Chapter 55: 55

Small craftsman in the hardware workshop

Alme and Falk, who left the house with ice cream, walk down the alley toward the main street.

But on the way, she took a detour to a certain workshop.

The name of the workshop is “Citrali Hardware Workshop”. It is a workshop that mainly makes cooking utensils. Alme had custom-ordered an ice spoon before.

As she was passing by, she thought about talking to the workshop manager about making popsicle molds, sticks, and straws.

Even though the workshop is run by a middle-aged man alone, calling him workshop manager makes him feel better, so Alme refers to him as such.

The Citrali Hardware Workshop is a workshop that her grandmother was familiar with. There are many other large hardware stores nearby, but Alme prefers this one. They do excellent work and make wonderful tools.

There are many workplaces of craftsmen in this area. Knocking on the door of one of the smallest buildings, Alme peeked inside.

“Hello, Citrali Workshop Manager. My name is Alme Titty, and I’d like to discuss something with you.”

As she called out into a building overflowing with metal plates, tools, and finished hardware, she heard a loud crash in the back. Something seemed to have collapsed.

Alme and Falk widened their eyes and looked at each other.

As soon as she did so, a small girl popped out from the back. She has red hair with pigtails on her left and right sides and she wears a leather apron.

“Excuse me! Sorry I made you wait! Welcome to Citrali Hardware Workshop! Father – ah, um, he’s out now, so I’ll take care of it…!”

The girl greeted Alme with jerky movements. She seems to be the daughter of the workshop manager. She has visited the workshop many times, but this is the first time she has seen her.

“Citrali workshop manager has a daughter.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m late! My name is Kaya Citrali! I have just graduated from junior high school and I am now an apprentice to my father! I am looking forward to working with you. ……!”

This girl named Kaya seems to have just recently entered the workshop. She seems to be really nervous and excited.

A junior high school is a place for children who have completed basic studies at an elementary school to go on to higher education. In junior high school, students study more advanced content than the basics from the ages of 12 to 14.

Kaya seems to have just finished her studies and taken the first step toward becoming a craftsman. This means that she is only 14 years old. Although she is very young, her hard-working attitude made Alme smile.

Alme stopped by Falk and secretly consulted him.

“May I have a moment to speak with her?”

“Yes, of course. You are going to discuss the tools for making ice cream, aren’t you? I’m interested too, so I’d like to hear what you have to say.”

It was just a short detour to consult with the workshop manager, but she decided to talk to her out of a desire to support Kaya.

She hoped it would be a small addition to the experience of this small craftsman.

Kaya invited Alme and Falk inside with a flurry. They were guided to a table at the end of the narrow workshop and sat down.

Alme took the drawings out of her bag and spread them out on the table.

“I apologize for the rough drawing, but I would like you to make a mold that looks like this. Pour juice into the mold and freeze it to harden it. I want to make sweets called popsicles.”

When she explained while showing the drawing, Falk leaned forward toward Kaya.

“You’ve come up with another interesting idea. Judging from the blueprints, will you be able to create long, thin ice cream like a glass tube?”

Yes, that’s the idea.”

“Isn’t it difficult to get the frozen stuff out of the thin tube? Won’t it stick inside?”

“When you take it out, you have to use the fire magic stone somehow to warm up the mold and melt the surface of the ice cream a little…”

Falk, whose eyes sparkled with curiosity, and Alme, who added an explanation. Kaya frantically took notes of their words. From time to time, a glittering light dances in her hand.

This light is caused by spirits. Metalworkers and other craftspeople involved in making things often have contracts with dwarven spirits. They use the magic of spirits to process even the hardest metals at will.

The light flickering in her hand is surely her and her contracted dwarf working together to review the drawings and check their notes.

Alme can’t speak for Kaya and the dwarves, who look busy, but they are sparklingly beautiful.

Pointing at the ice stick written on the drawing, Falk asked a question happily.

“What is ‘atari’ written on this handle?”

“This is sort of like a raffle. Like it comes out when you’re done eating.”

“That’s fun. What can I get if I win?”

“I haven’t thought about it yet, but I think the customers would enjoy it if there were prizes.”

As they talked about this and that, Kaya finished taking notes. Seeing this, she moved on to another order.

Turning over the popsicle-shaped design and revealing the second sheet. This one is a straw design.

“I would like to discuss one more thing: these metal straws. I would like a straw and a special brush that I can use to wash the inside of it.”

Since Alme has a large sum of money in the form of compensation, she decided to take this opportunity to make a variety of products. If she can get good straws that can be used for ice cream, she will be able to develop a variety of products for beverages.

With her pen busy again, Kaya finished her notes.

“That’s all I want to ask of you.”

“Well, I’ve accepted your order! Um, I’m going to hand it over to my father, so you’ll have to come back for a meeting.”

“Of course, it’s okay. I would appreciate it if you could give my best regards to the workshop manager. I’ll leave the design with you as well.”

“Yes! I’ll keep it for you!”

Kaya politely tucked the drawing into a leather binder and was about to take it to the back with the note.

 But in the process of doing so, she took a big tumble. She seemed to have caught her foot on the hardware that had just collapsed and rolled on the floor.

There was a loud bang sound again, and Alme and Falk rushed to her in a panic.

