Volume 2 - CH 67

While Luorio’s army was fighting on the outskirts of the city, a small battle was about to begin in the ice cream shop.

Among the customers enjoying ice cream, there is only one male customer with a sinister vibe.

The customer who had just suddenly arrived at the shop was Julio.

(aargh…he really came)

Alme braced herself with a twitching face.

When she received an apology from the Beatos family before, he briefly said something like “I’ll see you next time.”, but he really came here.

Unfortunately, Ena and Jayla aren’t at work today. Since there was no way to escape from the shop, Alme was ready to confront Julio.

She had just decided that the next time they met, she would respond with a firm attitude. Don’t flinch, straighten her back and firmly say what she wants to say.

Julio sat right in front of the counter where Alme was standing.

“Alme, it’s been a while… I’d like to talk to you for a while.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Then, I’ll rephrase it…I have something I want to tell you. You’re the one who said you’d deal with me if I came as a customer, right?”

“What are you saying without ordering anything?”

“…Then, I’ll take that ice cream.”

Pointing to the ice cream container at random, Julio decided to order.

Perhaps sensing an unusual atmosphere after listening to their conversation, a female customer nearby glanced at Alme. She seemed to have a somewhat excited look on her face.

Alme responds nonchalantly, trying not to make an amusing spectacle of herself.

She put the ice cream in a bowl and put it in front of him. But Julio started speaking without touching it.

“Is the shop doing well?”

Yes, as you can see, in its own way.”

“Yes, but it won’t last forever, will it?”

“….what?”

Julio averted his gaze as if to run away, but continued mumbling.

“Because running a shop is not something a woman can do alone. It’s an unstable job. Besides, if you got married, you would have to close the shop anyway.”

“I would like to continue the shop even after I get married.”

“Impossible. Don’t be so stubborn. Do you think a woman who lives a life of being driven by work can be happy? It would be better for you to stay with a husband who has a stable job.”

“Did you come here to criticize people’s lives?”

As her stronger voice came out. Julio shivered heavily.

Alme’s voice sounded louder than she thought, and she covered her mouth in surprise.

The customers in the shop had already turned into spectators. She wanted to stop making their eyes sparkle with curiosity.

Julio muttered while fiddling with his bangs.

“No… I didn’t come here to fight with you. I just wanted to talk to you…”

“Then why don’t you say what you want to talk about quickly?”

“Don’t rush it… you’re unexpectedly impatient.”

An irritating sound rumbled deep in Alme’s chest, but she managed to quell it. With the eyes of the clientele on her, she had to keep calm and cool…

With a sigh, Julio started talking about the main subject.

“Well, I broke up with Campbellina.”

“Yeah, well…huh?”

(Hey, where did that flirting go…!?)

Alme tried to act nonchalant, but inwardly she was quite surprised. They had been kissing each other with such gusto, their arms entwined, and flirting so lovey-dovey.

She didn’t understand this type of hot and cold relationship or rather, why is he telling her this? She’s not interested in the love affairs of others whom she has cut ties with, but…

“We broke up, and after a little time, I finally woke up. I was infatuated with the love affair and chose Campbellina, but I was wrong. Since then, my work hasn’t gone well…I think she wasn’t a good woman as a ‘wife’. I didn’t see that. I understand now. I feel like I finally know who I really need in the future.”

When Alme was looking at him coldly, Julio stood up vigorously. The rattle of the chair rang out, and the other customers all looked at them at the same time.

“I realized that my true love is you…Alme. When you were my partner, my work was going well, and now that I think about it, even in my private life, you were very considerate and I was able to live comfortably. I finally understand…that the best woman to have as a wife is someone like you. Alme, please reconcile once again with me.”

“I refuse.”

Alme almost said out loud that it was more a terrible pick-up line than a confession.

Even Alme, who has little love experience, felt chills at Julio’s self-righteous confession.

Julio is not looking for a ‘loving partner’ but a ‘caretaker’. Why not ask his mother for one?

When she immediately refused, he looked bitter.

“We’ve spent half a year together as partners, haven’t we? We’re just going back to our original relationship, so I don’t think you’ll stubbornly refuse. Please think a little more seriously.”

“How can we ever go back to the way it was?”

“I’ve already apologized for everything that happened. If it’s not enough, I’ll apologize as much as I can… I’ll buy you all the dresses and accessories you want.”

