A Sprinkle of Snowflakes: 1-1 The December Spirit

*It's hard to say whose at fault. Perhaps it should be Mr. Dickens.*

* **Rewards:** 3,000 , 600 , 1 , 1 , Blueprint: Solar Minimum

*And a soft breeze tousles my hair and guides me in yet another direction.*

* **Chase after the cat**
	+ Unlocks 1-2 Minced Fish Congee
* **Walk towards the music**
	+ Unlocks 1-6 Princess Turandot
* **Follow the wind**
	+ Unlocks 1-9 The Festival

## Transcript

Expand for script.

* **You:** "Holding up his hands in a last prayer to have his fate reversed..."

* **You:** "...he saw an alteration in the Phantom’s hood and dress."

* **You:** "It shrunk, collapsed, and dwindled down into a bedpost."

* The neat printed letters become blurry and distorted...
* My heavy eyelids block out the light, and my consciousness fades...
* The book slips from my hand, making a barely audible sound.
* But the darkness doesn't last long. A bright light flashes and the darkness disappears.

* **???:** Oh no! Big mistake!

* **???:** No!

* **You:** Ouch!

* It's someone in a pure white garment. She's only as tall as a child, but has the face of an adult.
* She lowers her head and hovers in mid-air, her white garment fluttering in the wind.
* I rub my still-dizzy head and observe her for a moment. She is clearly filled with anxiety, and the speed she flitters about is making my eyes blur.

* **???:** No, no! It's nowhere to be found...

* **???:** My goodness, I lost it!

* **You:** What did you lose? Wait... who are you? How did you end up in my room?

* She trembles all over and turns her head to look at me, timid and hesitant.

* **???:** Oh, h-hello... Have you seen my crystal ball?

* **You:** What crystal ball?

* **???:** It's—Yikes!

* **Isabel:** Hey, what's going on? I felt some strange movements from the Story Desk—

* **Isabel:** Oh! Is that a spirit?

* Isabel immediately perks up her pointed ears and cautiously circles around the spirit.
* Confronted by the confident Isabel, the spirit shrinks back and looks even more pitiful.

* **Isabel:** Why is there a spirit here? Did you summon her?

* **You:** No, I haven't done anything.

* Isabel's gaze turns stern.

* **Isabel:** That's suspicious... Did unknown enemies appear in the Story Kingdom again?

* **Isabel:** Answer honestly, where exactly are you from?

* She trembles and shakes as she answers hesitantly.

* **???:** I don't get it either, I'm just trying to meet tonight's deadline...

* **???:** Oh no, I could have completed the job, but now my performance won't be up to standard. What am I going to do about my evaluation?

* Have you ever heard a supernatural creature say such things? If not, now you have.

* **You:** Deadline? Performance? Evaluation? How did a spirit learn this human nonsense?

* **Isabel:** That's not the point, <Player Name>. Do you have any idea where she's from?

* **You:** Nope. I've just been reading alone.

* I turn to pick up the book I was reading to show Isabel, but discover an unexpected situation.

* **You:** Isabel, the Story Desk is glowing!

* **Isabel:** What?

* The Story Desk is glowing, and the book on it lies open with its pages rapidly turning.
* It's the hardcover book I was just reading: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

* **Isabel:** ...

* Isabel turns around silently, the anger clear on her face.

* **Isabel:** I've said it so many times! Don't leave your things lying around!

* **Isabel:** Especially not on the Story Desk!

* **You:** Ah... I understand, it's my fault.

* The pages of A Christmas Carol are still flipping rapidly on the Story Desk. The spirit cries out tragically.

* **???:** No! M-My body! It's becoming transparent!

* Before Isabel can say anything, I quickly remove the book from the Story Desk.
* The Story Desk's glow flickers and gradually fades away. The spirit also stops shaking, confirming our suspicion.

* **Isabel:** She traveled, but in reverse.

* **You:** So you're saying that she traveled from the story of A Christmas Carol into our world?

* **You:** Doesn't that make her one of the ghosts of Christmas who guided Ebenezer Scrooge?

* **???:** Excuse me? No one calls me a ghost. They call me the December Spirit!

* Isabel and I both ignore her, more focused on our discussion.

* **Isabel:** It looks like that's the case. If you put the book back on the Story Desk, it will automatically activate again.

* **Isabel:** In theory, all we need to do is send this spirit back to her own world.

* We turn to look at her at the same time. She also eagerly looks at us.

* **Isabel:** Okay, it's just a minor accident. We're sorry about that. Luckily, nothing serious happened.

* **Isabel:** If you don't mind, I can send you back now—

* **December Spirit:** No, wait! I can't go back until I find my crystal ball!

* **December Spirit:** I only have two minutes left and the task is not done. I'll disappear if I fail the evaluation!

