"The temperature is going down to absurd levels... Is it even supposed to get this cold in just three days?"
Kaeya sat hunched in his bed, cocooned beneath his blanket like it was sacred armor. The chill bit through the air like a spiteful spirit, settling into the corners of the room and refusing to leave. His breath puffed out visibly in the dim morning light, forming soft clouds that vanished almost instantly.
This is fucked up... Wasn't it comfortably warm just a few days ago?
He stayed buried under the covers for a moment longer, trying to convince himself that getting up wasn't necessary. But the dryness in his throat and the weight of responsibility finally pushed him to move. With a quiet groan, Kaeya sat up and let the blanket fall from his shoulders, immediately regretting it.
The cold hit him like a slap.
"Ugh."
He swung his legs off the bed and stood, stretching briefly before walking toward the bathroom. Each step felt like walking through ice mist—thankfully, his body was more than capable of dealing with it. In his old world, with his asthma and weaker constitution, he might've woken up wheezing by now. But this new body barely flinched under the cold. Still, it was annoying.
With fire magic he quickly increased the temperature of the air around him.
He stepped into the bathroom, flinching slightly at the frigid air even there.
The water mana stone upon being activated started pouring cold water, practically frozen. Touching that is going to suck.
Still, hygiene was non-negotiable. He leaned forward and began splashing water onto his face. The cold shocked him awake instantly, like getting slapped by nature. But with every splash, he countered the chill by surging a wave of subtle heat through his body, drying the water as soon as it touched his skin.
By the fifth or sixth splash, his mind was crystal clear and the last remnants of sleep had completely vanished. His body was warm, his face slightly flushed from the contrast, and his thoughts were no longer fogged with drowsiness.
He stared at himself in the mirror for a second, water still dripping from his chin before it dried into steam.
"Morning, I guess," he muttered to his own reflection.
.
.
HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE IN THIS WEATHER?!
He liked winter more than summer normally—but this? This wasn't winter. This was nature's attempt at homicide. The stone walls of the room were practically sweating frost, and the air felt sharp enough to slice skin.
"Yesterday was normal," he muttered, breath visible. "What the hell happened overnight?"
Was this a prank by Roswall? He was the greatest mage afterall. Or maybe from Puck and Emilia? Either way, he wasn't laughing.
Fortunately like the days before, his fire magic came in clutch. Still, he stayed wrapped in his blanket for comfort. The flames kept his body warm, but they didn't do much for his will to leave the room.
"I wonder if Subaru's frozen solid yet... Though i guess that would probably trigger his ability."
Grumbling, he dragged himself up and opened the door. Even in the hallway, his footsteps echoed slightly louder than usual. As he walked his sharp ears picked up muffled voices coming from the kitchen.
He sighed. "Guess I'll go check."
The closer he got, the clearer the words became.
"W-W-Were you keeping each other warm? Just imagining that is bringing my body temperature up by three degrees—"
Yep, definitely Subaru.
He stepped inside the kitchen. Subaru was sitting on a bench, an orange blanket draped over his shoulders like a second skin. His nose was red, and he was clinging to a steaming cup like it was his last hope in life. Next to him stood Rem a soft handkerchief in one hand and a teapot in the other.
"Good morning, Kaeya-kun," Rem greeted him politely, offering a warm smile despite the cold.
"Morning," he nodded, then turned his attention to Subaru. "So… how are you holding up?"
"I-I'm not!" Subaru cried dramatically, sniffling. "Can't you see?! I'm on the brink of death here! Do something! Use that healing magic of yours!"
Kaeya blinked. "You have a cold. What do you want me to do? Reverse your snot flow?"
Subaru groaned. "I don't know! Heal it! That's what magic's for!"
Kaeya paused. What even causes a cold again…? Was it a virus? Something-something about the immune system?" He scratched his head. Should I boost his white blood cells or something…?
Kaeya had done well in school back in his world, but only because he turned everything into weird stories to memorize. It made cramming easy… but also meant the knowledge didn't exactly stick.
