Seven days had passed since the opening of the ice cream shop. Today was a day off, a few days after the sendoff of the military. Alme intended to take a break while restocking the sold-out ice cream. She had spent the morning making ice cream, and before she knew it, it was already noon. Today she would have her regular lunch meeting with Ena. However, this time, it was being held at Alme's house. Since Ena had helped with the ice cream preparation in the morning, they decided to have lunch together at Alme's place. While slicing up ingredients for the sandwiches, she and Aena chatted away. Right now, the topic of conversation was the ice cream menu. Ena was talking a mile a minute as she thinly sliced the ham for the sandwiches. “Remember when Aiden said he liked lemon ice cream? I thought that was a good idea too. Citrus flavors are popular on hot days, aren't they?” “Lemon ice cream, huh? I’ll have to try making some right away. Oh, and we could have honey as a topping.” “That’s a good idea! Of course, we’ll have to charge extra for it!” Alme laughed as she nodded in agreement with Ena's practical suggestion. It might be a good idea to have several toppings prepared and allow customers to customize their ice cream for an additional fee. The idea to add honey had come to Alme when she remembered the honey that Falc had given her the other day. She had immediately tried it out by adding it to her tea. The particles of light in the tea twinkled beautifully, and the sweetness was refreshing and elegant, leaving no unpleasant aftertaste. It had been delicious. ...Well, of course, she couldn't use such expensive honey for the regular menu. If they were going to have it as a topping option, they'd have to settle for regular honey. Alme took the fairy honey from a shelf in the kitchen and put it next to the plate of sandwich ingredients. Since Ena was here, Alme decided to use it for the fruit sandwiches today. When Alme brought out the bottle of honey, Ena’s eyes lit up. “That’s the honey from the Fairy Bee shop, isn’t it?” “Yeah, apperently. It’s a gift. One of my customers seemed to really like the ice cream, so they gave it to me as a congratulatory present for the opening. I feel guilty eating it all by myself, so please, Ena, have as much as you want.” Alme couldn’t help but smile wryly as she said that. It didn't feel right to keep such a luxury item all to herself. It would be nice to let Ena try it, too. When Alme looked at Ena, she had a strange, goofy smile on her face. “Hmm, what kind of person gave you this?” she asked. “It was a man I got to know after I showed him the way. He’d come from the far north and wasn’t used to the heat here, so he really liked the cold ice cream," Alme explained. “Hmmmm, I see. So he really did like the ice cream, huh?” “Um, what are you suggesting? What's with that smile?” Alme inquired. Ena didn't answer Alme's question, and instead returned to cutting the ham with a strange grin on her face. Trying to pry Ena open was hopeless, so Alme returned to peeling the fruit. The two of them prepared their lunch step by step. They cut up ham, vegetables, fruit, cheese, and all sorts of other ingredients. Just as Alme was thinking they were done preparing the ingredients and was putting down the knife, the doorbell rang loudly. It seemed someone had come to visit. “I wonder who that could be?” “Maybe a customer?” Ena asked.

“I put out a sign saying the shop is closed, so I don’t think so...” The door was locked, so it must have been someone ringing the bell outside. Ena was the only one who ever came by, so this was unusual. Maybe it was the mail? Alme left the kitchen and took a quick peek through the window next to the front door. The moment she did, a groan escaped her lips. “...Oh, no... Why is she here?!” The person standing in front of the shop was the last person Alme expected to see. Her hair was a peachy gold, and bright, light brown eyes. She was small and cute, with a voluptuous chest and lovely features—it was Julio’s mistress and fiancée, Cambelina. Alme panicked and rushed back to the kitchen to tell Ena. “I can’t believe it! Julio’s mistress is here!” “What?! No way! Why?” “I don’t know!” What on earth could she be here for? Cambelina was standing in front of the house with one of Julio’s attendants. “Well, I’m going to deal with her for now. Sorry, if it takes a long time, you can go ahead and have lunch.” “Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own? Should I go with you?” “Thank you, but I’ll be fine. It’s probably about Julio, so I don’t want to get you involved. Please wait here.” “Okay. Should I go upstairs? Otherwise I could hear everything from here.” “Actually, I want you to listen... Just in case it turns into a real mess, I need you to help me out...” “Got it. Good luck!” Ena patted Alme on the back. Alme took a deep breath, removed her apron, and went back to the front door. As soon as she opened the door, Cambelina called out to her without a moment’s hesitation. “Hello, Alme-san. I was getting worried about how long I’d have to wait. I'm glad you finally opened the door for me.” “Uh, um, I’m sorry... I was in the middle of cooking. Um, please, come in.” Cambelina’s voice was like the chirping of a little bird, and she spoke with an air of arrogance. Alme's face twitched involuntarily after taking this initial blow. (I thought maybe she had come to apologize for Julio's affair, but... it doesn't seem like that's the case.) A few days had passed since the incident, and Alme had hoped that maybe Cambelina had come to apologize now that things had calmed down a bit, but judging by her attitude, that didn't seem to be the case. Alme wondered why Cambelina had gone out of her way to track her down and pay her a surprise visit. She invited Cambelina inside and showed her to one of the round tables in the shop. Her attendant pulled out a chair for her and helped her sit down. As she sat down, Cambelina’s fluffy, voluminous skirt fluttered, and a strong scent of perfume reached Alme’s nose. Alme couldn’t help but worry that she would have to air out the shop later.