Volume 1 - CH 38

She pulled Falk, still kneeling on the ground, and pushed him into the shop.

As she closed the entrance door, she looked around restlessly, but there was no one around at the moment…or so she hoped.

Falk timidly spread out the bags he was carrying on the round table in the shop.

Taking out the items one by one from the paper bags and arrange them in a row.

“……Here is baked goods and this is the jam. This one is chocolate. They have a magic stone to keep them cool, but please take them to a cool place as soon as possible.”

“I’m sorry, thank you for the trouble.”

Even though Alme has something to apologize for, if all sorts of things are prepared first, her apology seems to be a bit lacking…

However, she could not turn away the items she had received, so she thank him profusely and accepted them.

“Well, please sit down first. I’ll prepare tea and ice cream, so let’s talk about various things while eating.”

“Yes…”

She motioned and asked him to sit in a chair at an empty round table.

Alme headed to the kitchen and checked inside the freezer.

Although she didn’t prepare ice cream during the festival, there was a good amount of milk ice cream left over.

Taking out the entire container, she placed it on the counter.

They can eat it as milk ice cream as it is, but if possible, she would like to add a little more effort.

Among Falk’s apology gifts laid out on the table, Alme picked up a paper package of what appeared to be cookies.

There are several identical packages, each with a short descriptive letter. “Plain, Chocolate, Strawberry, Nuts” and so on.

“Mr. Falk, can I process these chocolate cookie a little bit? I’m thinking of putting it in ice cream.”

“It’s all yours to do with as you please.”

“Well then, please excuse me.”

With permission, she wanted to crush the cookies and put them in the ice cream.

–However, it seems that his words were a little lacking.

When she put the chocolate cookie wrapper in the palm of her hand and crushed it vigorously, Falk shrugged and shuddered.

While looking like an angry puppy, he was watching the situation here.

She suddenly noticed and added the words.

“Ah, it’s delicious to put crushed cookies in milk ice cream! I’m sorry, I surprised you.”

“I thought you were taking out your unquenchable anger on…the cookies.”

“I’m not angry in the first place, so it’s okay…!”

While soothing the frightened Falk, she put the finely crushed cookies into the ice cream container.

After roughly mixing the milk ice cream and cookies with a spatula, she brought in a hand mixer from the kitchen.

The mixers are magical tools operated by wind magic stones. When the magic stone was set, the mixers began to move in a whirling motion.

The milk ice cream is thoroughly blended. The hardened ice cream softened and became so smooth that when she poked it with the tip of the mixer, it stood on its own.

The loose ice cream was served in a drinking glass with a long-handled spoon. Setting the pot of tea with water and put it on the tray with the glass and ice cream.

Along with a set of ice cream and tea, she moved to the round table where Falk was waiting. While seated, she explain.

“Here you go. Chocolate cookie soft serve ice cream.”

“Soft serve ice cream…? Certainly, it looks very soft.”

Falk gazed at her seriously with interest. For the time being, it was a good start. She was glad she made the extra effort.

–This one step is Alme’s apology to Falk.

Alme’s financial resources did not allow her to apologize by presenting him with a luxury item, so she decided to at least make a new ice cream for him to enjoy.

It would be nice if he not only enjoy the rarity of the appearance, but also if it suited his taste…

“It’s easier to melt than hard ice cream, so please enjoy it.”

“…Then, I’ll take your word for it.”

When he said that with a bit of hesitation, Falk picked up a spoon and brought soft serve ice cream to his mouth.

After melting it in his mouth, he muttered deeply.

“It’s delicious…the taste of the cookies goes perfectly with the milk. The texture is smooth, and it feels more like drinking than eating. I feel like I can drink as much as I want…”

“I’m glad if you liked it. — Well then, Mr. Falk, nice to meet you again.”

Alme has something to say before he digs in to the ice cream.

She bowed her head as deeply as she could to Falk, who was chewing on the ice cream.

“I’m so sorry about last night!”

“Eh!? Miss Alme……!?”

Alme put both hands on the table and apologized while banging her head on the table. It’s not as good as Falk’s dogeza, but she hoped that somehow this fierce reflection will be conveyed.

“I’m really sorry that I said something so outrageously rude to you at the temple! I’m so…pathetic for being so childish and stubborn. I am very sorry for the trouble I have caused you!”

“Please raise your head! I was the one who was rude to you! I spat out such horrible words about you being a fool…my apologies too.”

When she looked up, Falk was cringing. He was flustered, but continued to speak.

‘Well…for the moment, Miss Alme, why don’t you join me for some ice cream? It will melt! Here, pick up your spoon!”

“Yes… I’ll take it.”

The conversation was diverted, and she ate ice cream as she was guided, and the sweetness and coldness soothed her feelings.

The two of them mumbled a few words and started talking in a calm pace.

“…I’m embarrassed to tell you but I actually borrowed a little money from someone. I needed the proceeds to repay that, so I guess I got impatient yesterday when I almost got robbed. In hindsight, I think it was a stupid thing to do, to compete with a robber for money, but at that time, I acted unconsciously…”

“Yes, it was…I’m so sorry I didn’t know what was going on and spoke so disrespectfully of your precious money.”

“In the first place, I didn’t tell you about the situation, so there’s nothing for Mr. Falk to apologize for. It’s my fault for sulking on my own. I’m truly sorry for my actions.”

As Alme laughed, Falk’s expression softened.

