At long last, the day of the grand opening of Alme Titi’s Ice-Cream Shop had arrived. The first floor, which had recently been a storage room, had been tidied up and transformed into a lovely ice-cream parlor. The interior of the shop was cozy, with stylish round tables lined up and decorated with table mats featuring paintings of flowers and plants. Outside the shop, several tables and chairs was arranged with parasols. Alme was using tableware that had been stored from the juice shop days, which she was sure her grandmother would be delighted to see. Inside the shop, the ice-cream containers were arranged so that customers could see them from the counter. She had strawberry, orange, coffee, and milk flavors for the time being. She’d chosen those flavors because they were easy to make, but she planned to switch things up depending on how things went. The ice cream had been made in large square containers with glass lids, then placed in a box packed with ice to keep it cold. She was using ice magic to regulate the temperature, so the only thing she had to worry about was making sure nothing melted. “Preparations for the ice cream are complete, and we have plenty of change. The shop looks pretty good, too. I think that’s about it for opening prep.” All that was left was to wait for customers. Although, considering it was the first day and still early in the morning, Alme didn't expect any to come by for a while. The afternoon would be the real test. During the afternoon and early evening, lots of tourists would be strolling through the plaza, and she was hoping to catch some of them. It was a clear, sunny day, so Alme expected that people would be looking for a place to cool off. All right, let’s relax and wait for customers, she thought, leaning against the counter and taking a breather, when a young man with tea-colored hair popped his head in through the wide-open front door. It was Falc. “Oh, Falc-san! Welcome!” “Hello. I didn’t come too early, did I?” “Not at all. I just opened.” “I’m glad to hear it. I got a little impatient.” Alme smiled at Falc, who was restlessly looking around the shop. She hadn’t expected him to come by right after she opened. He really seemed to like the ice cream. Falc looked as hot as ever, so she invited him inside. “It’s hot out there in the sun. Please, come in.” “Thank you for your concern, but before I do, I have something for you.” Falc straightened his posture and pulled out a small bouquet of flowers he had been hiding behind his back. “To celebrate the opening of your ice-cream shop.” “Th-thank you very much!” Alme accepted the bouquet with a beaming smile. It was a colorful mix of white, pink, yellow, orange, light blue, and green flowers, and just looking at them made her happy. “There aren’t many flowers in the town up north, but this city is overflowing with them. I got a bit carried away picking different colors, and it ended up looking like a rainbow. This stuff is harder than it looks...” “Heh-heh, it’s very lively and beautiful. I’m going to put it in the shop.” Falc smiled wryly, but the bouquet was more than good enough. To be honest, Alme didn’t have much of an eye for flower arrangements, so she couldn’t tell whether it was good or bad... She was just contend with the fact it was pretty. After accepting the flowers, Falc presented her with another small paper bag. A yellow ribbon was tied around the handle. “Here, please take this as well. It’s honey. I haven’t tried it myself, so I’m sorry I can’t tell you how it tastes... but I heard it’s a product that's guaranteed to be delicious, so I bought it. I was told it's popular with women, so I thought you might like it, too.” “Thank you very much...! I’ll have some with you during her break!” Alme accepted the paper bag and showed Falc to a seat inside the shop. Wondering what this “guaranteed to be delicious” honey was like made her very curious, so she decided to try it as soon as possible. Once they were inside the shop, Falc let out an excited voice when he saw the flavors of ice cream lined up on the counter. “Strawberry, orange, coffee, and milk. I just can’t decide!” “You can mix and match multiple flavors, if you like.” “Hmm... In that case, I'll go with milk and coffee, please.” After pondering for a while with a serious expression, Falc finally made his order. The serious look suited him well, giving him a strange kind of dignity. It was a shame to waste it on something as trivial as ice cream. “Coming right up. Please give me a moment.” As she spoke, Alme skillfully scooped up the ice cream with a large spoon and arranged it into a round shape in the bowl. She placed the milk and coffee side by side, then added a small decoration. She took out a container from a different cooling box and retrieved some mint leaves and lemon peels. The lemon peels were cut into small pieces about the size of a fingernail, with both round and triangular shapes. Using a pair of special decorating tweezers she stuck the peels to the milk ice cream. Next, she carefully placed a mint leaf on top of the coffee ice cream, and with that her creation was complete. Alme quickly finished the whole process and presented the ice cream to Falc. “Thank you for waiting. Here is your coffee and "White Falcon-chan" ice cream.” Falc’s eyes went wide when he heard the name of the new dessert, and he looked back and forth between the ice cream and Alme.

