The ice cream shop, which opened two days ago, was now on its third day of business. The good sales that had begun on opening day had continued into the following day as well. The start of the business had been better than expected, so the challenge for now seemed to be how to further improve sales. Normally Alme would open up in the morning and close in the evening, but on the third day, she decided postponed the opening to noon. In the morning, there would be a ceremony to send the Lorio Army off to war. When the army was going to war, the city's bells would ring at noon the day before to announce their departure. The following morning, there would be a parade. At the sound of the bells, the merchants would suddenly become very busy. The parade had become a major event in the city, with people gathering on the main street and celebrating like a festival. Merchants saw it as an opportunity for business. To avoid missing out on sales opportunities, they had to prepare everything by the following morning, which made for a hectic time. Alme wasn’t participating in the parade for business reasons, so she’d thought she could take it easy, but it seemed that wasn’t going to be the case. Ena had come to pick her up earlier than Alme had expected. “Pardon the intrusion! Ena has arrived!” Ena called out in a loud voice, cheerfully ringing the bell at the front door. Alme confirmed that it was her from the second-floor window, grabbed her bag, and hurried downstairs. “Good morning, Ena. You’re here awfully early.” “Good morning. Sorry for rushing you. I thought it might be a good idea to give ourselves some extra time, just in case. I’m sure the main street will be crowded. Are you ready to go?” “Yes, I’m ready. Let’s go!” Alme locked the front door, and she and Ena set off side by side. They walked through the alley and emerged onto the main street, where they saw more people out and about than usual. As they walked down a narrow street and then onto a larger avenue, the number of people increased steadily. There had been a lot of people out on the day of the army’s departure in the past, but Alme felt like there were even more people out on the streets this time. There was no doubt that there were more young women out and about than usual. “There are already a lot of people out. I wonder if we’ll be able to see the parade properly...? Maybe we should have reserved spots early in the morning.” Alme wondered. “It’ll be fine! Actually, I’ve already staked out a good spot. I secured it three days ago, so we’re all set.” “Three days ago?! A-Amazing...” Typical Ena. Her love for Aiden knew no bounds. Alme could feel Ena’s determination to see her beloved off, no matter what. As they talked and walked, they drew closer to the main street. The number of people increased, and Ena took Alme’s hand so they wouldn’t get separated. “This way, this way. I have a friend who runs a shop, and we can see the parade from there. It’ll be a bit of a walk, but we should have a good view.” Holding hands, the two of them navigated their way through the crowd. It was still early in the morning, yet there were many women who were already wearing makeup and were styled up... Many of them were wearing white hats, white flowers, or white hair ornaments. It wasn’t just Alme’s imagination. Those women were probably White Falcon fans. A phrase from her previous life popped into Alme’s mind: “Don’t be embarrassed to dress up for your darling.” The beautiful outfits the women wore were probably a reflection of their feelings for him. When they finally reached the main street, it was just as lively as Alme had expected.

She let Ena pull her along, and they eventually arrived at their destination. Ena’s acquaintance, the owner of a cake shop, was waiting for them at the entrance. “Ah, Ena-chan, you’re here! Look, I’ve put out a platform for you. You can stand on it,” he said. “Thank you very much, we’ll make good use of it! Is it okay for my friend to join us?” Ena asked. “Of course it is. Let’s see, I’ll stack three boxes on top of each other. At this height, you should be able to see just fine.” Alme thanked him and climbed up onto the stack of boxes. It was a little further back from the parade, due to the width of the sidewalk, but it was still a good place to see everything. Alme wondered if it was really okay for her to have such a good spot when she didn’t even have family in the army, but since it was her first time participating in a while, she decided to enjoy it fully. She looked down the road and enjoyed the lively atmosphere. It had been a long time since Alme had gone to see the parade. Ever since her grandmother had fallen ill, Alme had been busy taking care of her, and after she’d gotten engaged to Julio, she’d been helping him with his work, so she hadn’t been able to come. The last time she had come to see the soldiers off like this must have been when Aiden went to the war for the first time. Recently, she'd only been able to catch a distant glimpse of the parade from the library's windows facing the street. Julio would scold her if he caught her looking, so she could only steal quick glances. ...It all happened shortly after they both had gotten engaged. They both had been walking down the hallway of the library together when the parade had passed by. Because they had been on a second-floor hallway, they had a good view of the procession. Alme had tried to search for Aiden in the crowd, but Julio had scolded her. “Stop being so shameless. Don’t you feel embarrassed looking at other men? ...Or do you have a thing for rough, military types?" he had said. Ever since he had scolded her like that, Alme had stopped watching the parades, even when she happened to catch a glimpse of them from the library windows. And so, being able to wave and cheer without a care in the world was enough to warm her heart. She was sure that if she had stayed by Julio's side, she would never have experienced the lively atmosphere of the parade ever again. Considering it that way, the broken engagement might not have been such a bad thing after all... Although, she wished she could forget the awful sight of Julio's infidelity as quickly as possible. Alme and Ena chatted as they waited, and before long, they could hear the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd from far away. The army was approaching. The crowd became restless, and Alme and Ena, caught up in the atmosphere, started to feel nervous themselves. “—Ah! I can see the front now!” “Where’s Aiden?” “Somewhere in the first half, I think. It varies day to day, but he’s usually in that area.” “So he’ll be here soon! I’m getting nervous...!” There was no reason for Alme to be nervous, but her heart was beating fast all the same. As Ena laughed at her, the front of the procession began to pass right in front of them. Men wearing dazzling knight uniforms and riding large, sturdy horses passed by. These men were probably among the highest-ranking officers in the army. Their fluttering mantles made them look cool and stylish. Next came a line of infantrymen, marching in formation. They wore casual shirts and pants, but carried large and impressive swords. When they reached the battlefield, they would don armor. These were the soldiers who would charge into battle against the monsters. After that came the carts carrying supplies. Then came the next group, and the next, and the next. The atmosphere around them heated up as the crowd began cheering all at once.