Although it was already very late, spending the night at Mira's house was impossible.
If he had no place to stay or lived particularly far, he could have found an excuse, but unfortunately, none of these conditions were met.
The door was firmly shut, so Rhode could only stroll back with Warm, but he was in quite a good mood.
Just now, Mira attacked Rhode, this 19-year-old young man, from the back when he was about to leave, hugging him unexpectedly.
When he tried to turn around, Mira had already run into the house and closed the door. How reckless, to hug and then run away; he would definitely return the hug another day.
For now, he decided to hug Warm for a while.
Five seconds later, Rhode put Warm down disdainfully.
The kid's paws and little legs were covered in quite a bit of snow, which melted and became wet; it would be better not to let it walk on the snow next time.
"Summoning, Gorge Swift Crab!"
At times like these, the best option was the dedicated transportation tool, and as a cold-blooded animal, its movement in the snow was not affected in the slightest, which was quite remarkable.
Rhode sat on the River Crab with Warm, suddenly feeling something, and when he looked back, he locked eyes with a pair of eyes from upstairs.
The two waved at each other, starting to look forward to a new day.
...
The new day started with clearing the snow.
When Rhode went out, Goodman hadn't arrived yet. The snow at the entrance was roughly half-leg thick, likely because Goodman was still dealing with the snow at his own place.
The surrounding households had already begun working, usually starting by sweeping a path from the entrance to the main road, then clearing a section to either side of the main road.
It was like an unwritten rule, with each household doing the same, and the cleared paths connected together, allowing the road to quickly become passable.
It was like this in Magnolia, and even more so in rural areas without sanitation workers.
The diligence with which people cleared the snow varied, and the shapes of the paths cleared also varied, with different widths.
These connected, uneven paths symbolized the connections in the neighborhood, making walking on them in a snowy day feel unique.
Since Goodman wasn't there, the task of clearing the snow naturally fell to Rhode.
He remembered the neighbor was an elderly lady, and although they hadn't exchanged many words before, he wanted to clear the path all the way to her door.
The neighbor on the other side of the elderly lady was an uncle older than Goodman, and he seemed to have the same intentions.
Rhode and he didn't exchange many words, but after they finished half of their tasks, they smiled at each other and returned with their tools.
The snow-clearing task had just begun, because after the roads were cleared, a more important task awaited: clearing the snow from the roof.
If the snow on the roof wasn't dealt with in time, when it melted into water, some would seep into the roof, and when it froze again at night, it could damage the roof.
The burden would be too much, with the risk of the house collapsing, and icicles under the eaves could also pose a risk to passersby.
Getting on the roof was much easier for Rhode than for ordinary people; he didn't even need a ladder and flew up after summoning a Beaked Bird.
He didn't climb directly, fearing a slip might cause embarrassment.
He used a snow shovel to push the snow off the roof in sheets, feeling the thudding sound of the snow hitting the ground.
He also saw an irresponsible father, who, while his son was building a snowman at the doorway, pushed the snow off the roof, covering the boy in it.
Surely his wife would have a good talk with him after he was done with his chores.
Naturally, Rhode intended to clear the snow off the elderly lady's roof too, but he needed to ask for her permission first.
If he accidentally hit the old lady, that would be a real problem.
"Good kid, have a cup of hot tea first." The old lady seemed very happy with Rhode's visit, not only pouring tea but also taking out all kinds of snacks and fruits from the cabinet.
Some looked like they had been there for a long time, with apples showing wrinkles on their skin. The things she normally wouldn't bear to eat, she now took out eagerly to entertain guests.
With no reason to refuse the good intentions of an elderly lady, Rhode picked up a piece of snack and ate it with the tea. It was a bit hard, but tasted quite okay.
"I remember you're a tenant at the Goodman family, and a Mage from the Fairy Tail, right?"
"Yes, I've been living here since last summer."
"Ah, so it's been quite some time, last summer..."
The elderly lady, perhaps lonely, wanted to chat with visitors for a while longer.
Rhode actually wanted to finish his work quickly so he could go to the Guild to see what Mira and the others were doing.
However, it wasn't urgent, and he had time to chat with the old lady.
So Rhode learned that Bayer's name was given by Goodman's father; he learned that the couple across the street often argued about the child;
and he learned that a certain fruit stand liked to display good-looking fruits on top, but would sneakily switch them with less appealing ones during weighing...
Chatting with elderly folks often meant jumping from topic to topic, with the commonality being they were all little things happening around her.
They weren't necessarily valuable information, nor interesting stories, but just saying them out loud with someone listening made the old lady happy.
Rhode patiently waited until she began repeating what she'd already said before he gently put down his teacup.
"I'm much warmer now; I should go and clear the snow for you."
"Alright, alright."
"Please wait inside, and don't stand under the eaves."
Rhode gave a serious reminder before heading to the roof with his tools.
After clearing for a while, he leaned on the snow shovel to straighten his back, just able to see the people on the rooftops of other houses, which was amusing.
Rhode had good eyesight and could see there were also people working on the Guild rooftop.
He quickened his pace and, after finishing, bid goodbye to the elderly lady before hurrying to the Guild.
The sun was already up, but the snow showed no signs of melting, leaving wet marks at the border between the road and the snow.
As soon as he arrived at the Guild, Mira greeted him warmly: "You're late, docking your pay."
Rhode's heart sank; was Mira backstabbing him today after an ambush yesterday?
"Come on, I was only late because I was helping the elderly neighbor clear snow."
Mira nodded reluctantly: "In that case, you're forgiven."
"How's it going here at the Guild?"
"It's almost done; we have enough hands. Later, we're going to help the townsfolk with snow clearing."
While talking, Mira put on her coat, saying before Rhode could ask, "I need to go home for a bit."
Rhode had just undone a button on his coat before fastening it again: "Elfman isn't back yet, right?"
"Hmm, he should be back today or tomorrow. The roads are tough for carriages in this condition."
"Oh." Without saying much more, Rhode followed her back.
Going back at this time probably meant she had come to the Guild early in the morning to organize these problem children.
The snow at her house probably hadn't been dealt with yet, and Rhode certainly couldn't just stand by and watch.
Mira pinched his arm; why was this person so naturally following along?
Rhode chuckled; his coat was too thick to feel the pinch, making it seem like she wanted to drag him back home.