“White Falcon-chan... ice cream?!” “Yes. I thought plain milk ice cream would look too bland on its own, so I decorated it to resemble the White Falcon,” Alme explained. The yellow lemon peels created eyes and a beak on the pure-white milk ice cream. Because of its cute appearance, she thought "White Falcon-chan" suited it better than "The White Falcon," so she named it accordingly. Falc stared at the ice cream with a blank expression on his face. “White Falcon-chan... This is really quite adorable.” “It’s just the eyes and the beak, but it looks a little more like a falcon this way, don’t you think? I was hoping it would be popular with the ladies. I’m a little worried it’s too cute, though. If I get arrested for lèse-majesté, I’m just going to say it’s a baby chicken.” The merchants in town seemed to be making a killing off the White Falcon craze, so Alme hoped that no one would pay much attention to a little ice-cream shop in a back alley. Still, she couldn’t help but worry about what might happen if someone did file a complaint. Falc laughed, his shoulders shaking. “You won’t be arrested for lèse-majesté over a cute little ice cream like this! In fact, I think this level of cuteness suits the White Falcon just right.” “You really think so? I wish I could have made it a little more stylish... but I guess it’s impossible to make a falcon out of a round scoop of ice cream.” “...The only unfortunate thing is that it’s so cute, it’s a shame to eat it.” Falc smiled, gazing at the ice cream. He seemed a little bashful. Compared to the first time she’d met him, his smile seemed much more natural. Maybe it was because of his almond-shaped eyes, but when he wasn’t smiling, his face gave off a dignified impression. When he did smile, though, he took on a softer, sweeter atmosphere. Even Alme, who didn’t pay much attention to such things, couldn’t help but get drawn in by his captivating smile. She could easily imagine that Falc’s private life was quite eventful. There was no doubt that he had many female admirers. Falc poked his spoon into the coffee ice cream first, then took a big bite. “The coffee ice cream is good, too! The balance of sweetness and bitterness is just right, and it’s more refreshing than I expected.” “Thank you. I’m just glad you like it.” “As for the "White Falcon-chan" ice cream... if the White Falcon was to eat this ice cream, would that be considered cannibalism?” He said it so seriously that Alme couldn’t help but laugh. Eating ice cream wasn’t even close to cannibalism. First of all, the White Falcon would never come to a commoner’s shop in an alley like this in the first place, so there was no need to worry. “Um, I think it’ll be all right,” Alme answered. “Well, I suppose you’re right. Even if it was cannibalism, White Falcon wouldn’t care and would eat the ice cream anyway. Thanks for the treat.” The White Falcon-chan ice cream disappeared into Falc’s mouth in one go. As they chatted about trivial things, the ice cream bowl was emptied in no time. After settling the bill, which they had forgotten about earlier, Falc stood up reluctantly. At the same time, he let out a lonely murmur. “I’m glad I came on the day you opened and I got to eat this ice cream.” “Huh, Falc, are you saying you won’t be able to come again?” Alme asked, surprised. If he was saying good-bye to the ice cream, did that mean he was going somewhere else again? He was her first customer, and they had gotten to know each other... She would be awfully lonely without him. Falc hurriedly followed up his words, noticing Alme’s agitation. “No, it’s just that I’m going to be busy with work for a little while, so it might be a while before I can come again. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it again this month... so I guess this is her farewell,” he explained. “Oh, I see. I thought you were leaving the city. — Well then, please come again when you can.” Apparently, "good-bye" meant he wouldn’t be back this month. She wished he wouldn’t be so dramatic about it... Alme took out a paper card from the basket. This card, with the shop name and a hand-drawn grid, was a points card. The first square was already stamped, and there was a total of ten squares. “Here, please take this. I punch a stamp each time you order something, and when you fill all ten squares, I’ll give you a free ice cream.” “Oh, that’s an interesting system,” Falc said. It was a common system in Alme’s previous life, but she realized she hadn’t seen many point cards in this world. Falc put the card in his wallet, smiling. “Now I have to work hard to get the next stamp,” he said. “Please don’t overdo it. I’m rooting for you at work.” At her words, Falc squinted his eyes as if dazzled and smiled.