(Yuuta POV)
It was another peaceful afternoon in the Kounari household.
Well, peaceful might not have been the right word, considering my wife and I were currently attempting something that neither of us had ever tried before.
Sugar sculpting.
Yes, you heard that correctly. We were making sculptures out of sugar, and the entire thing had started because of a certain video Erza had discovered while scrolling through social media.
The video showed a professional confectioner transforming melted sugar into a beautiful miniature horse. The artist carefully poured the golden syrup into a mold, shaped the delicate pieces, and assembled them into a crystal-like sculpture that sparkled beneath the light.
Apparently, my terrifying dragon queen of a wife had developed an interest in this particular art form.
Of course, being Erza, she would rather swallow her pride than openly admit she wanted to try something new with her husband.
Instead, she'd approached me earlier that morning with a rather suspicious question.
"Mortal, you once told me there was nothing you couldn't make. Is that correct?"
I looked up from my phone, immediately sensing an opportunity to demonstrate my greatness.
"Of course! Your husband is a man of many talents, my dear wife. Cooking, baking, decorating, you name it, I can make it!"
Erza regarded me with her usual indifferent expression before holding out her phone.
"Then make this with me."
I glanced at the screen and found myself watching a short video of someone creating a miniature horse from molten sugar. The finished sculpture was so detailed that it almost looked like it had been carved from glass.
"Wait a minute. You want to make sugar sculptures?"
Erza immediately looked away.
"No. I merely wanted to see whether you were capable of making something like this."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"You're absolutely sure you don't want to try it yourself?"
"I have no particular interest in such childish activities, mortal."
She said that while continuing to hold the phone in front of me, the video replaying for what must have been the fifth time.
I smiled.
Ah, my dear wife. Sometimes, you really were terrible at hiding your intentions.
As a supportive husband, I naturally understood what needed to be done.
I placed a hand against my chest and gave her my most confident smile.
"Behold, my dear wife! There is nothing in this world that your husband cannot create!"
Erza raised an eyebrow.
"Then stop boasting and prove it."
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was how we ended up in the kitchen attempting to create a dragon sculpture out of sugar.
The process turned out to be considerably more difficult than the video had made it appear.
Erza stood beside the stove, carefully heating sugar in a saucepan until it melted into a thick, golden syrup. Meanwhile, I prepared the necessary tools and watched the temperature, making sure the mixture wouldn't burn before we could use it.
Naturally, we had decided against making an ordinary horse.
My wife was a dragon queen, after all. Why settle for a horse when we could create a magnificent dragon?
Erza had even volunteered to create the mold herself using her ice magic. The result was a remarkably detailed dragon-shaped mold, complete with spread wings, curved horns, and tiny scales.
I had to admit, her control over ice was impressive.
"All right, Erza. Hold it steady."
"I am holding it steady, mortal."
"Good. Now keep the temperature low enough that the sugar won't melt through the ice."
"I know what I'm doing."
"Of course, of course. I'm just making sure."
Erza gave me a cold look, and I wisely returned my attention to the saucepan.
Using a double-boiler setup to keep the sugar workable, I carefully began pouring the molten syrup into the dragon-shaped mold. Erza maintained the ice with her magic, preventing it from melting too quickly while allowing the sugar to settle into the intricate details.
Little by little, the sculpture began taking shape.
I leaned closer, watching the golden liquid fill the dragon's wings.
"Almost there..."
"Don't pour too quickly, mortal. You'll ruin the details."
"I know, I know. Just a little more."
For once, we were working together with remarkable concentration. Erza adjusted the mold while I controlled the flow of syrup, and neither of us wanted to ruin something we'd already spent so much effort making.
Meanwhile, our daughter was enjoying a considerably more relaxing afternoon.
Elena sat comfortably on the living room sofa, hugging her favorite stuffed toy while watching Dragon Boys, her current favorite cartoon. Every so often, she'd giggle at something happening on the screen, but otherwise, she seemed perfectly content to leave her parents alone.
At least, that was what I believed.
Everything was going perfectly fine until her cartoon suddenly disappeared, replaced by a colorful advertisement.
"HALLOWEEN IS ALMOST HERE!"
A cheerful voice echoed from the television as the screen filled with glowing pumpkins, floating ghosts, and children dressed in colorful costumes.
"Are you ready for the spookiest and most exciting night of the year?"
Elena's little ears perked up. She stopped hugging her stuffed toy and leaned forward, her red eyes following the colorful images moving across the screen.
"Spooky?" she repeated, tilting her head.
The advertisement showed several children running through a neighborhood decorated with pumpkins and spiderwebs. One wore a vampire costume, another was dressed as a witch, and a third had wrapped himself in white cloth to resemble a ghost.
"Trick or treat!"
