Volume 1 - CH 27

After the members of the Beatos family left, Alme pondered in the silence of the shop.

Having decided to open a stall at the festival, the question is what to do with the menu.

While wandering around the store, she mumbled to herself and pondered.

She thought it would be fine to sell ice cream outside as it is now, but she’d like to see something more creative in order to attract more people. Such as cooking on the spot.

One of the charms of street food stalls is that you can see the food being prepared.

By presenting scenes such as grilling chunks of meat at the front of the stall, or grilling ingredients on an iron plate, the customer’s appetite and willingness to buy are stimulated.

When selling ice cream, all she has to do is scoop it out of the container and serve it, so she would like something a little more eye-catching and spectacular.

In addition to the festival scene of the town of Luorio, she tried to imagine the scene of the festivals in her previous life, looking for helpful hints.

“Speaking of festivals, in a previous life I had takoyaki, cotton candy, shaved ice, and…”

Shaved ice, huh? she wondered if she could interest the people of this town if she shaved ice into a heap at a stall.

When it comes to festivals in her previous life, shaved ice is a stall that can’t be missed. She’s never seen it at a festival in this city, so the rarity of it might draw customers.

Above all, the ice is cool to the eye and body, and seems to go well with Luorio’s mild climate.

“Shaved ice at the street stalls is served in paper cups and straw spoons, but we don’t have those in…this world, so we’ll just have to use regular glasses and spoons.”

She walked up to the counter and open the shelves wide. As a former juice shop, there are a sufficient number of reasonably sized glasses.

Since they cannot be disposable like paper cups, let’s have a system where if they return the glass and spoon, they get some of the money back.

“I’ll use what I have on hand for glasses, but I need to get a spoon with a longer handle…the other bigger problem is the shaved ice machine…but even if I order it from the tool shop now, it won’t be ready in time.”

There is no such thing as shaved ice in this world, so naturally there are no shaved ice machines on the market.

In that case, she would have to make a custom order, but if she explained the purpose and mechanism, and designed it――then it wouldn’t be possible to make it in time now.

“I don’t want to shave the ice with a mixer if it breaks…I wonder if I can do it by myself with a kitchen knife.”

She suddenly remember what she saw in her previous life. A scene of a cook putting a knife to a block of ice and scraping it off – and then the ice is shaved. She must have seen it on a cooking show or something.

When the blade of a knife slides on a block of ice, fine, snow-like ice cubes are shaved out of it. It is visually pleasing to the eye, and if it could be reproduced at the stall, it might be a good way to attract customers.

She was ready to give it a try. She moved to the kitchen and decided to give it a trial run.

Fill a suitable container with water and activate ice magic. She used a stronger magic, and in no time at all, a block of ice was formed in a square container.

Lightly place the container over the stove flame to melt it a little. She took out the ice and put it on the cutting board. It was a big chunk, about the size of the palms of her hand.

She chose a solid knife with a thick blade and placed it against the ice. She lightly applied the blade at an angle and slid it across the side of the ice as if scraping it from top to bottom.

Then the shaved ice fluttered out from the blade. She could shave off more than she thought she could at once. At this pace, she thought she could do it on her own.

After moving the knife around and repeating the shavings several times, a fluffy mountain of ice was created on the cutting board. It’s exactly the same texture as the shaved ice in her previous life.

Filling the bowl with fluffy ice, she took out the jam from the refrigerator.

Putting plenty of strawberry jam instead of syrup, the shaved ice is completed for the time being.

When she scooped the ice with a spoon and stuffed her cheeks with it, she felt nostalgic for the coldness, and her cheeks relaxed.

“Yeah, this coldness! After all, it’s shaved ice on a hot day! I’m sure the people of Luorio will like it.”

The soft, fluffy ice melts lightly in the mouth with the sweet jam. The texture and taste are just as she had imagined, and her heart is filled with excitement.

