"Achoo!" In the bedroom, Kars, who had just woken up, couldn't help but sneeze. His movement also allowed a cold draft to sneak under the blankets, making Remilia and Flandre, who were sleeping next to him, instinctively pull their necks in.
"Snow, huh…" Kars looked out the window at the snow-covered scenery, his expression troubled. Gensokyo really was cold, and even with his self-regulating body temperature, he still felt a chill.
Kars got out of bed, dressed, and went to the hall. Sakuya was dressed as usual; aside from her maid uniform sleeves being longer, the skirt was still short, and she had added a scarf.
"Good morning, Young Master Kars." Sakuya looked at Kars, who had woken up as usual, but seemed slightly dazed from the cold winter. He was even swaying a little as he walked, so she stepped forward and guided him to his seat with a gentle embrace.
After Kars rubbed his face and came to his senses, he looked at Sakuya's attire and asked, "Sakuya, aren't you cold dressed like that?" Kars gestured to Sakuya's short maid skirt and the long legs exposed to the cold winter air, as if she felt no chill at all.
"It is not a problem, Young Master Kars. There is no need for you to worry. Moreover, as a maid, I must always wear this uniform." Sakuya answered with a smile to Kars's concern, assuring him she was fine. Kars reached out and touched Sakuya's leg, his warm hand resting on her slightly cool skin.
"If you feel cold, remember to tell me."
"Yes." Sakuya replied with the same smile. "Besides, I have ways to keep warm."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, for example, doing this every day." Sakuya cupped Kars's face and kissed his lips. Doing this, no matter how cold it was, quickly warmed up her body.
"Alright, Young Master Kars, please begin your meal." After the cleaning work was done, Sakuya stood nearby with a slightly flushed face, watching Kars eat until the meal was finished, when another round of cleaning began.
"Hey! Kars! Come out and play!" At that moment, Cirno burst in with Daiyousei. Since it was winter, the Terakoya school was closed, and Cirno, free from lessons, dragged Daiyousei to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to find Kars.
As soon as they entered, they saw Kars and Sakuya kissing, making Cirno blink in confusion.
"Daiyousei, is that what kissing looks like?"
"Ah… yes." Daiyousei watched Kars and Sakuya kissing, her face entirely red, and nodded slightly. She, too, had been thinking about doing what they did last time with Kars, but the lack of opportunity was frustrating her.
"Now that Young Master Kars has warmed up, I won't disturb your play with your friends." After the cleaning was finished, Sakuya collected the dishes and left the hall, leaving Cirno and Daiyousei to spend time with Kars.
"Kars, let's go out and play quickly!" Winter was Cirno's favorite season. Unlike others who were miserably cold, she had no problem with the temperature. Daiyousei seemed to be in a similar state.
"Cirno, not everyone is immune to the cold like you. Speaking of which, Daiyousei, aren't you cold either?" Kars asked Daiyousei, noticing her similar attire.
"Mhm, I'm fine." This temperature was no issue for Daiyousei. Furthermore, being constantly by Cirno's side, she was sometimes accidentally frozen by Cirno, so this level of cold was truly nothing.
"This won't do! As my rival, you can't back down over a small thing like this!" Seeing Kars's condition, Cirno grabbed his hand and dragged him outside. As soon as Kars stepped out of the mansion, the cold wind hit him, causing him to involuntarily gasp. The cold air entering his body made him feel even worse, so he immediately closed his mouth.
"You're really not tough enough! You have to be like the great Lady Cirno to become the strongest being in Gensokyo!" Cirno pointed proudly at herself, telling Kars to learn from her, which made Kars roll his eyes.
"Kars, are you alright?" Daiyousei looked at Kars's complexion. After a moment of thought, she took both his hands and breathed warm air onto them, hoping to make Kars feel better. Although this act didn't have a big effect, it made Kars's heart feel warm, and that warmth made the cold wind seem less…
"Slap!" A snowball hit Kars's face with a thud. Due to his body's automatic temperature regulation, it quickly turned into icy water that ran down his face. Cirno, standing nearby, pointed at Kars and laughed, clearly delighted that her snowball had hit him successfully.
"If I don't bury you in a snowdrift today, I'm not a Scarlet!!" Kars immediately grabbed a handful of snow from the ground and threw it at Cirno. However, the snow in his hand quickly melted into water due to his body's temperature regulation and dripped onto the snow-covered ground. Then, Cirno hit Kars's face with another snowball.
"It's useless, Kars! Right now, you're no match for the great Lady Cirno!" Cirno also saw what happened and realized Kars couldn't attack her with snowballs. She became even more arrogant. Then, the next second, she was knocked to the ground by a snowball the size of her head.
"Apologies, I can control this." Kars stacked up another large snowball and spoke to Cirno. This function was controllable, but the consequence of turning off his self-regulation was that Kars now felt the cold of winter even more deeply. At least the hand holding the snowball felt incredibly cold.
But the chance to teach the arrogant Cirno a lesson was worth it!
"D-Damn it! I didn't expect that! But Lady Cirno, the Ice Fairy, won't lose…" Cirno looked at the expressionless Kars, who was holding a snowball even bigger than her.
"I told you, if I don't bury you in a snowdrift, I'm not a Scarlet! Take this, Cirno! This is my ultimate finishing move!!" In Cirno's contorted expression, the giant snowball covered her entirely, leaving only her head and lower body sticking out of the snowdrift. She was unable to move.
"Um, Kars, your hand is frozen red." Daiyousei saw Kars's hand was red from the cold. She stepped forward and took his hands, hoping to quickly help him recover.
"It's okay, I'll be fine soon." After all, the problem would quickly solve itself as soon as he restarted his body temperature regulation.
"No! You need this…" Daiyousei said, taking Kars's hand. With a flushed face, she guided Kars's hand under her skirt and placed it on her buttocks.
Daiyousei: $\text{⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄\omega⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄}$
"This way, it will warm up quickly."