The children shouted happily as a woman opened her front door and dropped handfuls of candy into their pumpkin-shaped baskets.
Elena's eyes widened.
The advertisement continued, showing more children laughing, playing games, and collecting sweets from different houses. Their baskets gradually filled with chocolates, lollipops, and colorful candies.
"And this Halloween, make your celebration even more magical with our brand-new costume collection! From adorable witches to terrifying vampires, find the perfect outfit for your little monster!"
The screen displayed several children posing in their costumes, followed by a large advertisement for a Halloween costume sale.
"Book your costumes now and make this Halloween a night to remember!"
As the advertisement ended, Elena remained completely still, staring at the television with an expression of absolute wonder.
Her little mind was now filled with images of vampires, zombies, witches, and children carrying enormous baskets of candy. She didn't understand why everyone was dressed like monsters, but the children on television had looked incredibly happy.
More importantly, they had received candy.
Lots and lots of candy.
After thinking about it for a moment, Elena slowly turned toward the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Erza and I were approaching the most delicate part of our sugar sculpture.
"Careful, mortal. The wing is almost finished."
"I see it. Just hold the mold a little higher."
Erza adjusted the dragon-shaped ice mold, using a thin layer of magic to maintain its shape while I slowly poured the remaining syrup into the final section.
The golden sugar flowed into the tiny grooves, gradually forming the dragon's outstretched wing. Once it cooled and hardened, we would finally have our very own crystal-like dragon sculpture.
I couldn't help smiling as I watched our creation come together.
"Almost there, Erza. Just a little more, and it's going to look amazing!"
"Don't lose your concentration now."
"Relax, my dear wife. Everything is under control."
And then—
"PAPAAAA! PAPAAAA!"
Elena's excited voice suddenly rang through the apartment.
My hand jerked.
The saucepan slipped from my grip, and before I could recover, the remaining sugar syrup spilled directly over our unfinished dragon sculpture.
"No, no, NO!"
The beautiful dragon wing collapsed beneath the sudden weight of the hot syrup. Worse, some of the molten sugar splashed onto Erza's hand as she instinctively reached forward to save the mold.
"Ouch!"
Erza immediately withdrew her hand. A faint glow passed over her skin as she healed the burn with magic, leaving no trace of the injury.
Meanwhile, I stood completely frozen.
The dragon sculpture was ruined. The saucepan had fallen sideways, and my wife was staring at the sticky mess covering the counter.
Slowly, I turned toward her.
"M-My lovely wife..." I began, forcing a nervous smile. "A-Are you okay?"
Erza examined her perfectly healed hand before lifting her gaze toward me.
Her expression was calm.
Far too calm.
"Mortal."
"Y-Yes, my dear?"
"Didn't you say everything was under control?"
I swallowed.
"Well, technically, it was under control until.."
BONK!
A few moments later, I found myself kneeling in front of my daughter with a rather impressive bump on my head.
Apparently, my beloved wife had decided that the most appropriate punishment for ruining our sugar sculpture was a swift introduction to the bottom of a saucepan.
A double-boiler saucepan, to be precise.
Honestly, I wasn't even sure whether to be grateful that she'd used the smaller one.
Elena stood in front of me, completely unaware of the tragedy that had just occurred in the kitchen. Her little hands were resting against my knees, and her face was practically glowing with excitement.
I rubbed the painful bump on my head and looked at her.
"Hm? What's wrong, Elena? Why did you suddenly shout like that? Papa and Mama were doing something important."
Elena blinked innocently.
"Papa!"
"Yes, my princess?"
"Papa, Papa!"
"I'm listening, sweetheart."
She grabbed my hand and excitedly pointed toward the television, where the Halloween advertisement had already been replaced by another commercial.
Her big red eyes sparkled with curiosity as she looked up at me.
"Papa!"
I smiled despite the throbbing pain in my head.
"Yes, Elena?"
She tilted her little head.
"What is Halloween?"
"Halloween?"
I rubbed my chin, trying to remember what date it was. Then it suddenly occurred to me that October was almost over.
"Oh, that's right! Halloween is coming up!" I exclaimed, snapping my fingers. "How could I forget about that?"
Elena's eyes widened, and her little mouth fell open in amazement.
"Papa knows Halloween?!"
"Of course I do, sweetheart."
"Really?! Then tell Elena! Tell Elena what Halloween is!"
She grabbed my hand with both of hers, practically bouncing with excitement. Judging by her expression, she seemed to believe I'd just revealed some incredible secret.
I chuckled and gently patted her head.
"Come to think of it, this will be your first Halloween, won't it?"
Elena nodded eagerly.
"Elena first Halloween!"
"Well, then! I suppose Papa should give his little princess a proper explanation."
I made myself comfortable on the floor, sitting cross-legged so we could talk face-to-face. Elena immediately sat down opposite me, placing her stuffed toy on her lap as though it was attending the lesson too.
