Melonbooks 2023 Winter Fair SS: Home Cafe: Another Way to Enjoy a Drink

"It's snowing, isn't it?" "Yeah, it sure is."

Watching the snow falling relentlessly from the uninspiring, dull-colored skies from beyond the window, Amane and Mahiru couldn't help but sigh as they whispered to one another. That, paired with overpowering wind that seemed to drown out even their voices, caused them to feel more lethargic than usual.

They had planned to go out together for the majority of the day since it was a rest day, but those plans were hampered by the never-ending whiteness that swept across their field of vision.

Amane had a bad feeling back when he checked the weather forecast a while back, but he certainly hadn't expected it to be this bad. The conditions outside were intense to say the least.

As such, they had decided to cancel their plans for the day. Even if they went out today, they'd only end up getting chilled to the bone. Amane was against them heading outside just for Mahiru to face such cold conditions.

"I'm really glad today's a rest day," he began. "If it was a weekday, everyone would be despairing right about now. Both students and the employed."

"I agree. If there were no warnings issued, we would be walking toward school in this weather instead, and people from the workforce would have to trudge through a hellish commute," Mahiru replied.

"Would the trains even be running in this weather, to begin with?" "I wonder…"

While a region with frequent snowfall would no doubt have the appropriate countermeasures in place, unfortunately, their area didn't get that much snow. However, judging by the amount of snow falling—which was better described as a raging gust of wind than a gentle trickle—it was only a matter of time before most public transportation services would come to a halt.

Realizing that despite it being a weekend, there were plenty of people still working in such conditions in order to keep the gears of society turning, Amane put his hands together and inwardly gave them his gratitude.

Thank you for your continuous efforts.

Peering outside, Mahiru noted, "It does not look like the snow will stop for at least the rest of the day." Pure white snowflakes of considerable size began to pile up. While a small amount of snow akin to a powder would be considered pretty, these flakes were big enough that one could tell they would accumulate significantly if given time.

"With this much snow coming down today, no doubt we're gonna be in for quite a big pile tomorrow."

"Removing all of the snow will likely be quite the challenge, too. Especially for transportation," Mahiru noted. "I have a feeling that public transport will be unable to run; it makes you wonder how much money will be lost because of events like these."

"I don't even wanna think about it," Amane nodded, noticing that Mahiru's pragmatic and realist nature, which he had picked up on during their conversations last winter, hadn't changed in the slightest. He quietly looked at her as she talked somewhat seriously, but despite that, she appeared to show a hint of anticipation.

"…If it piles up enough, do you think we can make a snowman?"

While she was devastated that they had to cancel their plans, it seemed that Mahiru didn't dislike snow in itself.

"Hmm," Amane got to thinking. "It'll probably pile up enough for us to make a decent snowman, yeah. Looks to be the type of snow that doesn't melt that easily."

"In that case, I shall give it a try if it stops snowing by tomorrow."

Last year, they had managed to make a snowman the size of a palm, but not the kind that could be rolled into shape, so she must've wanted to give it a shot.

The snow kept us from going out, but if she's found even a little enjoyment from it, then I'm glad, Amane thought, smiling quietly. "I'll go get us some drinks," he added, gently moving away from Mahiru as she continued to gaze out the window.

Originally, they'd planned to head out to a café, but Amane suddenly remembered something his seniors had taught him at work, and decided to put it into practice. Since we've got the chance, let's recreate the classic café atmosphere here at home, he decided, reaching out for the milk in the refrigerator.

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"Mahiruuu, come on over. I've prepared our drinks."

As he carefully placed the nearly overflowing drinks onto the table, Amane called out to Mahiru, who had been looking outside in a daze. He'd been making quite the racket in the kitchen, but Mahiru didn't seem to pay much attention to the noise; she swiftly turned around and began to make her way over to Amane.

As she did so, her gaze locked onto what was on the kitchen table, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"…Did you make all this yourself?" she asked. "Sure did. How about we have a home café today?"

On the table was a drink with a snowman-shaped figure floating on top, which had slightly melted and spread out. Amane placed a tray of baked snacks from the snack box next to the 3D latte art he'd made, and had successfully pulled off creating a café-like ambience.

Well, it's no café-grade latte or cappuccino, but still…

As one would expect, Amane didn't have his own espresso machine, so he opted to use an electric frother that he'd bought from a hundred-yen store instead. Using it, he foamed the milk before setting it on top of the cocoa, making his own makeshift version of the drink.

Amane had put into practice the tips that he'd been given: how to make fine yet dense foam, how to separate the foam to encourage quicker drying, how to best apply the heat, and how to warm up the spoon so as to not break apart the foam on contact. When it came to actually shaping the foam, however, it was outside of his expertise. As a result, he ended up with a squishy and somewhat flattened two-tiered snowman.

As its creator, Amane was a tad embarrassed by the slightly distorted face he'd made using chocolate sauce and chopsticks, but considering it was an amateur's handiwork, it wasn't half bad. He simply had its uneven face down as one of its charms.

"I tried to give you a glimpse of what's to come tomorrow," Amane smiled. "A warm snowman's not too shabby either, right?"

Mahiru's eyes repeatedly alternated between both Amane and his little snowman latte art, and her previously low-spirited expression quickly began to light up in a joyful glimmer.

And then, with a shy and touched smile, Mahiru lowered herself to sit down next to Amane, who had done so first, and snuggled up close.

"Where did you learn such skills?" Mahiru asked.

"From my senior at work. They said it'd make you—my girlfriend—happy, so they taught me how to do it. I think I did pretty well for my first attempt, if I say so myself."

"From my perspective, it looks like you managed to nail it on your first try, and on the spur of the moment, too… You're always like this."

After thinking for a moment, "...Am I being blamed here?" Amane replied.

"I am not blaming you, but you really are always like this."