Volume 3 - CH 88

“Thanks to the God of Autumn! Glory to Luorio!”

The city bells ring, and people’s cheerful voices rise.

After a short break from Ena and Aiden’s wedding party, the Four Seasons Festival celebrations have arrived.

This festival celebrates the arrival of autumn. However, Luorio is full of summer air today.

In this land where it is warm all year round, without the four seasons festivals, one can easily forget about the changing seasons and the passage of time.

Alme, too, has just now heard the festival bells and the cheers of the people, and has finally realized that ‘it’s already autumn’.

That’s why she is now in the middle of a festival.

This time, Jayla had put it all together and completed the procedures for the stalls. As in the previous Four Seasons Festival, she is setting up her shaved ice shop next to her spit-roast stall.

A block of ice is shaved with a knife to create a pile of ice shavings. Serve it in a glass, pour brightly colored syrup over it, and pass it on to the customer.

The customer’s face was beaming with delight at the unusual ice cream. Seeing their smile, Alme’s face relaxed as well.

Jayla’s familiar calling voice echoes from next door.

“How about grilled skewers and Shirotaka Snow Candy! After the hot and spicy barbeque skewers, you can’t go wrong with a cold and sweet dessert! If you want to enjoy the Four Seasons Festival to the fullest, you must stop by our stalls!”

Hearing the call, the customers turned their eyes towards their stalls, and they came closer. People who knew Alme’s ice cream shop also came over to chat.

“Huh? Is that the ice cream shop in the back alley? This is the first time I’ve seen Shirataka snow candy. It’s not in the shop, is it?”

“Yes, it will be a festival-only menu.”

“It looks delicious, I think I’ll have some. Strawberries and mangoes, please.

“I have this blue one”

“Thank you!”

The couple who called out to Alme each bought shaved ice.

Children wearing white falcon bracelets from Alme’s shop and the female customer in bright red lipstick claiming to be a gourmet writer also came.

Recently, Alme has been working hard to increase the shop’s name recognition, but the effect is also appearing at the festival stalls. Compared to the last time she participated, there are more people who talk to her, which is fun.

Friendly conversations with familiar customers greatly boosted her mood.

A well-known male and female customer walked up to her. It was Ena and Aiden.

“Alme, Jayla, I’m here to play!”

“Hey! It’s a good crowd today!”

“Thanks to you, I’m doing very well.”

“Hello, newlyweds. If you haven’t had lunch yet, shall I buy you a skewer?”

“Then I’ll take your word for it.”

“Thanks! I’d love to try some of Alme’s snow candy.”

“‘Sure, sure. Have some barbecued meat and then dessert.”

Jayla covered the grilled meat skewers with a generous amount of sauce and handed them to Ena and Aiden. Alme spoke to them as she watched them take big bites into the skewers.

“Both of you, is today your day off?”

“Yeah! Recently, I’ve been busy with various procedures and looking for a new home, so I’m going to spend the whole day playing around today.”

Ena helps out at her family’s flower shop and participates in the seasonal festival every time. But this time, she seems to have skipped it.

It seems that she has been busy with various things because she had moved up her marriage plans.

“Have you decided on a new house yet? Is it near a military garrison?”

“It hasn’t been decided yet, but I’ve got my eye on five good locations. They are in the west and north areas near the garrison.”

“I’d really like to go for the Central District, since both Aiden and my parents live in the East District. The central area is expensive though. Oh, yes, the central district reminds me! I just walked down the main street a while ago…Alme, look at this!”

“Huh?”

While munching on a skewer of barbeque meat, Ena suddenly offered her something. What was offered was a flier.

The flier read, in large letters, ‘Titty’s Shop Announces Reopening for Business’. This was not a flier for Alme’s own store, but for an ice cream shop owned by Campbellina.

Alme looked aghast and sighed.

“Back in business…well, I knew it would come eventually. I just wish I could forget about it for a little while longer…”

“The reopening will be after the Winter Season Festival. We still have time, so let’s think about the next plan!”

Jayla patted her on the back.

Although there was a temporary truce, the name of the shop has not yet been restored. Once the shop over there restarts, the real battle will finally begin this time…

“I’ll have to come up with a plan while I’m at it…I can’t take it easy.”