“Actually, I’ve lived to this point while borrowing a lot of money from people. When I was a child, I was sick and squandered the family’s money. After leaving home, I received help from my teacher. After that, I was finally able to return everything after becoming a priest, but after that I became estranged from my family.”

“……I didn’t know you had gone through a great deal of trouble……I’m sorry I was so extremely rude. –I’m so sorry.”

“Oh no, please don’t apologize! I didn’t talk about it either. That’s why I’ve been cut off from my family ties, and I’ve been mostly wandering around by myself…Miss Alme, you’re also living alone, aren’t you…? I’m sorry, I overheard the exchange when filling out the form…”

Falk looked at Alme as though wondering if he should have asked or not.

“‘It’s nothing in particular that I’m hiding, so don’t worry about it. I used to live with my grandmother, but she passed away about 6 months ago and I’ve been alone since then. I have friends, so it’s not a very lonely life…but in an emergency situation like that, it’s still a problem for a single person, isn’t it? I learned that for the first time yesterday.”

Alme let out a bitter laugh, and Falk looked as if he wanted to say something. His golden eyes are swaying restlessly. They are like jewels, really beautiful eyes.

After waiting and not hearing a word from him, Alme decided to continue her own story.

“Truth be told, I was suppose to be married soon and live with my husband in the near future, but the engagement was broken off. There was a money dispute as a result of that. I don’t know if you remember, but the last time we were walking around the city, you met a man named Mr. Beatos, right? Actually, that man is my former fiancé, now he’s the one I’m paying off my debt to…”

“It’s Mr. Julio Beatos. Yes, I remember him. He has brown hair and green eyes.”

“As expected of a priest. Wonderful memory.”

Alme didn’t think he would remember Julio’s full name and even his appearance. To memorize it in such a short time is amazing.

Falk narrowed his golden eyes slightly. The sharpness of his eyes had increased and she felt some kind of pressure, probably because she is still not used to this appearance.

“I felt that Mr. Beatos was very attached to Miss Alme, so perhaps you were the one who called off the engagement?…Oh, if I’m wrong, please don’t take offense.”

“No, quite the contrary. It seems that Mr. Beatos doesn’t like me, and he broke off our engagement. Well, well, it seems that he had his heart set on someone else.”

“That’s… um.”

“To put it simply, it’s cheating.”

When she told him plainly, Falk’s eyes widened.

As she prepared herself for the next words of sympathy or encouragement, she received an unexpected reply.

“What a coincidence. I, too, was cheated on and broke up with someone.”

“…Isn’t that a lie? How is it possible for Mr. Shirotaka to be cheated on?”

Alme had her eyes wide open this time.

Falk spoke with a bitter look on his face.

“Before I had the status of Shirotaka… I had just graduated from the academy, when I was an apprentice priest. When I was busy every day, my fiancée scolded me and asked me, ‘Which is more important, me or work?’ From then on, there was a deep rift that could never be filled…”

“So that’s what happened. Those two choices, how did you answer?”

This is a sticky question that lovers tend to argue over, and she just leaned forward intently. This problem apparently exists in every world.

“I thought long and hard about it and answered, “Work.” For example, if I was on my way to a date and I saw someone being attacked by a demon and cut in half, I would go to save that person rather than go on a date with her.”

“That’s what happens when there’s a person covered in blood…”

“When I told my fiancée that as it was, she punched me.”

“Ahh…”

Falk probably answered honestly, but as his fiancée, she must have been angry because she felt like, “Don’t give me a joke answer!”

An unfortunate misunderstanding…Alme didn’t think it was right that his fiancée hit him though.

“Originally it was a political marriage decided by my brother, so we weren’t that close. After I failed to answer her question, things got even colder. Before I knew it, she was playing unscrupulous games while I was away.”

“I don’t know why people get involved in such games.”

They both looked at each other with reluctance and exhaled deeply.

Until recently, Alme had thought that Shirotaka was a person above the clouds. As she got to know his background, she realized that they are quite similar, and she was struck by the fact that you never really know people.

There was a break in the conversation, and while quietly pecking at the ice cream, she enjoy the silence for a while.

It is strange that when she spends time with Falk, even if she is not speaking, she somehow feels good and comfortable.

While doing so for a while, her thoughts spilled out.

“May I get to know a little more about you, Mr. Falk? Well… I’m not forcing you, but I’ll tell you about myself as well. If we knew each other more, we might be able to avoid things like this in the future. I want to be friends with Mr. Falk for a long time, if it is possible. It’s not because you were Shirotaka. I want to spend good times with you, the real you, for a long time to come.”

The words she spoke continued smoothly but it was a little embarrassing, but she left it to this momentum and said her feelings until the end.

“It’s a bit of a stretch to call it a quarrel, but something like last night should have been a bit awkward, but now that I’m having tea with you, I feel calmer and more comfortable. Mr. Falk, will you continue to be my friend?”

When asked, Falk turned his golden eyes straight ahead and answered with a wide smile.

“I want to be friends with you too, Miss Alme. From now on and forever. I want to spend lots of time with you and become even better friends than we are now.”

With a soft, sweet and kind smile, Falk held out his hand. Alme firmly grasped that large hand with both hands.

“I also want to get along better with Mr. Falk. Haha, today seems to be the anniversary of when I was able to reconcile with you.”

“Shall we celebrate it every year?”

While joking, Alme and Falk exchanged a warm handshake.

The heat of their connected hands was changing into another kind of heat inside their hearts.

But they were still not aware of it.