At six o'clock in the morning.
As the first rays of sunlight illuminated the land.
Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of thousands who had stayed awake all night, the ice covering Chiyoda Ward, Taito Ward, and Bunkyo Ward rapidly melted away in the light of the rising sun.
The thawing of the ice and snow seemed to be on fast-forward, disappearing at a speed that defied common sense, yet miraculously without causing any flooding.
After just over an hour, the three affected urban wards had completely returned to normal, with electricity even restored in most areas.
This scene was dubbed the "Miracle Morning" in the emergency 9 o'clock news broadcasts across six major TV stations.
Meanwhile, the central figure responsible for this Miracle Morning, the great Her Majesty Serafall Leviathan, currently lay sprawled on the sofa in the reception room like a dead salted fish.
Poke! Poke!
Megumi Kato prodded Serafall's cheek before turning to Luo Shu, who was seated on a single-seater sofa, and asked:
"Director, is Serafall-sama's current condition... alright?"
"What problems could she possibly have? She's perfectly fine physically."
Luo Shu tilted his head back against the sofa and said:
"Having performed the miracle of thawing three wards under the witness of nearly a million people, she's directly secured her promotion to Demigod through this ritual."
"Well, in a way, she's basically self-sufficient now."
"Then why does Serafall-sama..." Megumi glanced curiously at Serafall's lifeless, fish-like state.
At that moment, Nia Honjo, who had just regained consciousness, yawned while holding Raziel and said:
"Solving the urban freeze in one go while simultaneously ascending to Demigod and mastering unfamiliar Miracle Concepts... Frankly, the fact that she's only suffering from mental exhaustion is already the result of Luo Shu's full treatment efforts."
"Honestly, I can't believe you two dared to pull off something this big..."
"Nearly 50 square kilometres of land, meticulously unfrozen with all civilian facilities restored... tsk tsk tsk, that's really going all out..."
Hearing Nia Honjo's explanation, Yukino Yukinoshita approached, carrying a tray with six cups of black tea. As she arranged the teacups, she inquired:
"So, has this ice disaster been completely resolved?"
Then, suddenly remembering that Megumi's home had been affected, Yukino added curiously:
"Oh, right, Megumi, is your family alright? I recall your home is in Bunkyo Ward."
Turning to respond, Megumi explained:
"The earlier phone call mentioned our house being frozen, with most appliances ruined. But judging by the current situation, good news should be coming soon."
Hearing this, Yukino glanced at Luo Shu, who was leaning exhaustedly against the sofa, before curling her lips into a satisfied smile:
"So it's a happy ending for everyone, then?"
"Well, not exactly happy for everyone."
Nia Honjo fiddled with her hair while holding Raziel in one hand:
"Since priority was given to thawing ordinary residences, some corporations still suffered ice disaster damage, losing considerable equipment."
"Moreover, important government facilities were hit particularly hard."
"If we only calculate official losses, we're talking trillions in damages, not to mention the losses suffered by some of Japan's secret agencies."
Closing her book calmly, Nia concluded: "At least ordinary people don't have to worry about their hard-earned properties, cars and household appliances being wiped out by the ice disaster."
"Let's just say there are pros and cons to this situation!"
"But why do I feel like it's all good news? Anyway, those officials never do their jobs properly, so their losses don't matter."
While grumbling, Luo Shu reached out for the black tea on the table, only for a slender hand to snatch it away before he could touch it.
Luo Shu froze momentarily before turning to stare at the green-haired woman who had picked up the tea and started drinking it nonchalantly.
Seeing her behave as if she owned the place, Luo Shu raised an eyebrow and said:
"Speaking of which, what are you doing here? As far as I know, you're supposed to be in custody right now... Lady C.C."
Hearing this, C.C. calmly took a sip of tea before replying:
"Didn't that heterochromatic girl who detained me last night say?"
"As long as I don't leave this building, I can go wherever I want."
"I'm just following my jailer's orders, am I not?"
"Hah?" Luo Shu was dumbfounded.
'Even if Kurumi said that, it doesn't give you the right to sit here so brazenly and steal my tea!'
Before Luo Shu could voice his objections, C.C. crossed her legs and leaned back on the sofa with complete composure:
"Mature men shouldn't nitpick over trivial matters."
Having shut Luo Shu up, C.C. continued:
"Also, I'd like to know when the breakfast restaurant opens? I've been waiting for half an hour, and the restaurant on the 2nd floor still hasn't opened. Don't you provide breakfast here?"
"If not, please remember to put up a 'closed' sign next time to avoid making people wait in vain."
Hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita frowned slightly before explaining:
"Regarding the restaurant, I gave the Totsuki chefs we hired the day off due to last night's disaster."
"If you want breakfast, there are some ingredients in the fridge in my room on the 6th floor. You could consider making something yourself."
Upon hearing this, C.C. immediately slumped sideways on the sofa, resting her head on a cushion as she declared:
"I'm tired. I want pizza. Have someone prepare it for me immediately."
Hearing such shameless demands, Luo Shu's cheek twitched as he said helplessly:
"No pizza here. Be a good girl and stay hungry..."
Lying on the sofa with her eyes closed, C.C. retorted:
"Only incompetent men would let women go hungry."
"Listen to you talk, as if I'm your man or something."
C.C.'s attitude utterly exasperated Luo Shu.
'You're a prisoner right now, lady! Not an honoured guest, but a captured prisoner!'
'Not only did you barge in uninvited and steal my tea, but now you're demanding pizza?'
'Seriously...'
Just then, the door suddenly swung open as Erina Nakiri strode in with her attendant, Hisako Arato, in tow:
"What's going on here? Why has the 2nd-floor kitchen been blocked off?"
"And where are those incompetent assistants? Don't they need any training?"
Seeing Erina Nakiri's sudden appearance, Luo Shu blinked in surprise before asking with a strange expression:
"Erina, the way you're talking... it almost sounds like you're completely unaware of what's happened?"
Hearing this, Erina Nakiri froze for a moment before frowning and saying:
"What do I need to know? Isn't today supposed to be our training session?"
"I specifically took time off from the family school for this."
At that moment, Hisako Arato, beside her, suddenly noticed something. She took out her vibrating phone, checked it, and exclaimed:
"Miss, the mobile carrier just sent an alert warning about a snow disaster in your current location!"
"Huh?" Erina, who had been sleeping through the entire car ride, blinked in confusion before frowning at the clear sunny skies outside the window. "What nonsense are you talking about? It's perfectly sunny outside."
Seeing this, Yukino Yukinoshita stepped forward and waved her hand:
"Alright, alright. Since you're unaware of the situation, let's not dwell on it."
As Yukinoshita changed the subject, Luo Shu glanced at C.C. sleeping on the nearby sofa before asking Erina:
"Erina, can the restaurant ingredients make some pizza? I'm craving pizza this morning."
Hearing this, Erina couldn't help but snort, crossing her arms in front of her chest:
"Pizza? You want me to make such commoner food? Are you looking down on me?"
As she spoke, Erina turned away completely, giving Luo Shu a sidelong glance before coldly stating:
"Just wait until you end up eating your own tongue from how good it is."
"I'm looking forward to it then."
Luo Shu responded with a smile before turning his head and immediately meeting the bright, shining eyes of C.C., who had somehow woken up without notice.
Instantly, Luo Shu felt speechless:
"I feel like pizza is your entire reason for living sometimes."
"You can drop the 'sometimes,'" C.C. replied calmly.
Too exasperated to engage with this pizza-obsessed alien any further, Luo Shu turned his attention to more pressing matters.
—An inquiry letter sent under the Union's name.