"I could try something," he offered hesitantly. "Can't promise anything."
Subaru leaned away instantly. "Don't experiment on me if you don't know what you're doing!"
"At Least it wont make things worse." Kaeya said flatly.
"Fine," Subaru muttered, holding the cup closer.
Rem who was listening to the exchange from the side, spoke up.
"I'm sorry to say, Subaru-kun, Kaeya-kun… Unfortunately, healing magic generally isn't effective on things like colds. It's mostly use to mend wounds or cure poison—physical damage we can see or sense with mana."
Kaeya raised an eyebrow.
Huh. That made sense in a way. If their healing magic was based on sensing injuries or broken parts directly, they probably didn't understand the smaller pieces of biology—cells, germs, pathogens. That kind of knowledge just didn't exist here. He could probably manipulate healing magic more freely because he had some mental image of what he was trying to affect.
Alright then. Let's see...
He held out his hand, subtle light pulsing from his fingertips as he focused on tweaking the healing spell. Not to close wounds—but to push his mana into Subaru's immune system. Boost it, maybe stimulate recovery.
The magic flickered, sunk into Subaru's chest, and a wave of warmth spread through his body.
"…Huh?" Subaru blinked. "Wait. I—my nose stopped running?!"
"That worked, i guess?"
Rem stared, eyes wide. "Kaeya-kun… are you skilled in healing magic too?"
"Not really..."
"You fixed me?" Subaru sat up straighter. "You fixed me! Hey! That's actually amazing!"
"Thanks," Kaeya muttered.
Subaru stood up triumphantly. "Kaeya, the savior of sinuses! I have reborn!"
But then he immediately sat back down, covering himself with the blanket once again.
He sure can-.
Just then, Kaeya's ears twitched. Silent footsteps crept toward the door—not loud enough for most people to notice, but his enhanced hearing picked up the soft shuffle.
Creepy… but at least it's useful, he thought, glancing over just as the door creaked open.
"Well, well, Subaru-kuuuun! You sure sound energetic! What's the maaatteeeerrr~?"
Subaru, now full of newly-gained energy which could only thrive under the blanket, puffed up his chest. "Our genius and reliable Kaeya-sama just healed my cold with his ultra purifying healing magic!"
Kaeya stared blankly at him.
What the hell was that? I haven't cringed this hard in years. Shut up. You're embarrassing me too.
Roswaal chuckled, eyes glinting. "Heeeaaaling a coooold with heeeaaaallling maaagic—now isn't thaaat iiiinnnteresting~!"
Kaeya sighed. "I just tweaked the spell a bit. I doubt I could replicate it consistently."
"Sure, sure, Humble-kun~!" Subaru grinned.
I regret healing him. Someone stop me before I strangle this guy.
But Subaru had already moved on, his attention bouncing to Roswaal. "That said, is the weather always crazy for a few days or something here? Do you know anything about it? If its general winter causing this, Lets go beat him! Like as soon as possible! Please, Sensei!"
"Subaru-kun, do you not haaaaandle the coooold very weeeell~?"
Subaru huffed, pulling the blanket tighter.
"During the winter, I complain about the cold. During the summer, I complain about the hot weather. During spring, I complain about being sleepy. During autumn, I complain about matsutake mushroom's price. I'm just your everyday normie."
Your the only ordinary guy complaining that much about whether. Kaeya thought.
"Are you curious about the outside?"
Subaru looked confused at Roswaal's question. "Well, I'm a bit worried about shoveling the snow off the village's fields... "
"Seems like you get along well with the villagers, espeeecially the kids."
"That's just a coincidence. Besides, I'm not fond of those selfish, rash creatures called kids. But, they went and got attached to me, so I had no choice."
Roswaal chuckled, giving Subaru a wink. "Yes, yes, that's what we caaall~ a tsundere."
"Cold! Ouch—it's cold again! I'm going to catch another cold!" Subaru pulled the blanket over his head dramatically.