* **Isabel:** ...

* Isabel's face visibly falls.
* I rub my head, which was just struck by the December Spirit earlier, and confront the jumble of books stubbornly.

* **You:** So you're called the December Spirit? What is your task?

* **December Spirit:** I'm being evaluated on my ability to respond to people's wishes and help them have a fulfilling holiday.

* **You:** I see. It doesn't sound that challenging – it's just like handing out gifts as Santa Claus.

* The December Spirit looks incensed.

* **December Spirit:** If it were just like giving out gifts, I would have been done with my task a long time ago!

* **December Spirit:** Most of the targets are really tough to deal with, and have really tricky wishes!

* **December Spirit:** Some of them want to find a girlfriend with specific looks, lose a certain amount of weight, or always summon super rare characters in their gacha games, and the list goes on...

* **December Spirit:** Why do you humans have so many holiday wishes?

* **You:** ...

* I look at her sympathetically.

* **December Spirit:** If the evaluation is not complete, I'll...

* **December Spirit:** ...vanish completely.

* **You:** Sounds like your superior is more ruthless than humans.

* **December Spirit:** Well, I wouldn't put it that way. All of this is being done to make the world a better place!

* **December Spirit:** One of my predecessors changed a miser into a kind, generous person!

* **December Spirit:** Everyone in your world knows about it!

* I lower my head and glance at A Christmas Carol. Thank you, Mr. Dickens.

* **You:** But if you don't complete your task, you will vanish?

* I sense the December Spirit is about to cry out.

* **December Spirit:** I actually did complete my task!

* **December Spirit:** I helped a jobless man reunite with his family, and the last crystal ball filled up with snowflakes!

* **You:** Snowflakes? You've been talking non-stop about a crystal ball. What's that?

* **December Spirit:** The crystal ball tracks the progress of my task.

* She retrieves a crystal ball from her pocket. Isabel and I gather around it curiously.
* It looks like a snow globe, with a street scene and a pile of snowflakes in it.

* **December Spirit:** Each time I successfully respond to someone, a certain amount of snowflakes are added to the crystal ball.

* **December Spirit:** If I fill up five crystal balls, my task for this year will be considered complete.

* **December Spirit:** I was suddenly summoned here just as I was watching the fifth crystal ball get filled up.

* She looks at me with a mournful expression. All I can do is awkwardly avert my gaze.

* **Isabel:** So what you're saying is that you lost the fifth crystal ball when you traveled in reverse?

* Isabel gives me a sideway glance. I put my hands together and silently mouth, "I'm sorry".

* **You:** Um, is there no way to fix this? Like helping more people and filling another crystal ball?

* **December Spirit:** But I'm out of time! When the fifth crystal ball was filled, there were only two minutes left until the deadline for my task.

* **December Spirit:** Two minutes aren't enough for me to find a new target!

* **You:** Oh, it sounds like you're quite the procrastinator.

* Isabel gives me a stern glare.

* **Isabel:** You're not in the position to say such things now!

* I rub my forehead and reluctantly raise my other hand.

* **You:** Okay, I have an idea. How about I help you fill up the last crystal ball?

* **December Spirit:** You?

* **You:** As long as A Christmas Carol isn't returned to the Story Desk, time in that world should be suspended.

* **You:** And we can use these last two minutes to fill up the last crystal ball...

* **You:** Once it's filled up, the December Spirit can bring the crystal ball back to complete her task. What do you think?

* **Isabel:** You know that doesn't excuse you for carelessly leaving books lying around, right?

* **You:** But at least this should keep the December Spirit from vanishing.

* **You:** Believe in me, Isabel. It's the holidays, and we can make the world a better place.

* **Isabel:** ...

* Isabel pouts for a moment before taking the empty crystal ball from the December Spirit and handing it to me.

* **Isabel:** I can't accompany you when you visit other worlds. Take care of yourself out there.

* The crystal ball feels as light as a snowflake.

* **You:** It won't take me long to return.

* As I close my eyes and place my hands on my chest, I ask myself...

* **You:** (Where should I go if I want to fill up the crystal ball by helping someone looking to have a fulfilling holiday?)

* An orange cat mysteriously appears in the darkness.
* The fleeting tones of a cello linger in my ears.
* And a soft breeze tousles my hair and guides me in yet another direction.

Chase after the cat

* Of all my experiences, I am most reminded of the joy of working in a bustling kitchen during the Great Qian Dynasty.
* **You:** It's time I returned...

Walk towards the music

* I think of my classmates at the Chaminade International Conservatory of Music and recall my passion for music.
* **You:** It's time I returned...

Follow the wind

* I think of my adventures in the Tara Kingdom and my friends living in Leto.
* **You:** It's time I returned...