New Year's Day
We stayed at a reasonably priced inn in town and welcomed the new year.
Honestly, we had wanted to spend it at Sofia’s family home.
Or at mine.
But the timing didn’t work out, so we had to postpone it this year.
Next year, we’ll spend it at one of our homes.
“Auu...”
By the fireplace, Aisha was curled up.
She held her hands out toward the fire…
Her tail curled around her, and she was wrapped in a blanket.
Even though she has fluffy ears and a tail, she still gets cold.
The same goes for Licorice, who was curled up on top of Aisha’s head.
Next to them, Snow was also curled up.
“Ugh, so cold… Ah-choo!”
Her sneeze sounded a bit like an old man’s.
“Aisha-chan, aren’t you cold? Should I add more firewood?”
“No, I’m fine. The fireplace is warm. And Licorice too.”
“Huh? Me?! I feel like Aisha is stealing my warmth!”
Licorice tried to fly away, but Sofia held her down, preventing her escape.
She silently told her to be a heater for Aisha.
…Well, she’ll probably be fine.
Licorice is pretty tough, after all.
“Still, even if Licorice complains, today is really cold.”
“It’s probably just in the morning. They say it’ll warm up in the afternoon.”
“I hope so… Fate, are you cold? If you want, you can warm up with me.”
Sofia smiled and spread her arms wide.
Was she telling me to dive into her embrace…?
“Uh…”
“Do you not want to?”
“I-It’s not that… But if I do that, I feel like I’ll never be able to stop.”
It was very tempting, but I managed to resist.
Sofia looked really disappointed, but she shouldn’t be tempting me first thing in the morning.
Actually, not just in the morning—any time is bad.
What would she do if I lost control?
That kind of thing is… well…
It’s still too soon, or rather, how should I put it…
“Nihihi~ Fate, your face is all red. What are you thinking about?”
“Ugh…”
“Kyaa, kyaa! So lewd! Such a perv! Licorice-chan is getting flustered!”
And so, our lively morning passed.
We had lunch.
“Oh wow, the sky cleared up!”
By the afternoon,
the weather forecast had been right, and the sky shone bright blue.
The temperature had risen, and it was no longer freezing.
The snow was still on the ground, but since no new snow was falling, it wasn’t much of a problem.
“The sunlight is nice and warm.”
“So cozy.”
Since the weather had cleared up, it felt like a waste to stay inside.
“Dad, Mom!”
“Woof!”
Aisha’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at us,
her tail wagging furiously.
Snow did the same.
Seeing them, Sofia smiled gently.
“Shall we play together?”
“Yeah!”
As expected of Sofia.
She immediately understood what Aisha wanted and took action.
“Should we make a snowman?”
“A snowman!”
“Or maybe a snowball fight?”
“A snowball fight!”
Kids seem to love snow.
Aisha’s eyes shone with excitement,
and her tail wagged so hard it looked like it might fall off.
“Ouch, ouch.”
Licorice occasionally got smacked by the tail.
“Wafu~! Woof woof!”
Snow happily dashed across the snowy ground,
enjoying it all on his own.
“Hey, Sofia. Isn’t it a little hard to play in the snow?”
This town isn’t always covered in snow—it just happened to snow this time.
There was some accumulation, but now that it had warmed up, it was already starting to melt.
“And since it’s New Year’s, shouldn’t we do something more traditional?”
“Traditional New Year’s activities?”
Aisha tilted her head in confusion.
Maybe, as a beastkin, she wasn’t too familiar with human customs.
I handed Aisha a hagoita (wooden paddle) that I had prepared in advance.
“Here, take this.”
“Ohh!”
“This is a game where you hit a shuttlecock back and forth with these paddles.”
“Ohh…?”
Even after seeing it in person, Aisha didn’t seem to quite get it.
So, to demonstrate, Sofia and I played a round first.
“Watch closely, okay? Here I go, Sofia.”
“Alright, I’m ready.”
“Ei!”
Pon, pon—we hit the shuttlecock back and forth.
The sound it made was pleasant, somehow soothing.
As we kept playing, Sofia started to smile, seemingly enjoying herself.
“Fate, here it comes!”
“Huh?”
“Sei!”
KA-KOON!
A sharp, satisfying sound rang out as the shuttlecock came flying at me at an incredible speed.
It was so fast that I could almost see an afterimage.
Of course, there was no way I could react in time.
“I did it! I win!”
“So this is a game where you compete to win… I guess that’s one way to look at it.”
Though, I had thought it was more about just having fun hitting the shuttlecock back and forth…
Well, as long as everyone enjoys it, that’s fine.
“So, that’s how it works. Got it?”
“Yep!”
Aisha eagerly held out her hands, clearly excited to play.
I handed her a hagoita, which she gripped tightly in her small hands.
“Alright, so who will be her opponent…”
“Heh! The one and only, miracle hagoita master Licorice will take on the challenge!”
Licorice proudly stepped forward.
…Seriously, does she think adding “miracle” to everything makes it sound cooler?
“Licorice, can you even hold the paddle?”
“Piece of cake! This is nothing before dinner!”
…She already looks like she’s struggling.
When I handed her the hagoita, Licorice hugged it with both arms,
but she didn’t seem to have trouble with the weight, flying freely as usual.
This might actually work.
“Alright then, it’s Aisha versus Licorice…”
“Hold on a second!”
Licorice suddenly interrupted.
“Just playing normally would be boring! Let’s add a punishment game! The loser gets their face drawn on with ink!”
“That’s…”
A classic rule, sure,
but was it really okay to do that to Aisha?
“Agreed. Let’s go with that.”
“Sofia!?”
Just as I was about to object, Sofia readily agreed.
“Why would you agree to this…?”
“It’s fine. Aisha is actually quite athletic.”
“But this is her first time playing…”
“Even so, it’s fine. Because… her opponent is Licorice.”
“…Yeah, you have a point.”
I couldn’t argue with that logic.
And so, the match began…
“A circle on the cheek.”
“Ugh…”
“A cross on the other side.”
“Ughh…”
“And… a triangle on the forehead.”
“Ughhhh…”
“…There’s nowhere left to draw on.”
“Whaaaaaa!?”
A complete and utter defeat.
Her entire face covered in ink,
Licorice angrily slammed her hagoita onto the ground.
“Why!? Why did I lose!? I can fly freely in the air, I should have the overwhelming advantage! So why!?”
“That’s…”
“That’s!?”
“Because you’re Licorice.”
Sofia and I answered in perfect sync.
Because she’s Licorice.
Yeah.
That explanation was so solid, there was no room for argument.
“That doesn’t make any sense at all!”
Licorice screamed in frustration.
“Mom, let’s play next!”
“Sure. But no punishment game, alright?”
“Okay!”
Aisha picked up a hagoita and handed it to Sofia.
Sofia accepted it with a smile, and the two started playing.
Meanwhile, Licorice, frustrated from her loss, started messing with Snow…
Only to make him really mad and get chased around.
“Yeah… this is peace.”
It felt like this year was going to be a good one.
That thought warmed my heart.
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