Chapter 67, "The Ice and Snow Season"
When Subaru Natsuki opened his eyes again, it wasn't his biological clock waking him up, but the unbearable cold that left him speechless.
Shivering, Subaru glanced at Beatrice who was asleep, leaning on his shoulder.
Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, Subaru was a little puzzled, wondering if there was something seriously wrong with his own body.
After all, Beatrice seemed completely unaffected by the cold.
Moving his gaze away from her face, Subaru tightened the blanket around himself, but the bone-chilling cold didn't ease at all.
To avoid falling into a deep sleep and triggering a reload, Subaru gently moved Beatrice's head aside, wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, and with every step shivering, opened the door to the library.
The hallway's temperature was just as cold as the room's.
Through the window, he could see it was raining outside.
Looking at the heavy rain, Subaru's mouth twitched involuntarily.
He already had a rough idea of who was responsible for the current situation.
The cold he felt yesterday was still bearable—something that could be explained as just the weather of another world.
But today's freezing cold, as harsh as winter, with no signs of the trees and grass outside being frozen to death, proved that this was definitely not a natural phenomenon.
Also, since yesterday, none of the mansion's windows had been open.
At first, Subaru thought it was just because it was cold, so no one opened them. But now, just by opening a window, Subaru would be able to confirm whether his suspicion was right.
With this thought, Subaru approached a window and tried to push it open. But it wouldn't budge… This wasn't because Subaru was too cold or weak to open it, but because something was wrong with the window.
Thinking back, he recalled that he hadn't seen Puck all day yesterday. When he saw Emilia, she was wandering around the mansion.
At the time, Subaru hadn't paid much attention.
Now, thinking about it, everything was suspicious. Subaru covered his face.
The culprit was already identified. It was Puck.
Among everyone in the mansion, he was the biggest suspect!
Wanting to end this abnormal situation quickly, Subaru hurried to Emilia's room.
Just standing outside the door, Subaru felt the temperature was even colder than before. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "Puck! What the hell are you doing?!" and opened the door.
But as soon as the door opened, a fierce gust of cold wind blew it wide open, pushing Subaru several steps back, making his blood feel like it was freezing instantly.
"Subaru! Why are you here?"
Subaru looked at Emilia, who appeared flustered at the doorway and seemed to be about to close the door. Subaru took a few steps forward and grabbed Emilia's hand.
"No need to close it. I want to know what's going on with Puck."
Without waiting for Emilia's reply, Subaru stepped inside.
Seeing Puck curled up on the bed like a ball, Subaru's expression dropped completely.
"I thought something had happened to you! But you look pretty good! Puck~~~ I think you owe me an explanation!"
"Uh… good morning, Subaru…"
"Don't give me that! I almost thought I'd die in my sleep! What's going on with you?!"
"Oh my~ such a lively scene~"
Hearing this ridiculous voice, Subaru turned to look at Roswaal standing at the door, looking no different than usual.
"This is not the place to chat~ Since you've been found out~ Let's go to the living room to talk."
.
.
.
"So, this magic eruption phase is unavoidable, right?" Subaru, sitting in a chair, looked around the living room which now resembled a frozen snow world.
His eyes, once bright, now looked like dead fish.
After coming to the living room, Subaru had already gotten the explanation from Roswaal and Puck about why things had turned out like this.
In short, those with better mana aptitude at some point experience a phase where mana cannot be released, causing negative effects on the body.
At this time, the body needs to properly release the accumulated mana to prevent damage.
According to Puck, he could still release mana a couple of days ago through exercise, but since then, his mana could not be released and caused the current situation.
Also, Puck said he didn't say much yesterday, so he released more mana all at once, which led to this state.
"Is it still not too late for me to quit now?" Subaru asked.
"Subaru~~ No way~~ This is something everyone has to figure out together~~"
Subaru twitched the corner of his eye, looking at Roswaal who seemed completely unaffected.
He had many things he wanted to say to Roswaal but knew it would be useless.
"I say, can't we let Puck stay alone in the mansion and live outside for a while?"
"No way~~ As a border count, it wouldn't be good to live outside without anyone knowing~~"
"Roswaal, you can just stay here with Puck. You don't seem affected at all."
"That's a heartless response~~~"
Subaru sighed and glanced at Rem sitting beside him, still wearing the maid outfit which she said was winter attire, though Subaru could hardly see any difference.
"Sorry for troubling you all."
"This has nothing to do with you, Emilia. It's all Puck's problem!"
"I already apologized to you all. Subaru, a man should have a big heart.
Otherwise, I wouldn't entrust Emilia to you. After all, small-minded men aren't popular."
"Puck!"
"Ah, I'm very big-hearted, big enough to want to eat you up!"
"So scary~~~ But before that, Subaru, you'll turn into an ice block if my mana erupts again~~"
"..."
With no choice, Subaru sighed deeply.
The current situation was really tough. Puck's mana eruptions turned the surroundings into an icy snow world. So they needed to isolate Puck's mana inside the mansion.
Otherwise, the village's crops might all be destroyed. And even if Puck went outside to release mana, it would cause severe ecological damage around.
'Is there really no other solution...' Subaru suddenly recalled something, and a smile appeared on his face.
"I've got a solution!"
"?" *4
"Lord Roswaal~~~ I'm counting on your help now~~~"
"Though I don't know what you plan to do, I agree~~~"
"Then Puck, you know it's raining heavily today, right?"
"Yes."
"Then, do you know what snow is?"
"Oh~ I get it. You really are my friend!"
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Emiya Shirou (now called Hikigaya Shirou) reincarnated in a peacefull world.
His dream of becoming a Hero seems impossible in this world, where there is only peace.
Until one day a pink-haried kouhai changed his life after convincing him to play a mobile game.
Mash: "Please Play FGO With Me Senpai!"
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