Volume 1 - CH 31

The sudden appearance of the dark-haired, bespectacled priest caused a great stir in the surrounding area.

Priests are usually found in temples. The noble white and blue priestly garb shines only in the temple.

Conversely, it extremely out of place in the city.

The young priest faced Alme while receiving the curiosity of the people.

“Are you sure it’s Alme Titty’s Ice Cream Shop?”

“Yes, that’s right, but…”

While answering, her heart pounded. There is only one possible reason for a priest to come.

(…I don’t know, by any chance, is that “Shirotaka-chan Ice Cream” was not good enough...)

Perhaps the ice cream sold at the shop with a particular moniker got to the ear of Shirotaka and he got angry.

When she came to such a thought, she felt like her blood was draining from her face.

On top of that, she is still doing business under the name of Shirotaka at this moment. This will definitely make him angry.

Jayla, perhaps sensing Alme’s flustered look, also gave a drawn-out smile. While smiling and covering it up, she began to make excuses to the priest.

“What? Did you come to get angry at ‘Shirotaka’s snow candy’? It doesn’t matter how much it costs, isn’t that really good~. Among the common people, it’s already a major name. Are you complaining about it now?”

“I’m sorry for borrowing his name… If Mr. Shirotaka doesn’t like it, I’ll change it immediately…”

“Shirotaka’s snow candy…? Huh? That’s not the name I heard. But it’s ice and syrup…is it the same thing?”

The priest tilted his head as if troubled and muttered something in a whisper.

After pondering alone for a while, the priest held out a box-shaped bag that he had slung over his shoulder. He opened the bag, which was large enough to hold in both hands, and said.

“-Um, can I bring back those Shirotaka snow treats? Put them in this bag. All five flavors.”

“Eh, huh…?”

The box-shaped bag that the priest took out was filled with ice magic stones. This is a cooler box, or rather a mobile freezer.

Alme and Jayla met their eyes and were dumbfounded. Apparently, the atmosphere doesn’t seem to be angry. She had no idea what the intention is, but…

Jayla brings her face closer and whispers in her ear.

“I don’t know what it is, but I think we should just let it slide.”

“Well, that’s right… it’s not like they’re angry so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

After a quick discussion, she returned the customer service smile to the priest.

“I’m sorry. If you want one for each color, is five okay?”

“Yes, please. Oh, is there any inconvenience if I return the glass at a later date?”

“No, I have a lot of them, so it’s okay. If you don’t return them on the spot, you won’t get your money back, but if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind. Please.”

The priest answered without hesitation. He is young, but his speech is elegant and dignified. He is indeed a priest. It was as if his back was straightened as well.

She hastily scraped off the ice, placed it in a glass, and poured a generous amount of syrup over it. The finished snow candy is placed in a bag full of ice magic stones.

After paying the bill, the priest was about to turn around. –But before he did so, she’d like to say a few words.

“Priest, isn’t it hot in that uniform? If you don’t mind, shall I use my ice magic?”

“Eh, no, don’t worry about it. The priest’s clothes are cool and magical, so it’s okay. Thank you.”

The priest, who had been keeping a straight face the whole time, smiled with a bow. When he smiled, he looked his age. It was a cute smile that still had a childish quality to it.

The priest left as he did, and Jayla and Alme relaxed their shoulders. – but it was not long after they caught their breath, the curious eyes of the surrounding people, who had been watching the situation, now shifted to the stall.

Customers came rushing in, and orders pour in.

“Amazing! Is this Shirotaka snow candy official?”

“No, it’s unofficial…!”

“If the priest bought it, it’s real!”

“I don’t really know if it’s real or fake, but…”

“What flavor did the priest buy? I want to try the same thing.”

“Um, thank you very much…!”

As Alme was dealing with the waves of people coming in, she heard Jayla’s well-tuned voice coming from next door.

“Come on, come on over! The popular Shirotaka snow candy! Here’s the exquisite sweets that even the priest came to buy! Then how about some skewered meat while you’re waiting in line? Hot, spicy meat. The snow sweets will be even more delicious if you eat them!”

Jayla changed her mind quickly and was already connected to the business. Alme would like to learn from her resilience.

With an exhilarated face, Falk welcomed the apprentice priest who had been dispatched.