Meanwhile, behind us, Erza had already returned to the kitchen. She was preparing another batch of sugar syrup, apparently unwilling to abandon our ruined sculpture. Although she appeared completely focused on her work, I noticed her occasionally glancing in our direction.
Knowing my wife, she was probably curious about Halloween too.
Of course, I had no intention of pointing that out unless I wanted another saucepan-shaped bump on my head.
"All right, Elena. Halloween is a special celebration that happens every year on October thirty-first," I began. "On that day, people decorate their homes with pumpkins, ghosts, skeletons, and all sorts of spooky things."
Elena blinked.
"Ghosts?"
"That's right! Some people even carve funny or scary faces into pumpkins and put lights inside them. They're called jack-o'-lanterns."
"Pumpkin have face?!"
"Hahaha! Not real faces, sweetheart. Humans carve them to make decorations."
Elena considered that for a moment before nodding seriously, apparently accepting that humans enjoyed giving vegetables faces.
"Then what else, Papa?"
"Well, one of the most exciting parts of Halloween is dressing up in costumes. Children wear all kinds of outfits. Some become witches, vampires, zombies, ghosts, or even dragons. Others dress as their favorite heroes or cartoon characters."
Elena's eyes sparkled.
"Elena can become dragon?!"
I chuckled.
"Sweetheart, you're already a dragon."
"Oh!"
She looked down at herself, then touched one of the little black horns on her head as though she'd momentarily forgotten about them.
"But Elena can wear costume too?"
"Of course! You can dress up as anything you like. A princess, a witch, a vampire, or even one of those characters from *Dragon Boys*."
"Really?!"
"Absolutely. Papa can help you choose a costume."
Elena clapped her hands excitedly, already imagining herself wearing all sorts of wonderful outfits.
Then I leaned closer and lowered my voice.
"But do you know the best part of Halloween?"
Elena immediately leaned forward too.
"What best part?"
"There's something called trick-or-treating."
"Trick... or treating?"
"That's right. On Halloween evening, children put on their costumes, carry little baskets, and visit houses around their neighborhood. When someone opens the door, they say, 'Trick or treat!'"
Elena repeated the words carefully.
"Twik... or tweat!"
"Hahaha! That's close enough, sweetheart."
I continued explaining, using my hands to demonstrate how the whole thing worked.
"Usually, the people inside the house give the children candy or chocolate. Then the children thank them and move on to the next house. By the end of the evening, they might have a whole basket full of sweets."
Elena stopped moving.
Her eyes slowly widened as she processed what I'd just told her.
"Papa..."
"Yes?"
"Humans give candy?"
"That's right."
"To children?"
"Yes."
Elena stared at me with growing disbelief.
"For free?"
I smiled.
"Well, yes. That's part of the tradition."
Her little mouth fell open.
"FOR FREE?!"
I burst into laughter at her reaction.
"Yes, sweetheart! But only at houses that are participating in trick-or-treating. You can't just knock on every stranger's door and demand candy."
Elena barely seemed to hear the second part. She was already imagining herself walking through the neighborhood with an enormous basket, collecting enough chocolate and candy to last an entire year.
Then she suddenly raised both hands.
"PAPA! ELENA WANT HALLOWEEN!"
"Hahaha! I figured you would."
"Elena want costume! And pumpkin! And candy! Lots and lots of candy!"
"All right, all right! Calm down, my little princess. Halloween isn't until October thirty-first."
I couldn't help chuckling at Elena's excitement. She was already imagining herself wearing a witch's hat and carrying a pumpkin basket filled with candy. Seeing her so happy made me realize that this was the perfect opportunity to create another wonderful family memory.
After all, this would be Elena's very first Halloween. As her father, I had a responsibility to make it unforgettable.
I smiled and raised my fist enthusiastically.
"All right, Elena! It's decided! This year, we're going to celebrate Halloween!"
"YAAAAAY! HALLOWEEN!" Elena shouted, throwing both hands into the air.
"HAPPY HALLOWEEN!"
"HAPPY HALLOWEEN, PAPAAAA!"
Unfortunately, we'd completely forgotten about a certain dragon queen who was still concentrating on her sugar sculpture in the kitchen.
"YOU TWO! SHUT UP!"
Erza's furious voice echoed through the apartment, followed by the unmistakable sound of something cracking.
I slowly turned toward the kitchen, where my wife stood holding yet another ruined sugar sculpture. Her expression was terrifying enough to make even the bravest demon reconsider his life choices.
Elena immediately hid behind me, while I offered my beloved wife the most innocent smile I could manage.
Well, it seemed our Halloween preparations were already off to a wonderful start.
And that was how I decided to make this year's Halloween the most unforgettable celebration our little family had ever experienced.
To be continued...