Volume 3 - CH 91

After that, Alme and Falk toured several properties.

Properties that are clean and empty inside the building. Properties with furniture and equipment left intact. They were shown around a variety of places, from spacious to cozy.

At a quick glance, all of them seemed nice, but according to the real estate agent, the closer you get to the center of the fire, the more careful you need to be with handling fire.

Just in case, it seemed best to aim somewhere outside the center of the accident area…but the rent will go up a little.

And so, for the time being, today’s tours came to an end.

Alme will take the various information she had obtained back home for further consideration.

Although she had not yet decided on a potential storefront, this was a day that raised her awareness toward making it a reality.

After parting ways with the realtor, Alme and Falk enjoyed walking around the city and headed towards Campbellina’s shop on main street for a quick glance at the situation…

While walking down the street, they exchanged opinions about the second shop.

“Recently, the sales of the ice cream shop have been increasing, and I still have a lot of money left over as compensation for my broken engagement, so it’s not like I don’t have enough income… But when I think of setting up a new shop, I kind of falter. What if I lost money on it?

“I think it’s good to be cautious. However, you shouldn’t choose a cheap accident property for fear of a deficit…This is my personal wish, but even if the rent is a little high, I would like you to set up a shop in a safe place.”

“That’s right…if I tried to put a pot on the stove, the spirit’s magic powers could cause a pillar of fire! It would be a disaster if a situation like that happened.”

“Just imagining it gives me the chills. Please don’t do it.”

The two of them made strange faces. The trade-off between low rent and risk should be seriously considered.

When Alme was chatting like that, she suddenly saw something glittering at the edge of her vision.

She turned her eyes and saw a fortune teller in the shade of a roadside tree. Stones were lined up on a small table, reflecting the sunlight through the trees.

Seeing the fortune teller, Alme stopped in her tracks.

“Oh, the fortune teller from the underground mall. I wonder if the location has changed.”

“A fortune teller? Is it a familiar shop?”

“No, I’ve only been there once. Her fortune-telling is quite accurate. It’s a good opportunity for me to have my business fortune read. How about Mr. Falk?”

“I don’t really believe in fortune-telling for the future. But since we’re here, let’s try our luck.”

Falk had a slight smile on his face, but was surprisingly enthusiastic. He seemed to want to try his luck on something.

The two of them walked over to the shade of the roadside and talked to the old woman who is a fortune teller.

“Hello. May I ask for your fortune-telling?”

“Hehehe, lost stars, please sit down.”

The old woman has long white hair and a distinctive blue pattern on the back of her hands. The fortune teller, Tatakuku, greeted Alme with the same suspicious vibe as before.

“This is the second time I’ve seen this star. I see a new star next to you. For the first time, I’ll tell you three things you like, and see the overall luck. First time is half price, the second time is 3,000 G. What would you like to know?”

“I would like to ask you to read my fortune. I would like to have my business fortune read.”

“I’ll take love luck. What about the other two? What did you have predicted the first time, Miss Alme?”

“Well, I had my luck with money, health, and love fortune told.”

“Then, I’ll have the same fortune telling.”

Alme was a little surprised by Falk, who mentioned his love luck from the beginning. It’s standard fortune-telling, so it’s not strange, but…

The thought crossed her mind that he might have found someone that he is interested in, but it was quickly dismissed. For some reason, she didn’t want to think about it.

After deciding on their own fortune telling and paying the money, Tatakuku immediately began telling fortunes.

First of all, it was decided to predict Alme’s business luck.

After choosing two of the stones placed on the table, Tatakuku slammed the stones against each other.

A glowing smoke gushed out of the stone and the results of the divination was announced.

“Hmm, the spirit says ‘Don’t be afraid to move forward’. However, sometimes you need to rest. Be careful of fatigue that eats away at your body and mind.”

“Yes…I’ll be careful.”

Alme nodded with a serious face. Because of what happened last time, she thought to engrave this advice firmly in her mind.

Fortune-telling then moved on to Falk.

In the same way, he chose stones and listened to the words of the spirits. Tatakuku first told the results of his health luck.

“The Spirit says: ‘Beware of the heat of the day. When you are overwhelmed by the heat, don’t worry about being seen by other people, and seek coolness as soon as possible’.”

“I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Hearing the result of the fortune-telling, Falk widened his eyes. He seemed surprised that the fortune was related to his heat-sensitivity.

He straightened his posture and took on a serious look. Leaning forward slightly, he was ready for the next fortune.

After hitting the stones together, Tatakuku began to speak about his money fortune.

“The spirit says ‘It will be as plentiful as ever’.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Be careful with it, though. What may be small change to one star, may be big money to another. Give money in moderation.”

“. . .”

Falk glanced at Alme’s neck. For a moment he thought he saw Alme’s necklace, but his eyes quickly turned away.

He tried to rush Tatakuku as if he were trying to fool her.

