Alme quickly moved to the small kitchen behind the counter on the first floor. The first floor was almost like a storage room, but the kitchen was maintained well enough to be usable. Thanks to the actively operating magical refrigerator, there were times when she finish food preparation on the first floor. In this world, only food and beverage establishments had refrigerators, and high-performance freezers are owned only by large restaurants or wealthy individuals. The refrigeration and freezing magical tools require ice magic stones. When the magic power of the stones decreases, they are renewed by either replacing them with new fully charged ones or replenishing the magic power by ice mages. Even without a refrigerator, households manage by cooling food with water and using cool basements for storage, as the maintenance of magical tools can be costly. It is not too inconvenient for daily life. However, refrigerators and freezers were still usefull to have. Alme was able to use ice magic and thus could replenish the crystals herself. Running refrigerators or freezers was basically free for her. Wearing an apron, she opened the door of the large refrigerator, and took out the stored fruits, spreading them on the cooking table. "The slightly damaged strawberries were so cheap, so I ended up buying a lot! Perfect timing! I was planning to make jam, but let's make juice instead." The juice she was going to make now was both a test and a pick-me-up for myself. After the tough day she had, she intended to make a rich and sweet juice without skimping on the strawberries and sugar. Alme lightly washed the strawberries with water, remove the stems and bruised parts with a knife, cut them into small pieces, and mashed them in a bowl. Taking out a small lemon from the refrigerator, she cut it in half, squeezed out the juice, and then added plenty of sugar. After carefully mixing with a spatula to ensure that the sugar is evenly distributed, the fresh juice was complete. All that's left was to pour it into a glass. As she reached for a glass from the shelf, a sudden idea came into her mind. "I Could make ice cream out of this too." Since she was walking in the sun earlier, she did have a craving for something cold and refreshing. In the past, she used to freeze the juice her grandmother made and eat it as ice cream. At the time, it was just for her own enjoyment, but now that I'm planning to open a shop, she feel like it might be good to introduce this as a new product. "In my past life, it was common to find ice cream in all over town. But it seems like there are no ice cream specialty shops in this town. With effective promotion, she might be able to attract quite a few customers." Thinking of the ice cream specialty shops from her past life, she giggled. Somehow, she started to feel excited. Earlier, she hit rock bottom when her engagement was called off, but now she found herself invigorated and in high spirits. Excitedly she griped the spatula in her hand and concentrated to activate some ice magic in her fingertips. Gently letting the magic's cold air flow along the spatula, she froze the strawberry pulp-rich juice. she carefully solidify it without letting it becoming rock hard, mixing in air along in the process. Unfortunately, she sold the magic tool for mixing when she closed down the juice shop. It would have allowed her to make smoother and better-tasting ice cream. "If I were to seriously start an ice cream shop, I'd need to repurchase cooking utensils as well. ...If I have to do this work every day, I might develop tenosynovitis." While staying focused on scraping and stirring, Alme contemplated on her new plans. Making sweets is quite a burden, and having made them as a hobby in her past life, she deeply understood the importance of convenient tools. In her past life, making sweets was more of a stress-relive than a hobby, but in this life, she wanted to approach it as something bright and enjoyable as much as possible. As the mass just started to solidify at the right consistency, she scooped it into a round glass container with a spoon. The strawberry ice cream with plenty of fresh fruit was now complete. "It looks really nice, when I present it in the right dish! Yeah, I think the ice cream shop would do quite well, right? Now, as for the taste..." She scooped up some strawberry ice cream with a spoon and brought it to her mouth. As it melted softly on her tongue, the sourness and sweetness of the strawberries spread throughout her mouth. Basking in the sunlight, the coldness felt pleasantly refreshing on her sun-warmed body, and it was absolutely delicious. "So good... Ah... That's the stuff..." It might just be tooting her own horn, but it was truly divine. She found herself involuntarily closing her eyes and tilting her head back, lost in the sheer delight of the taste. My stress seemed to melt away, leaving only a soothing sensation. Eating ice cream on a hot day is like a salvation for the heart...

Alme thoroughly savored it, but finished the dish in no time. Then she moved the remaining portion into a container and put it in the freezer. From now on, it seems like this ice cream will be her daily source of comfort. While washing and tidying up the tools, she once again made up her mind. Alme announced her decision to her grandmother in heaven. "Grandma, I'm going to try making ice cream. How about 'Alme Titi's Ice Cream Shop'? I don't know if it will go well, but I'll do my best. Please cheer me on, okay?" "Alright, if that's decided, I must start moving at once," she thought as she looked around the first floor, which had turned into a storage room. The tables and chairs from the juice shop days were piled carelessly against the walls. She had to clean and rearrange them. "First, I have to thoroughly clean the entire first floor. Once I'm done tidying up, I'll work on the menu and plan how to get the ingredients. Hehe, there's no time to feel down anymore." As she took out the cleaning tools, Alme smiled broadly. If Julio was happily flirting with his new girlfriend, then she would pour all her energy into doing something fun too. — Somehow, she felt a surge of renewed vigor. Alme opened the first floor windows and the entrance door wide to let in fresh air. Colorful sunlight and a refreshing breeze streamed in, instantly brightening up the house that would soon become her shop. She filled a bucket with water and started wiping each window with a rag. The outside was so dusty that it was going to take quite a bit of effort. As she was cleaning the windows, the neighbors came over and started talking. "Oh my, you seem to be in high spirits. Is it true, Alme-chan, are you finally moving?" "Huh? Um, well... about that..." "Is your new home far from here? I've watched you since you were a child, so I'll feel lonely when you're gone." "Um, well..." That's right, she should have informed the neighbors about the broken engagement first— suddenly, she snapped out of it and regained her focus. She can't just stay silent about it, since I've already informed them about the move for the marriage. Let's be straightforward and honest about this without trying to deceive or sugarcoat the situation. "Actually, the engagement has been called off... So, I no longer have plans to move in with him, and I'm thinking of taking over my grandmother's place and reopening the shop. I'm embarrassed to ask for your help again, but I appreciate your support." "Oh my! What?!" "Oh my Oh my Oh my..." Alme smiled wryly and bowed her head. The neighbors were surprised at first, but then each of them brought fruits and vegetables from their homes. "Come on, eat this and cheer up!" "If Alme-chan works hard at the shop, I'm sure grandma will be happy too. Let's liven up this square together again!" "Thank you all so much." She ended up with all sorts of food in her hands. It felt like she was being celebrated rather than pitied. Alme put the things she received in the house for the time being and resumed cleaning the windows. ―― Suddenly, she was called out to by someone once more. "Excuse me, young lady. Thank you very much for earlier." "Huh?" Alme turned around with wide eyes when she heard the words "young lady". The way she was being addressed made her feel uneasy for some reason. Would there be acquaintances of hers who would refer to her as a "young lady," given that her ex-fiancé has labeled me as "an unimpressive middle-aged home tutor"? She thought so, but when she looked at the person who called out to her, she nodded in understanding. The man with light brown hair, who she had helped out earlier, was now standing behind Alme.