“I have a suggestion: why don’t you open a shop on the main street?”

“A second shop on the main street, huh? That’s actually something I’ve been thinking about for a while.”

On the day she entered Campbellina’s shop, Alme imagined the future of the ice cream shop with an expanded clientele.

She was sure that more people will be familiar with the shop name if it’s on a main street.

She had been leisurely thinking about it, perhaps someday in the future, but she never thought that Ena would come up with the suggestion now.

Aiden was also on board with Ena’s suggestion.

“I heard while I was going around to real estate agencies looking for a house, that the properties on main street in the south area are inexpensive right now.”

“I’m not sure how cheap it is to live on a main street. Even if it’s at the far end of town, isn’t the street more expensive in its own way?”

In this city of Luorio, the closer you get to the central district, the higher the land price, and the price of the property fluctuates depending on the distance from the main street.

Even if it’s on the edge of the district, far from the center, it’s basically a prime location along the street. Could such a place be cheap?

While Alme was wondering, Ena added an explanation.

“I heard there was a big fire in the South District some time ago, and that’s why the area around it is so cheap now.”

“Ah, the night of the Four Seasons Festival. The day Alme-chan was attacked and injured.”

“Come to think of it, the central temple was crowded because of the fire in the south district.”

Alme remembered the night of the robbery, the police officer had told her about the fire.

So that is the reason why the price of land there is falling…

“Could it be that it’s cheaper because it’s considered a disaster area?”

When Alme asked, both Ena and Aiden turned their eyes away with a quizzical look on their faces.

“Yeah… maybe.”

“But, I thought it would be a chance to get a prime location at a bargain price, so I thought I’d let Alme know about it…”

“Um, I appreciate the tip, thanks.”

Although it’s a prime location, the disaster area is emotionally complicated… The atmosphere became indescribable, and there is a gap in the conversation for a moment.

Soon, however, Jayla sounded plaintive.

“For the time being, why don’t you just go and take a look? Not everything in the area is an accident. You’ll be lucky if you find a good place.

“That’s, well, yes.”

Thanks to her bright voice, Alme’ mind floated slightly. Certainly, it might be a waste to avoid it without checking it out at least.

Since it’s the information she’s been given, it might be a good idea to delve into this matter a little more after the festival is over.

While she was thinking about that, Aiden finished eating skewered meat. Without pausing, he peered into the shaved ice syrup.

“Oh, do you want some dessert? Red is strawberries, yellow is mango. Green is melon, pink is peach, and blue is sky herb syrup. What color do you want?”

“Can’t I have it all? I want it to be colorful!”

“I knew you were going to say that…”

Alme chuckled at Aiden’s request with a smile. It seems that everyone thinks about putting all the shaved ice syrup colors on at least once.

Actually it’s really limited to three colors, but…she will give special permission this time as a service to her newlywed friends.

Alme shaved the ice and served it in a glass, then carefully poured the syrup over it so that the colors would not mix. Somehow, it turned out well.

Aiden’s eyes lit up like a child’s when he saw the five colors of rainbow-colored shaved ice.

“Oh, amazing! I got a rainbow out of this!”

Looking at his innocent smile, reminded her of Falk who wasn’t here.

She was sure that if that ice cream-loving priest had been around, he would have envied this rainbow-colored shaved ice. She bet he would have demanded the same thing, and his eyes would have lit up in the same way.

It’s easy to imagine because Falk’s image has been engraved in Alme’s mind.

It’s kind of a strange and embarrassing feeling to be able to imagine him right away.

It seems that the person in question is working in the temple for the three days of the festival. Since there are no new products this time, he will hold off from getting ice cream.

Hearing those words, Alme was relieved. The priests are busy during the festivals, so please let him concentrate on his work and not on ice cream.

…But it’s a secret that she feels a little disappointed that he won’t be here to enjoy the festival.

No, this feeling is more like ‘lonely’ than ‘disappointed’, it’s kind of a hazy, indescribable feeling.

Anyway, this is her secret feeling.

T/N:

Volume 3~

Please look forward to scoop of slow life, sprinkled with romance and drama~