“Now, for the next fortune, please give me this and this stone.”

Tatakuku hit the stones, saw the smoke of light, and began to speak. The third fortune-telling is the result of love luck.

“Hmmm, the spirit says: ‘The star invades the bed of the favored one and stretches out his hand to the clothes of the maiden sleeping defenselessly’.”

“I won’t! I wouldn’t do such a thing!!!”

Falk’s eyes widened and he raised his voice. Alme stared at him sideways.

“. . .such insolence. . .”

“I said I wouldn’t do that! Please stop making fun of me…!”

Falk glared at Tatakuku, but she brushed him off and continued speaking.

“The spirit says: ‘He will spend the night together and eat morning bread with the maiden’.”

“Ugh…”

“Now, let’s see the overall luck. Choose a single stone.”

Falk grunted at Tatakuku, who continued to tell fortunes with an indifferent face. He chose a stone at random and received the last fortune-telling with a pouty face.

“The spirit says: ‘The star is already captivated by warm love. Take it easy, be true to your heart, and enjoy life under the summer sky’.”

When she finished speaking, Tatakuku put her hand on her chest and greeted him.

“This is the end of the fortune-telling. If you are lost again, come to me. Until next time, stars.”

“There are some parts that I don’t understand, but…thank you very much.”

“Thank you very much. Oh, come to think of it, did you move from the underground mall? I was surprised to see you above ground.”

Afterwards, Alme thought to ask Tatakuku if she had relocated so that she could let Ena know.

Tatakuku answered with a dubious smile.

“Temporarily evacuation. When I’m underground, the spirits are restless. When things are over, I’ll go back underground again.”

After receiving an unfamiliar response, Alme let out a confused sound.

They left the fortune teller’s table and started walking down the street again.

“In terms of business luck, I was told, ‘Don’t be afraid to move forward,’ so I will do my best to be positive about the plan for the second shop.”

“I will support you….But that aside, I can’t believe that fortune-teller. The spirits wouldn’t say something inappropriate like that…”

Falk began to mumble and complain.

Alme’s love luck also had strange results, so maybe that fortune teller isn’t good at love fortune telling. When she explained that, he finally let go of his sulking.

While chatting, they arrived at the central district.

Stopping in front of Campbellina’s ice cream shop, she glanced in through the window, but there seemed to be no movement in the shop yet. Not even a shadow of a person could be seen.

Alme let out a sigh as she looked up at the duplicate signboard of ‘Titty’s Shop’.

“Even so, it’s a splendid signboard…”

“If you have a big sign, you can see it from a distance on the street.”

“If I open a shop along the main street, I have to make a signboard like this. I wonder if it is better to redesign it to differentiate it.”

White lettering on a blue background, and floral decorations. It was originally a signboard for Alme’s family shop, so there’s no problem with the same design.

But it might be better to add some touches to make it stand out from Campbellina’s shop.

“I think I’ll draw a big ice cream picture. Like this, next to the word Titty.”

“Then how about Shirataka-chan ice cream? Would you please put me next to Miss Alme’s family name?”

Falk turned his eyes to Alme next to him. He has a somewhat mischievous look on his face.

Imagining the sign in her head, Alme decided to take his suggestion.

“That’s good. I think I’ll use Shirataka-chan ice cream as a base and make a ‘Yuru-chara’ for the shop. Maybe people in the city will remember it.”

“…Yuru-chara?”

Falk tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“Yurui mascot character, or Yuru-chara for short. It is a mascot designed in a cute way. Would it be disrespectful if we made Mr. Shirotaka into a yuru-chara? But we have already made something like Shiratoka-chan ice cream…”

“I don’t mind. Please put it on your signboard.”

Now that she had his permission, she would try to draw the yuru-chara on the sign. The second shop will likely have a sign with Titty’s name and a white falcon in close proximity.

Over the next few days, Alme made numerous trips to the real estate office.

Finally, one property was secured to be used as a shop.

The rent is just under 200,000 G per month. It is a one-story building facing a main street in the south district. It used to be a café, so it is a perfect place for an ice cream shop.

Equipment around the kitchen and fixtures such as counters and tables are available to some extent. The previous tenant–the owner of the café–had made a contract to sell all of them as is.

It seems that the counter needs to be refurbished to match the specifications of the ice cream shop, but the rest can be used as is without any modifications to the interior. This was what pushed her to rent it.

She signed a formal contract with the real estate agent and received the keys.

After politely tucking the keys into her bag, Alme took out her notebook. Flipping through it, she checked her future plans.

(For the time being, this is the end of the contract for the property. Continue with the production of the signboard and the construction of the ice counter. At the same time, review the contract for recruiting employees and purchasing materials…)

On the day of the engagement breakup, her notebook was once a blank page. Now the notebook was already filled to overflowing with future plans.

Among them, she had also written a modest goal in it, such as “to do my best to find a relationship.”

That one sentence was already buried pages deep in the notebook.