ever...” With a solemn expression, Charlotte became lost in thought. After a moment, she clenched her hands as if to steel herself. “Lydie looks like she’ll take after you, Allen...so I’ll have to step up and be a strong mother.”
“No need to get so worked up about it. If she makes trouble, I’ll teach her discipline.”
“I’ll really have to be strong more than ever...”
“Why does that make you look even more grave?” Cocking his head in puzzlement, he gave her a light pat on the shoulder. “Anyway, don’t worry about it. What you should think about, first and foremost, is basking in the naughty pleasures that I present you with!”
“Do you mean...something naughty we can only enjoy in winter?”
“Exactly! I’ve asked the concierge to get something ready!” He snapped his fingers high in the air, and just as they’d prearranged, the mermaid appeared, pulling a wagon equipped with sleigh runners instead of wheels.
“Yoo-hoo, here you are!” The mermaid set everything up in a matter of seconds and held out a mug for Charlotte. “There, that’s for you. It’s piping hot, so be careful.”
“Ooh! Hot chocolate!” Charlotte cried out, her eyes sparkling.
The mug was brimming with the steaming hot drink, which filled the air around them with a sweet aroma.
Allen grinned at Charlotte. “It’s not just any old hot chocolate. To put the finishing touch... Immortal Fire.” A glow surrounded the mug, and more steam wafted up. His improvised spell was a success. “Now it’ll stay warm until you finish the drink!”
Charlotte grew even more excited. “It’s like the spell you used on the ice cream at the hot springs... Amazing, Allen!” The people around them noticed what was happening—grown-ups and children alike gulped, looking at the enticing drink. They must have been feeling warm enough from playing in the snow, but having a cup of hot chocolate in the wintry outdoors was delicious like nothing else.
The mermaid’s hand shot up as she said, “Mr. Crawford! Could you please teach me that spell too?!”
“Of course, I wouldn’t mind! In fact, I’ll treat everyone here to a cup of hot chocolate while I’m at it!”
“Oh! I’d love one!” one of the guests said.
“Thanks, Mr. Wizard!” a child piped up.
People crowded around the wagon, beaming from ear to ear. Natalia and Lydie watched from a little way off, then exchanged looks.
“That spell...” Natalia said thoughtfully, “it estimates the perfect temperature for each person and maintains it while they drink, then once they sip the last drop, it deactivates... It seems simple, but it’s a complex mechanism that requires much skill. But he’s made all that into such a simple spell. Once again, we see what the Dark Overlord is capable of.”
“The spell for the snowmen was highly optimized as well...” Lydie observed. “That rogue may not act like it, but I suppose he is a genius...even with his ridiculous ways...”
“Yes. I’m not quite sure how, but we can’t deny that...”
“Hey. I can hear you, you know.” Allen glared at the pair talking behind his back. He flaunted the mugs he held in the air. “No hot chocolate for bad kids. Too bad, guess you won’t get to enjoy it with the big dollop of whipped cream.”
“I-I didn’t say I didn’t want one! Come on Lydie, let’s go get one before it’s gone!”
“O-Oh, yes! Wait for me—hm?” Lydie started trotting after Natalia, but she stopped after a few steps, looking around with a dubious expression. However, there was nothing but snowmen and lofty mountains around her. Allen couldn’t see anything strange either.
“Anything wrong, Lydie?” he asked.
“Hmm... It’s nothing.” She walked over to him, still looking puzzled. After that, they all enjoyed plenty of hot chocolate and the snow, but Lydie would still glance around from time to time.
Over the next few days, Allen and Co had the time of their lives at the snowy resort. They tried skiing, watched magical beast races, and soaked peacefully in the hot spring bath at their cottage. On the third day of their trip, they went to the zoo of magical beasts at the foot of the mountain, where they saw fluffy, chunky beasts that were only native to wintry regions.