"It will be okay! I will take care of Subaru-kun!" Rem excitedly assured.
"Anyway, don't worry, this weather's only spreading up to the mansion's vicinity," Roswaal said as he began walking away from the three.
"And just why is that?!" Subaru asked in confusion.
Roswaal paused in his theatrical pacing, then turned with a smirk. "To prevent the cold from spreading any further… two people have been diligently running around, containing it."
"Two?" Subaru looked at Rem questioningly.
"It's neither me nor Nee-sama."
"Which means that the suspect's identity is clear, no?" Subaru thoughtfully inquired.
"Thus, I don't even have to explain who's behind this cold, dooo I?" Roswaal smiled in confirmation.
.
.
Four people stood outside Emilia's door, cold mist creeping out from beneath the frame.
We're standing here like we just got a tip that Emilia's running an underground drug ring. He didn't say it aloud, but judging by the look on Subaru's face, he might have been thinking the same thing.
Roswaal stepped forward, "Emilia-sama. Sorry for bothering you so early in the morning. Do you have a moooment?"
"Roswaal?" came Emilia's muffled voice through the door. "Err… wait a second! Okay?"
"Suuuubaru-kun." Roswaal pointed at the boy, to which the butler nodded and moved to open the door.
Only to suddenly step back while holding his hand as soon as he touched the golden handle of the door.
"So cold! What the hell is this?!" Subaru exclaimed. "Emilia-tan! Are you okay?!"
"Heh? What? Subaru is here too?" Emilia asked in a panic.
"Yes, I'm here! But more importantly, don't you have something else to say?!" Subaru yelled at the door accusingly.
"Something to say...? Something to say...? Good morning!"
"Hmm, hmm. Properly starting with a greeting, that's a well-behaved girl- That's not it! I'm opening the door! If you're changing, then thank you!"
"Thank you? Not sorry?" Emilia questioned ludicrously.
Subaru opened the door and was met with a room filled to the brim with ice and an oncoming storm hitting him in the face.
What the fu-
Kaeya instinctively stepped back as the frigid wind poured out like an unleashed elemental storm. Inside, the entire room was filled with swirling snow and frost. Emilia stood in front of her bed, trying to look composed while using her arms to shield something behind her.
"It's freezing! What is going on here?!"
"Y-You shouldn't do that! Barging into someone's room before getting permission to enter, that's rude!"
So it really was Puck after all, he thought, finally confirming his suspicion.
"Right! That's reeeally rude!" Emilia waved her arms and looked at the four with a panicked expression.
"Er... Uhm... Hey! Go out and try again!" Emilia yelled and blushed from embarrassment as the wind continued blowing stronger.
"'Tis what Emilia-tan is saying, but what's the mansion owner's say on the matter?" Subaru asked the lord behind him.
"Permission: Graaanted." Roswaal happily agreed.
"Roswaal!" Emilia shouted in betrayal as Subaru stepped into her windy room.
"So, the cause of this cold is?" Subaru stopped in front of her.
"Cause? What cause? I have no idea... well, maybe just a little bit... But I don't know!" Emilia continued with her genius manipulation of Subaru's peasant servant mind.
But then a voice from behind her stopped her cruel treatment of her servant's simpleness.
"It's okay, Lia. It doesn't seem like we can hide it longer anyway."
Emilia sighed and turned to the source of all this wind with a pout. "Puck, you idiot! I was just a step away from deceiving them!" She admonished her spirit for ruining her fun in playing with the mind of her servant.
No way you seriously believed you could lie your way through this! Kaeya thought.
"No, that wouldn't have happened in a hundred years." Said servant lied through his teeth to protect his pride.
Subaru leaned closer to see what was causing all of this... and found a tired-looking Puck, covered in a small blanket and sleeping on a small pillow, emitting this godly amount of wind and snow out of nowhere.
"Hm... I'm sorry. I've caused you trouble. Please don't get mad at Lia and Betty, they were just covering for me." Puck smiled at the boy apologetically.