Chapter 45: The Arrival of Winter

After about two weeks, snow began to accumulate all around.

Lime and Mash, who usually slept outside, had started staying inside the villa after the snow began to fall—probably because they couldn’t handle the cold anymore.

Letting monsters inside might be a bit of a concern, but since they weren’t making a mess or causing any trouble, it should be fine… hopefully.

“Sato-san, it’s finally started snowing for real. We finished harvesting the vegetables we planted yesterday, but knowing that we won’t be able to farm for the next few months feels a bit lonely.”

“I agree. Farming had become a regular part of our daily lives, so I also feel a bit sad.”

“More than anything, it means we’ll be bored, right? When are we heading to the dungeon?”

“I made arrangements for Ren and the others to come pick us up, but I don’t know exactly when they’ll arrive.”

“So until then, we’ll have nothing to do. With this snow, we can’t even go to the back mountain. By the way, are we free to do whatever we want during this period?”

Sheila-san seemed to have something in mind.

If we really had nothing to do, I had been thinking about buying a new board game, but I didn’t want to force her into anything.

“Of course. What do you want to do, Sheila-san?”

“I want to train a little for the dungeon expedition. Also… I’d like to give Mash and Lime a bath.”

“Training and a bath, huh? I should probably practice with my sword a bit too.”

“If you’d like some guidance, I’d be happy to teach you anytime. Well then, I’ll head back to my room now.”

With a determined look, Sheila-san returned to her room.

Seeing her like that, I decided that I’d also practice my swordsmanship later—but for now, I just wanted to relax a little longer.

So, while lounging in the living room with Lime and Mash, I decided to think about my NP.

I took out my tablet and checked my current NP balance.

Aside from treating Ren and the others to pizza, I hadn’t spent much recently, so I still had 40,786 NP.

I had been looking forward to spending it, so reaching winter at this point felt a little disappointing.

I set aside 10,000 NP for the Christmas party and 15,000 NP for general winter expenses.

That left 15,000 NP for discretionary spending.

I wanted to buy manga, games, upgrade the farm for spring, and maybe even get a new monster for dungeon exploration.

But 15,000 NP wasn’t nearly enough for all of that—I had to pick just one thing.

If I could only choose one, maybe it was best to not spend it at all and just save it.

I browsed the store while agonizing over my decision… but in the end, I couldn’t decide on anything.

As a compromise, I bought volumes 1-5 of a pirate-themed manga.

I figured I could introduce it to Sheila-san and Velvet-san, and since Ren and the others were probably familiar with it, they might enjoy it too.

With that settled, I started reading my new manga.

I had watched the anime before, but since my memory was a bit hazy, it felt fresh and exciting.

I quickly finished all five volumes and was tempted to buy the next ones—but I stopped myself before I lost control.

Now that I was fully awake, it was time to practice my swordsmanship.

Looking outside, I saw that the snow had temporarily stopped falling.

I decided to ask Lime and Mash to train with me.

If they weren’t up for it, I’d just practice alone.

“Mash, Lime. Let’s go outside and—”

I didn’t even get to finish my sentence before the two of them, who had been lazily lounging around, suddenly sprang up and rushed outside ahead of me.

I was momentarily stunned, but since they were so eager, it worked out perfectly.

With their help, I’d train in a more practical, battle-like style.

After quickly changing clothes, I followed them outside.

Even though it had stopped snowing, the cold was enough to make me shiver if I stood still for too long.

That being said, the snow-covered landscape before me was a first-time experience, and despite my age, I couldn’t help but feel a little excited.

“Let’s take turns sparring. If either of you beats me five times… I’ll give you a magic stone.”

I still had some magic stones from Ren, so I figured I’d give them as a reward for helping me train.

But if I didn’t win at least a few matches, I wouldn’t have any left for Thread, so I had to make sure to win some.

“Alright, let’s get started!”

With that, our mock battle began…

But instead of winning a few matches, I didn’t win even once.

Lime and Mash defeated me over and over again, and before I knew it, all my magic stones were gone—just as I had feared.

I felt really bad for Thread, but… thanks to the relentless battles, I felt like I had started to grasp the basics of combat.

Since I had picked up a bit of a feel for fighting, I decided to keep training until the dungeon expedition.

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