Soon after that, Tabitha Journey left the small mountain town of Paveil.

She was accompanied by a group of mysterious strangers from the east, as well as a small detachment of veteran adventurers provided by the local branch of the Guild. Their destination was unknown, but none dared nor cared to ask; the eccentric and powerful spellcasters were known to pursue their own secretive goals and ends.

Thus, her departure went virtually unnoticed by the regular citizens. Not even Agatha Fauxslayer thought much of it, and she eagerly awaited her mentor’s return.

However, days have passed, and she didn’t receive even a word from miss Tabi. The reports of overleveled monsters were eventually leaked to the public, causing panic.
And soon enough, even stronger beasts were sighted on the edges of the woods surrounding the settlement. All low-level adventurers were forbidden to undertake quests without being accompanied by experienced supervisors, and contact with the outside world was halted.

And then, in the middle of April, the town was enveloped by snow.

***

*Swoosh*

A snowball hit Agatha straight in the face, knocking her out.

“Ahaha, you’re dead!” laughed Faith, and did a little victory dance. However, as her best friend wasn’t rising up, the victorious glee soon turned into genuine worry. “Umm, Agatha? You’re not actually dead, right?”

“....”

“H-hey, say something?”

*Crunch* *Crunch* *Crunch*

Walking through the thick later of snow, Faith’s heavy winter boots made audible noises. Thus, Agatha could tell her location even with her eyes closed.
Hiding a carefully prepared snowball behind the back of her wool-padded wizard robe, she let the enemy come a bit closer, before unleashing a merciless counterattack!

*Swoosh*

Unfortunately, throwing anything while prone isn't very efficient, and the little elven girl wasn’t particularly physically strong, either. Thus, the snowball failed to reach the target and disappeared in the curtain of snow barely several feet further.

“Ahh...”

“You!! How dare you trick me like that!”

*Swoosh* *Whoosh* *Sweep*

A punitive bullet hell of snowballs enveloped the little magician, almost burying her beneath! Just when it seemed all hope was lost, a sudden turn of events once again changed the tide of war!

*Bang!*

A particularly heavy snowball hit the back of Faith’s head, taking her out in an instant.

“Critical hit” stated Mira in a matter-of-fact way, her face devoid of emotions as usual.

*Cough, cough* “Youu! We agreed not to use any skills in this contest...!”, accused Faith, coughing, wheezing, and waving her hands frantically. Looked like it really was a critical....

“I have a passive boost to criticals, no matter what I do.”, shrugged the shinboi dismissively.

“More importantly...*cough cough* aren’t you cold like that?”

“...Like what?”

The girl clad in a warm red-and-white hoddie jacket pointed at shinobi’s exposed belly, thighs, and upper arms.

“Like...like that! You’re wearing the same thing you did when we first met! Barley anything at all!”

“We ninjas prefer light clothing for the sake of mobility...”

“But it’s freezing all around!”

“...I underwent cold acclimatization training regime before being dispatched here....”

They continued going back and forth like that for a while. However, the match was settled. Mira was free to decide the fate of the fallen. And her choice was...

“I’ll let you have the key.”

***

It all began earlier today when Agatha approached Faith with a risky proposition.

“To say it short, we must break in miss Tabi’s atelier.”

“...What?”

“...My teacher said that...uhh...”, Agatha scratched her cheek, trying to invent a believable excuse, “...That if she won’t come back in two days, I should break in and find something she left for me there!”

That was obviously a lie. However, the naive warrior swallowed it without question.

“But why are you asking me for help...?”

“Because you’re my friend!”

“Reeeally?” asked Faith, arching her eyebrows suspiciously. She might have been hot-headed, but she knew her elven friend long enough to know there must have been some other reason.

Sensing that her bluff failed, the little wizard scratched her cheek, and put her hands behind her head, faking a nervous laugh. “Ahaha, well, and also cause...you’re kinda strong and I need you to break open the front door~”

“....”

***

Unfortunately, the front door proved to be the toughest opponent they ever faced and didn’t even budge after several dozen attempts to kick, knock and push it open.

“Auch, I think I twisted my ankle..!” screamed Faith, walking in circles around the snow-covered courtyard, and faking a limp.

“*Sigh* Looks like we need a change of plans...”, murmured the elf, not paying attention to her friend's charade.

“Can’t you blow it up?”

“My teacher would kill me!”

“...But didn’t she tell you to do this?”

“Uhh....”

Just as it seemed her bluff was about to be discovered, a cloud of smoke appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and a familiar silhouette emerged from within it.

“M-Mira?!”
“You!?”

*Ding ding* “You’re looking for this?” asked the rogue calmly, deliberately flashing a tiny golden key, then slowly hiding it back in the sleeve of her glove.

“They key..but why?”

Agatha was dumbfounded. She recognized that key immediately. It was the master key, capable of opening every lock in miss Journey's house. But why did this outsider have it?

Jealousy stung,*Why did miss Tabi entrusted it to her?*, but reason won. She collected herself and replied, “Ahaha, well, since you decide to show it to us, you’ll help us with the door, right? You’ll open it..right?”

“Sure…”, nodded the shinobi and raised her finger, “But under one condition.”

“Pfff, typical rogue...”, barked Faith, but Agatha silenced her with a quick swing of the quarterstaff. Faith made a sour face, but said no more and allowed her friend to carry the negotiations.

“What’s the condition?”

“We will have a snowball deathmatch. If any of you wins, you can have it. If I win, I’ll do what I please.”

“W...what!?”

“No magic, no skills, and no teaming up against me. Well, even if you did, I’d probably win anyway~”

Faith couldn’t afford such insult to fly by. She shook her fist and stomped the pavement furiously.

“Haha, you think you’re so tough!? Fine! But know this! By the time the sun sets, I, Faith Bloomrose will be the one standing victorious over your snow-stained corpse!”

“...Where did that come from?” asked Mira, knocked slightly off track by such display of chunni-like bravado.

She glanced at Agatha, hoping for some kind of explanation, but the elf played along, raised her staff like a lance, and proclaimed thus:

“I, knight Agatha Fauxslayer, pledge myself to fight honorably until the last drop of ice!”

***

Yet, despite these courageous vows, the girls were utterly and completely defeated. However...

“I had fun today”, smiled Mira gently, and handed Agatha the key to the residence.

Apparently, she wanted to let them in from the start. But...why did she demand a snowball fight of all things?

“Where I live, there is rarely any snow. I wanted to see how it’s like.”, she stated calmly and shrugged. Agatha noticed already that this girl shrugs a lot. Was it a habit of hers, or...?

“Pfff. We’ll have a rematch tomorrow!” Faith proclaimed confidently, even as her face was all red and almost seemed frostbitten.

Agatha chuckled.*That girl never learns*, she thought affectionately, but decided not to say anything embarrassing.
And soon, the three of them entered the abandoned house, searching for everything and nothing.