You are reading story Kouri Mahou no Ice Creamya-san wa, Atsugari Shinkan-sama no Gohiiki desu at novel35.com

“Are you okay!? Are you hurt?”

“Yes…! It’s okay…! I’m sorry, I’m clumsy…”

“Don’t belittle yourself. Miss Kaya, you’re just nervous, aren’t you?”

“Uh…heheh…how did you find out?”

After a jerky movement, Kaya drooped. Apparently, until now, she had tried her best to fix things up. ……Unfortunately, it was exposed from the beginning.

She let out a grand sigh and blushed with embarrassment. As if in contemplation, she begins to whine.

“I get nervous easily…My father asked me to watch the workshop today, and I’ve been nervous all morning…My father told me, ‘Don’t let the customers get away!’ so I was on edge…Miss Titty might have noticed how immature I am and I was nervous about what to do if you left halfway through…”

Kaya looked like she was going to cry. The workshop manager here is a cheerful person, so the words “Don’t let the customer get away” is probably a joke.

But to her sensitive mind, it was not a joke. This was the reason she was more nervous and awkward with Alme than she should have been.

“I’ve always been a loyal customer to Citrali’s workshop, so you can be normal with me. I won’t give up, and I won’t leave in the middle of a meeting.”

“B-but…”

“Hey, take a deep breath, take a deep breath”

Rubbing her back, Alme calmed Kaya down. Falk also remained crouched down and spoke calmly.

“Whenever I get nervous, I find it calming to eat sweets that I usually like. I eat candy or fruit, savoring them as I usually do.”

“Candy…?”

Upon hearing Falk’s words, Kaya pulled a small, flat can of candy out of her apron pocket. Picking one up, she tossed it into her mouth.

After enjoying the candy for a while, she finally relaxed her shoulders.

“… Really. It’s a little easier now…”

“Mr. Falk, this method is good. I think I’ll eat sweets when I’m nervous.”

“The more you think strongly that eating this will make you feel better, the better it works. It’s like a placebo.”

After settling down, Kaya finally stood up. She regained her composure and went to put the drawing on the desk at the back of the room.

When she came back, she finally gave Alme a faint smile. She seemed to have some time to chat, so she started talking.

“…If I use this method, will I be able to talk to the person I like without getting nervous?”

“Oh, is there someone you like, Kaya-chan?”

“The boy who works in the sweets shop on the main street is so cool…”

The girl seems to have a crush. She has lost her awkwardness and stiffness, and her attitude is relaxed. It seems that this is Kaya’s true self.

While getting ready to leave, Alme listened to Kaya’s love story.

“If you’re in the sweets shop, how about chatting while shopping?”

“Someday, I’ll have the courage… But there are a lot of customers at the shop… I think I won’t be able to be special to the store clerk…”

“Even in the relationship between a clerk and a customer, if you keep chatting, you’ll surely become good friends.”

“Is that so?”

Toward Kaya, who listened, Alme and Falk smiled and nodded.

Kaya saw them out of the workshop and they started walking down the street again.

While moving toward the café, Alme suddenly asked while thinking about the conversation earlier regarding what to do about nervousness.

“You mentioned earlier that when you get nervous you eat your usual sweets…do you get nervous at times too, Mr. Falk?”

“Yes, there is. For example, the day after I made Miss Alme cry on the night of the festival, it was already terrible on the way to your house.”

“Um…I’m sorry about that…”

That’s news to her…She felt sorry for the fact that she just now learned about it.

At the same time, it is somewhat strange that someone like Shirotaka would normally be nervous in such a situation.

“I didn’t know you were nervous then… I thought that there would be more stories about demon eradication”

“Of course, there are many tense moments on the battlefield during sweeps. Especially when large demons appear. Recently, I’ve gotten used to being nervous, but when I first went on an expedition as a military priest, it was really bad. My body was so stiff that I couldn’t move well, and eventually I got hit by a demon’s claw and injured my arm…a little.”

Alme didn’t think that he was a ‘little injured’…and she wondered what happened to his arm… She wanted to ask, but also was too scared to.

To avoid Alme’s frightened gaze, Falk looked forward and diverted the conversation.

“…and I get nervous, too, as it happens. Whenever I got nervous, had a bad day, or got tired, I always ate cold fruit. It reminds me of my childhood and calms me down, so it’s comforting.”

Come to think of it, when she first met him, she heard that he liked cold, frozen fruit. With his sparkling eyes, he told her that his father had bought it for him when he was sickly.

After all this time, Alme thought she must have heard a very private story. The sweet memories that sustain the heart of Shirotaka…seems like a serious secret.

Shirotaka’s secret. Is it good information for her to know? Well, if it’s just his favorite food, it should be alright.

While she was pondering this and that, Falk turned to her and added.

“But now I want to eat ice cream. I think I want to eat ice cream before fruit. I sincerely think that it would be nice if I could bring it with me to the battlefield.”

“It’s an honor. But I don’t have any ice cream to sell wholesale for the battlefield. Please eat your ice cream at the shop. I’ll always be waiting for you.”

In response, Falk smiled with a slightly troubled face.

Ice cream should be something he can eat only when he returns safely from the battlefield. Because if he did, she was sure this ice cream-loving regular would surely come back.

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