The dark-haired, bespectacled apprentice priest – Kyle – put his bag on the table and opened the lid.

“Master Falkert, I bought it just in case, but is this okay? It wasn’t called ‘shaved ice’.”

“Oh, did the name change? — Oh, it’s okay, there’s no doubt. This is it, this is it, shaved ice.”

Removing it from the bag overflowing with cold air and placed the five colors of shaved ice on the table.

The one Falk had received as a bonus point card before was yellow, but the other colors are also very beautiful.

In the middle of the priest’s lounge, he sat comfortably on the sofa and gazed at the rainbow-colored shaved ice. He nodded his head and thought to himself, “I’m glad that I have conquered all the colors after all.”

On days when the city is very busy, unfortunately the temple is also crowded. There may be more accidents and incidents than usual, and the waiting room of the temple is overflowing with patients awaiting treatment.

This city of Luorio has a large temple and a large number of priests, but the population is also ridiculously large. In particular, the central temple where Falk is located has good access from each district, so it is easy for patients to gather.

That is why, during city events when the temple is crowded, the higher priests are supposed to join the lower priests in treating the common people.

Falk had always found time to help out in the clinic, so he readily accepted the offer to work consecutive days during the festival.

His mentor Lou warned him not to work too hard, but he didn’t think this is a problem.

–But that’s it.

He had no problem with his work, but this time he had a little problem elsewhere.

By all means, he had something he wanted to eat. White snow sweets, shaved ice――.

Just hearing that there were five different colors was enough to make his heart flutter. He decided to buy them individually, because he heard that if they were mixed, they would turn out to be a dull color.

He couldn’t leave the temple, so he decided to ask someone.

Falk put Kyle, the apprentice priest, to work on a personal errand, but it was consensual, so it was okay. He seemed to adore Falk and was willing to go on an errand for him.

In the meantime, of course, Falk is completely doing his work, so there is no hindrance to his work. It shouldn’t be a problem.

–He’ll leave it at that. Today, he tried to use the status of a high-ranking priest who has a lot of authority for the first time…If by any chance someone higher than him gets angry, he would apologize.

Each of the shaved ice lined up was accompanied by a spoon. He picked up one of them and scooped the red strawberry ice first.

It melts in the mouth. The coolness of ice, fluffy like snow, adds a refreshing touch to the sweet syrup. Cold and very tasty.

Falk suggested shaved ice to Kyle, who was sitting on the sofa across from him.

“Kyle, please have some. You like sweets, don’t you? It’s delicious.”

“Then, I’ll try it, thanks.”

As if waiting, Kyle picked up the spoon.

He always tries to behave in a dignified manner as a priest, but he is still a teenager. When he sees something tasty, he jumps at it.

Kyle scooped blue shaved ice and stuffed his cheeks. His straight face collapses.

“It’s delicious! The snow melts in your mouth, it’s a magical texture.”

“Even though I’m from a snow country, I couldn’t think of how to eat it like this. If I go back to my hometown now, even the snow around there will look delicious, I’m sure.”

“Uh… please don’t eat it, okay?”

Kyle gave him a meaningful look. As expected, he didn’t have to do that, Falk knows at least that much.

Kyle noticed the lemon on the side and squeezed it into the shaved ice. ――Then, the blue color changes to bright orange.

“I-Is this a Sky Herb?”

“–It looks like. I wanted to squeeze it…it’s not fair!”

“Excuse me! Please don’t whine!”

Falk was taken by something very interesting. When he raised his voice in an unprofessional manner, the priests around him turned to look at him.

They only glanced at Falk with a flickering interest. If it bothered them, they would have come closer, he thought.

Not only now, but for some reason the priests who are supposed to be his colleagues are keeping Falk at a distance. He doesn’t like small talk, and when he speaks out of necessity, his voice seems stiff.

Falk wondered if they disliked him, so he tried to stay as quiet as possible so as not to provoke everyone, but…he wonder if he can get along with them a little through this delicious sweet.

He suddenly thought about that and called out to the priests who were looking at him.

“If you don’t mind, would you like to have some too? It’s cold and delicious.”

A female priestess in her fifties was the first to respond to the call. With an elegant gesture, she slipped onto the opposite sofa and picked up a spoon.

“Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Raltoze. I was thinking earlier that you were eating something that looked kind of delicious. I will take your word for it.”

After fluently speaking the words of greeting, the female priestess tried the yellow shaved ice.

“Mmm~! It’s sweet and delicious! I’ve never been invited to a salon to eat snow sweets, but which shop do you think the sweets come from? When it comes to Mr. Raltoze’s order, I wonder if it’s a three-star shop on the main street?”

“No, it’s a commoner’s store. It’s called Alme Titty’s Ice Cream Shop, down the alley.”

“Oh my, it’s very unusual for a commoner’s shop to deal in ice. Is there a clerk who works with ice magic?”

“It seems so.”

Unconsciously, Falk gave an vague answer.

It would have been correct to reply that the woman who owned the shop had a talent for ice magic, but he was somewhat bewildered by the idea that others would know about Alme, too.

He’s embarrassed to admit that he’s like a child who is about to lose a friend…but he is happy that the ice cream shop is becoming famous.

The female priestess didn’t mind, and enjoyed shaved ice in a good mood. Seeing her like that, the other female priestesses also came to the table and complained lightly.

“Well, well, eating something delicious with Mr. Raltoze exclusively.”

“I’m not trying to be a snob. Come on, all of you, try it.”

The female priestesses began to gather, and the shaved ice began to go around them. When they put it in their mouths, everyone had a smile.

Seeing the crowd, the male priests also approached one by one.

“Um, can I have a bite too?”

“Is this a peach? I’d like to have a bite of this.”

“I want to try the red one!”

The male priests also started serving themselves to the shaved ice, and Falk got a little flustered.

“Oh, hey! I want to eat it too! Please don’t eat it all!”

When he was flustered, a little laughter spilled out from the surroundings. It doesn’t make sense to laugh when people are in a hurry.

He ended up getting annoyed, but despite that, the atmosphere around him grew more friendly and lively.

Kyle began to speak in the midst of that buzz.

“The snow candy was delicious, but the lady who worked at the store was also kind of comforting, with a nice aura. She was very attentive to my well-being, and even offered me ice magic when I was leaving.”

“Wait a minute, Mr. Kyle. Did you receive that magic?”

“No, the priest’s clothes are cool even outside, so I hesitated, but… um, excuse me, what did I do wrong? Your eyes are scary, Master Falkert…”

Kyle shrugged off his ominous glare. When Falk’s eyes are brown due to the magic of his disguise, they soften somewhat, but with his original golden eyes, the pressure of his gaze increases by 80%. He is proud of it.

After understanding that, he stared at Kyle with a quizzical look. He feels so regretful…

Kyle must have been smiled at by Alme. “Shall I use ice magic?” He was so kindly spoken to.

While he imagined that scene, he almost groaned. Kyle took the conversation in another direction, as if backpedaling.

“I refrained from the magic, but the clerk at the next stall seemed to be receiving it. The both of them seemed to get along so well, it made me smile.”

“What kind of shop is next door? What kind of clerk was working there?”

“Umm, how can I say this, frivolous, tall and powerful–“

When Falk heard that much, he suddenly heard a voice calling his name from the entrance of the lounge. The owner of the voice is Lou.

“Hey, is Falk there? I need a little help…What’s going on here?”

“What is it, Master Lou? I’ll be right with you. –Before I go, I’d like to have a bite of shaved ice, please.”

He hurriedly got up, scooped a mouthful of shaved ice from the glasses held by those around him, and tossed it into his mouth one after another.

“The rest of you can enjoy yourselves. Mr. Kyle, please deliver the glasses to my office. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Falk left the lounge, pressing his temples as he felt brain freeze from the sudden coldness.

It’s a pity that he left in a hurry, but it was also an escape, if he had continued to listen to Kyle’s story, the groans in his heart would have come out of his mouth.

Falk let out a big sigh as he walked alongside Lou. He asked him in a distracted voice as it was.

“Master Lou, let me ask you something: If it were you, who would you rather be friends with, a tall, frivolous guy or a tall, pathetic guy?”

“What’s the matter with you all of a sudden? I don’t want either of them. If you’re going to be friends with someone, you’d better have a man who’s serious and worthy of your time, right? Just like me!”

“. . . . . .”

Lou smiled broadly, seemingly not caring one bit about Falk’s staring eyes.