“I don’t need anything. I refuse.”

“… that man… you’re into Shirotaka, so you don’t want to get back together?”

It’s true that Alme cherishes the time she spends with her friends, but… the reason for her refusal to reunite is completely irrelevant.

Alme simply didn’t want anything to do with Julio anymore.

She opened her mouth to say so, but before she could, Julio interrupted her.

“Alme, you should wake up too…! Of course you’ll be happier if you’re with someone who is worthy of you. I have a steady job and income, and you, with no relatives, would feel safer if you were connected to the Beatos family, wouldn’t you?”

Alme remembered Campbellina also once said that she should find someone worthy of her.

Since they say the same thing, she thought that Julio and Campbellina were a well-matched couple. If he’s going to get back together, wouldn’t it be better to get back together with her…?

When Julio raised his voice, Alme snapped at him.

“Mr. Beatos. This is a place to enjoy ice cream. If you don’t want to eat, please leave. If you want to flirt with a clerk, go to your favorite liquor shop. The professionals will pamper you.”

“Wha…! What’s with that attitude towards a customer!”

“You’re not a customer! You don’t even need to pay, so please leave!”

Come to think of it, in her previous life, the phrase ‘The customer is God!’, was paramount and the troublesome customers were often talked about.

No matter what world he was born into, Julio would still say this same pompous line.

While she was thinking about this, Julio suddenly leaned forward from the counter.

He grabbed Alme’s hand and pulled it with all his might.

“It’s unbecoming of a shopkeeper to make fun of customers! After all, you’re not suited for a shop!”

“Hey…! Stop it! It hurts!”

Julio is a gentleman with a thin physique, but a man is a man. He is much stronger than a woman. Alme didn’t expect to be touched, and she screamed.

The customers who had been watching the scene started yelling, and a male customer rushed to get up from his chair. The shop was in an uproar.

But at that moment.

Julio’s body suddenly flew sideways and he landed with a dull thud.

Seeing Julio suddenly roll across the floor, both Alme and the customers were stunned. What in the world had just happened?

In the bustling shop, the answer appeared with flashing lights. Above the counter, a grim-faced dwarf shone brightly.

“Mr. Spriggan……!?”

Spriggan, a small spirit, was swinging a club in his hand. Turning toward Alme, he proudly held up the club.

Apparently, a spirit saved her. It seems he hit Julio with his prized club. Alme was surprised that the attack was…quite powerful, but she was saved.

She had a contract with Spriggan to protect the magic stone cargo box, but she gives him ice cream once in a while, so he may have done her a bit of a service.

“…Thank you for your help. I’ll pay for your work with ice cream again.”

When she told him this, Spriggan happily shook his club and disappeared.

Julio slumped to the floor, holding his beaten head in a daze.

Stepping forward, Alme looked down at Julio.

“Mr. Beatos, I have something I wanted to tell you too, so please listen.”

“. . .what. . .?”

“Thanks to you, the ice cream shop has a lot of customers. Besides me, there are two other employees, and we also have a partnership with a Café along main street. And on the side, I earn a fixed salary from my job as a magic replenisher. By the way, the one who hit you just now was my spirit contracted with that job. I am enjoying my life surrounded by my good friends, co-workers, and customers, but is this an “unstable and unhappy life”? If we get back together, will you give me a more fulfilling life than I have now?”

After saying it all at once, Julio fell silent.

Alme concludes her story with a brave customer service smile.

“The future I want, I will get it myself. I am sorry, but I don’t want a future with you. Not a bit of it. Well, that’s the end of it. Please leave. Thank you for coming.”

Julio opened his mouth to say something, but in the end no words came out. He got up dazedly and rushed out of the shop as if to escape.

Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, a customer unexpectedly cheered. Someone’s whistle echoed through the shop.

“What a good comeback!”

“I could see it for a moment, could it be a spirit?”

“I wish I could have said this when I was rejected.”

The customers chatted among themselves.

In the end, the fight with Julio seemed to have turned into a hilarious spectacle…

The people of this city are jolly, so she was sure that by tomorrow, it will be spread around as an interesting story.

(But everyone seems to be having fun…well, okay…)

All the customers are laughing happily.

Alme even provided a funny improvisational drama to accompany their ice cream, so let’s just call it an ice cream shop service day.