Volume 3 - CH 94

After a meeting with Vestel, a contract was officially signed for Tania to do the commission.

Design of the ice cream shop’s logo and mascot, signage, various ice cream menu items using the mascot, fliers, and a new loyalty point card design.

As the various requests were decided, Tania was busy, turning her complexion red and blue, but in the end her eyes were shining.

Seeing her full of motivation, Alme breathed a sigh of relief.

After the initial meeting was over, Alme approached Tania.

“Isn’t it better to show the actual product first before designing the Yuru-chara?”

“Um, Shirotaka-chan ice cream…was it?”

“Yes. Do you have any plans in the near future? I’ll treat you.”

“I’ve been free all year, I’ve been bored, so I’ll accompany Miss Alme.”

Tania mumbled while fiddling with her black-rimmed glasses. After Alme thought for a moment, she proposed.

“If you have time, you can come right after this. The ice cream shop is closed today, and I don’t have any plans in the morning either.”

“Eh, is that so? Master Vestel, may I go out…?”

“Oh, of course. You’re going to work, so you can just leave the chores to someone else, right?”

“Well, then… I’ll go.”

Tania stood up from her seat with Alme. She exchanged goodbyes with Vestel, and the two of them left the workroom together, with him seeing them off.

The other disciples were looking at Tania with somewhat resentful eyes, but Tania was no longer hunched over.

They walk down the street side by side to Alme’s house. They are in the same east district, so they are within walking distance of each other.

While walking under the sunlight, Tania muttered something like “It’s so bright…I’m melting…” and Alme couldn’t help but laugh.

It was a complaint similar to a certain heat-sensitive priest.

Rather than being sensitive to heat, Tania seems to dislike sunlight. She seems to be calmer when she’s in a dark room.

That’s how they arrived at the ice cream shop and Alme immediately served Tania ice cream. Of course, she prepared Shirotaka-chan milk ice cream.

A small glass dish filled with milk ice cream, with eyes and a beak made of lemon peel.

Tania looked surprised and said:

“Oh, it really does look like the chick I drew… Ah, no, it’s Mr. Shirotaka’s motif, so it’s not a chick, it’s a falcon. Excuse me.”

“No, no, don’t worry about it. The ‘chickiness’ is the selling point. Please enjoy your meal.”

“Itadakimasu… but before that.”

Before picking up the spoon, Tania took a sketchbook and a wooden brush from her bag – drawing materials similar to the pencils of Alme’s previous life.

She sketched the Shirotaka-chan ice cream without hesitation. Alme peeked over the counter at her drawing.

“Can you add wings to that perfect round white falcon? A little more bird-like.”

“What size wings do you want? Shall I draw large, medium, and small wings?”

Perhaps even more amused, Tania produced a series of Shirotaka-chan in variations.

Tania was even able to produce an illustration of a chimera-like white falcon that no longer retained its original form, and Alme laughed heartily.

“Haha, Shirotaka-chan combined into something like a monster! But Miss Tania’s design is cute.”

“…Thank you.”

“From my point of view, they all look like nice doodle designs.”

“There isn’t much demand for paintings like this… A lot of the requests that come to the painting studio are portraits and landscape paintings… and also portraits of gods and spirits.”

Since there are no photographs in this world, paintings are used instead. Therefore, most of the illustrations required realism.

It’s rare to find a painter who specializes in doodling illustrations, or rather, there isn’t much of a demand for that type of commission.

Tania gave a distant look and told the situation.

“So, I didn’t expect to get the job…I’ll do my best to design a yuru-chara, and I’ll do it to the best of my ability!”

‘Thank you. I’m glad I was able to ask Miss Tania to help me too. I look forward to working with you.

As they were about to shake hands again to conclude their conversation, the doorbell rang. Alme’s eyes widened.

It was probably Falk who came to visit her. They were supposed to have tea this afternoon. She thought it’s a little early – but…

Tania, who had been painting, looked up in a panic.

“Oh, you have a visitor? Excuse me, am I interrupting something…?

“No, no, you haven’t even had your ice cream yet, please go ahead and take your time. Um, I’ll be with a friend of mine who is…laid back, so please don’t worry about it.”

Tania cleaned up the painting and art supplies spread out on the counter and walked over to Alme.

Alme opened the front door and welcomed Falk.

“Hello, Mr. Falk.”

“Hello. Oh, I see you have a visitor. I’m sorry, I came early.”

“Ah, don’t mind me…I’ll be leaving soon!”

As soon as she saw Falk, Tania lowered her head. Falk didn’t mind, and spoke in his usual relaxed tone.

“Are you a friend of Miss Alme? I bought some waffles on the main street, so if you don’t mind, why don’t you join us?”

“Well…friend…or should I say my business partner! Oh, I’m sorry, my name is Tania.”

“She is the artist I asked to design illustrations for our second ice cream shop.”

“Oh, that’s it! I’d like to talk to you too. My name is Falk, at your service.”

Falk entered the shop smiling.

He started spreading out his belongings on the table with a carefree attitude, as if he was a well known regular guest. The paper bag smells like waffles.

In contrast to him, Tania looked somehow terribly unsettled. Alme went to her side and whispered.

“Excuse me, do you dislike having tea with strangers?”

“No, no, no, that’s fine, but… um… I’m not immune to dazzling men… he’s so bright that it might hurt my eyes…”

“I think that’s…understandable.”

Alme smiled at Tania, who narrowed her eyes as if she were looking at direct sunlight. Alme had developed tolerance through her daily interactions, but Falk’s appearance still feels dazzling at times.