Once she decided to sell shaved ice, she has to make a prototype syrup.

In her previous life, red, green, yellow, and blue were the standard colors, so she would like to have the same vibrant colors.

If placed in glass jars and displayed at the food stall, the bright colors will also contribute to attracting customers.

Alme stuffed the shaved ice into her mouth and was overcome the heady coldness.

She rushed up to the second floor and prepare to go out. Today, she’s going to keep this momentum and buy the ingredients for the syrup.

While preparing, think about the next steps.

“I’ll have to stop by the market and sign up for a stall. I hope a good spot will be available, but since I’m late…I don’t have much hope.”

She originally had no intention of opening a stall, but if this is the case, she should have applied from the beginning.

On the day of the festival, even the shops in the back alleys will have a lot of customers, so there is no need to go out of their way to open a stall on the main street…there is no point in regretting being late, so there is no choice but to make a comeback from here.

With a wry smile, Alme left the house to head to the market.

Proceeding through the bustling market street and heading straight for the fruit shop. She looked around at the pile of fruits piled up in front of the familiar shop and thought, hmm.

(I can use strawberries for the red syrup, mango for the yellow, and melon for the green. The pale color of the peach is also beautiful.)

She took the fruits that can be used and put them in the basket.

Due to the climate, only limited fruits are produced around Luorio, but since it is a city that trades with the countryside, there are many items in the city.

Enjoying with gratitude, she bought several kinds of fruits in small quantities.

When she got home, she thought to boil it down in a small pot and try to make a prototype syrup.

Strawberries and peaches were gently placed in a drawstring bag, and mangoes and small melons were placed in a cloth bag.

After a quick shopping trip, she headed to her next destination, the festival’s management association.

There is a district office at the end of the market street, and she intended to complete the procedures for opening a stall there. –But before that, she decided to take a short detour.

She turned her steps toward a flower shop in a corner of a street with shops. This flower shop belongs to Ena’s family.

She peered into the shop, which was filled with beautiful flowers, and called inside.

“Hello, this is Alme. Is Ena here now?”

“Oh, Alme-chan! ――Ena, Alme-chan is here. Can you go out?”

It was Ena’s aunt who was tending the store. She was a cheerful lady just like Ena.

Ena’s family is a florist by trade, and in addition to the main store, they also have stalls at markets in the various districts.

If the timing is right, she can meet Ena, who is a salesgirl, so she stopped by to say hello.

She was immediately taken over, and Ena, who was working in the back, came out.

“Alme! Are you off today?”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry to interrupt your work, but I just thought I’d give you a quick update. I’m actually thinking of opening a stall at the upcoming festival. I’m going to go sign up now.”

‘Oh, really? What the heck, if you had told me earlier, I could have taken a place near our flower shop.”

Ena’s florist is a regular at the festival stalls. They sell flowers that decorate the hair, hats, and clothes of people who are excited at the festival, contributing to the liveliness of the city.

If Alme applied early, she might have been able to ask for a place near the shops, but it seems that’s not the case this time.

If the store was closer, they might have cooperated with each other in preparation and storekeeping.

“Really, I’m a shame that I’m late but I actually decided just now. The money discussion with Mr. Beatos got kind of complicated…and I thought, if this happens, I’ll make money while I can.”

“Wait, what do you mean it’s complicated now!?”

When Alme mentioned the story in a flippant manner, Ena leaned forward in interest.

“Umm, he ended up asking me to pay back the medical expenses for grandma that should have been written off.”

“Didn’t he write it off as a consolation fee for cheating?”

“That was supposed to be the case, but I was told I was also the cause of the affair, so we started talking about it… Well, we argued for a bit, but that’s enough. I thought about it a lot, and I didn’t want to keep talking about financial support, so I decided to just pay it off once and for all. Once that’s done, we can really cut ties without leaving anything behind.”

This was one of the reasons she decided to sign the repayment agreement.

If she kept her debt to the Beatos family intact, she may be talked out of something again and used for convenience.

Ena had a difficult look on her face, but after a moment of contemplation, her expression relaxed.

“… Well, yeah. It might be better to cut off all bad connections. If Alme decides, I’ll support you. How much is the repayment amount? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“The amount is so-so, but for the time being, I plan to manage the sales of the store and pay it back steadily, so it’s okay.”

“Yes, if anything comes up, definitely talk to me. Aiden and I will help you.”

“Yes, thanks.”

Alme replied with a smile and gratefully accept the feeling. –She will try her best not to actually receive assistance, although she will accept the feeling.

Both Ena and Aiden are about to get married, and it is time for them to spend money. They should spend their money on their new lives rather than on helping Alme.

That is why she did not tell them the details of the amount. If she had, Ena and Aiden, who are good people, would have been inclined to offer their assistance.

With a break in the conversation, Alme switched to a brighter tone of voice.

“Well, I’m off to sign up now. Sorry to bother you while you are at work.”

“If it’s a small stall, you might be able to negotiate for a more flexible location. There are a lot of customers near the square, so that’s where you want to be!”

“I see, I’ll try my best!”

Listening to Ena’s advice, she got excited. She might still be able to get a good location depending on negotiations.

–Well, then, it’s time to go. As she turned around, she suddenly noticed a blue flower in front of the shop.

At the fruit store mentioned earlier, she could not find any ingredients that would allow her to make blue syrup. But she wondered if it would be possible to make a blue syrup using these flowers, even though it would be difficult to do so with fruit

Alme stopped to stare at the flowers, and Ena gave her a curious look.

“What’s wrong? Do you like that flower?”

“No, I wondered if I could eat these flowers.”

“Wait, are you okay? Don’t tell me you don’t have enough food.”

“No! It’s okay! I was wondering if I could make a blue syrup!”

When Ena turned to her with a genuinely worried look, she hurriedly corrected it. Even though she’s in financial trouble, she’s still not hungry for food.

“Blue syrup? Maybe you pour it over ice cream?”

“I wanted to use it for a new product I was thinking of putting out at a festival. There aren’t many foods that are blue, so I thought it would be nice to bring out the color from flowers.”

“Unfortunately, this flower is poisonous. It’ll make your tongue numb and your stomach hurt.”

“Oh, no… If I put it out at the festival, it will become an incident.”

Her idea was cut off in one fell swoop and dropped her shoulder. But Ena continued cheerfully.

“But we also have edible flowers. I don’t sell them here, but I do sell them wholesale to a herb tea shop. When you put them in hot water, they turn a beautiful blue color. I’m sure you had a lot of herbal teas at home that you received, so I can share them with you.”

“No problem! Thank you! That’s very helpful!”

Herbal tea was a blind spot. The unexpected suggestion caused her to grab Ena’s hand and swing it around.

“Then next time, I’ll bring it to Alme’s house. It’ll be next week, but is it okay?”

“No problem at all! Please do!”

“Okay. Then, at the beginning of next week.”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it! Well then, I’ll better get going. Have a nice day.”

“Take care. And have a nice day Alme.”

She exchanged farewell greetings while exhilarated and left the flower shop.

Where was her dismay at the exchange with the Beatos family? She’s starting to have some fun. She really wanted to succeed in making blue syrup.

As she walked out on the street, she thought about the festival a month from now.

(I wonder if Mr. Falk plans to walk around town and enjoy the festival in Ruorio If I tell him the location of the stall, I wonder if he will come.)

While thinking about the festival, she suddenly thought of such a thing unconsciously.

She would be happy if he could come.

Falk seems to like ice cream quite a but, but it seems that Alme also likes Falk, the customer, more than he thinks.

She wondered what kind of impressions he would spill out and what kind of faces he would make when he eats the shaved ice.

Just thinking about that made her smile.