It’s still shiny even now that he’s changed his appearance with metamorphosis magic, so it’s even more so when he’s in his original appearance. For Tania, who doesn’t like bright light, it might be better to hide his true identity.

With that in mind, Alme secretly told Falk about the situation.

After exchanging greetings, tea time began.

Alme put the waffles that Falk had bought on a plate for the three of them. Then in a moment of inspiration, she called out to them.

“Would you like some ice cream on the waffle? You can also top it with fresh cream and fruit.”

“It sounds delicious, I would love to order it!”

“Wow… serious. Can I have it too…?”

“Yes, of course! Please wait a moment.”

Alme gently moved Tania’s ice cream prepared earlier to the side of the waffle plate. She then did the same with Falk’s and her own ice cream, adding fresh cream to the edge of the waffles and sprinkling mixed berries with it.

A dessert that doesn’t look like it’s improvised has been completed. It’s a fruit waffle with ice cream.

“It looks like a dessert from a restaurant…! I’m sorry that it’s a treat.”

“Yes, having such a gorgeous dessert on a day off feels like a luxury, and I feel sorry for it… My wallet is itching to pay for it.”

“It’s for the sake of entertaining guests, so I won’t charge you anything. Besides, the waffles were brought by Mr. Falk. So, please don’t worry about it. Well then, let’s tuck in.”

Top the waffle with milk ice cream and berries, then dip the waffle in whipped cream and chew. The exquisite flavor had everyone relaxing their cheeks.

“… I haven’t eaten something this delicious in a long time…”

“Isn’t it fine to sell this as a product at your shop? It’s wonderfully delicious.”

“If I had a waffle maker, I could serve it.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll buy it for you.”

“I’ll take care of it on my own expense account, thank you.”

Falk said smoothly while stuffing his cheeks. Alme enjoyed the waffle while subduing him without delay.

As she was cutting the waffle with a knife, the center caught her eye. Upon closer inspection, the waffle was embossed with the shop’s logo.

“Oh my, the waffle has a logo on it. I like this kind of thing. It’s a good idea. It’s original to the shop. If it’s something you can take home, it’s a good advertisement.”

“I think it would be difficult to do the stamping with ice cream. And also to take it home. But it would be very attractive if I could take it home.”

“Bringing ice cream home…if you don’t put it in a box full of ice magic stones, it will melt…”

“I don’t think there are any customers who would go that far and take it home. Ah, there was a person who brought back shaved ice at the festival before.”

When Alme jokingly said this, Falk looked away as fast as he could. He went on to talk about another subject in a casual manner.

“Come to think of it, are you planning to open the second shop after the winter festival? If so, I hope we can get good publicity at the festival.”

“Yes, maybe this time I should put out a new festival-only menu item, like I did with the shaved ice.”

For now, the new shop is scheduled to open after the winter festival. Campbellina shop is also going to reopen around that time, so Alme decided to compete with them by bumping up the timing.

That is why she wanted to focus on the Four Seasons Festival, which will be held just before the opening.

Hearing that it was a new item, Falk turned his face brightly to her.

“A new item? What are you making?”

“I haven’t decided yet, but something that will promote the new shop…”

Of course, she planned to distribute fliers at the stall at the festival, but she would like to devise one more thing. The ideal would be for the product itself to serve as an advertisement. Just like this waffle.

When she thought about it, a vague image popped into her mind.

“Monaka ice cream? How about branding the shop name and opening date on top of the wafer? It’s like eating an advertisement.”

“Monaka…? Is that a Luorio food?”

“Eh… what is that? I’ve never heard of it either…”

Both Falk and Tania looked puzzled, unfamiliar with the name.

Alme quickly explained.

“Monaka is ice cream sandwiched between two thin, crispy, baked wafers. Oh, Tania, may I borrow your sketchbook for a moment?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Tania brought the art supplies she had gathered on the counter table. Alme drew a picture of monaka ice cream in a sketchbook and explained it.

“It’s like this ice cream. The baked wafer is oval or square–the inside is filled with ice cream.”

“This is another interesting form of ice cream. If you can eat it without using tableware, it seems to go well with the festival stalls.”

“Heh… if there’s advertising branding on the wafer, I’ll definitely look at it before eating it.”

Monaka ice cream may not be as eccentric as shaved ice in attracting customers, but Alme thought it could be quite useful as an advertisement.

Alme nodded at the idea she came up with.

At the same time, Falk suddenly flipped over the page of the sketchbook. The design illustration of Shirotaka-chan, which was drawn on the bottom page, seemed to be slightly transparent through the sheet of paper.

“Oh, is this the Shirotaka-chan’s mascot character?”

“I had Miss Tania draw a lot of things earlier. Miss Tania, is it okay if I show him?”

“Yes, please… I’m embarrassed to say that it’s just rough drafts though.”

Alme handed Falk the sketchbook and he began flipping through the pages. Immediately after, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Miss Tania, this picture is…”

“That’s Shirotaka-chan Cerberus. Next to him is Shirotaka-chan Chimera. Shirotaka-chan Dragon, Shirotaka-chan Plump Puni Puni.”

“Plump Puni Puni Shirotaka…”

The sketchbook shows a variety of Shirotaka-chans in pop designs. There is a Cerberus type with three round heads, a dragon type with horns, and so on.

Falk looked at the drawings and his eyes fluttered again. Tania said with an awkward smile.

“If Mr. Shirotaka sees such an illustration, I would be imprisoned for blasphemy, but…”

“Haha, I’m sure even if Shirotaka himself saw it, I think it would definitely catch his eye.”

Alme replied, stifling a laugh.