At the moment Luke was busy playing with Diana, Dayton was at a loss with his pounding heart.
‘Isn’t this basically a date?’
They had just gone out to buy ice cream, but the important thing was that it was just him and Yerna.
Dayton looked down at the Elf walking beside him.
Her shiny golden hair and her purple eyes that seemed to be deep in thought. Her pale skin made her look almost fragile, overshadowing her experience as a Forest Keeper.
Honestly, it was enough to make him lose his mind. So much…
“What flavor of ice cream do you think Lu would like, Dayton?”
“Ah, huh?”
Dayton snapped back to reality and looked around.
‘When did we even arrive at the ice cream shop?!’
He seemed to have completely lost track of time while gazing at Yerna.
Dayton scratched his head and said, “What did you just say?”
Yerna tilted her head as if she found his reaction strange, and she looked cute doing it…
“I asked what flavor of ice cream Lu would like.”
“Ah, right.”
‘Phew, I really need to get a grip.’
It seemed difficult to keep his mind from wandering elsewhere. His excitement was that overwhelming.
Dayton thought that if he continued like this, Yerna’s curious gaze might turn into disdain, so he quickly redirected his thoughts.
“Flavor, huh….”
Vanilla? That’s standard. Chocolate? Kids love that too. Strawberry? It’s sweet and sour, so that’s tasty. Mint chocolate? It’s hit or miss, but not bad.
His younger sister said it tastes like toothpaste, but seriously, how could mint chocolate taste like toothpaste? That little sister of his was so cocky.
Once he turned his direction, he found his mind wandering off to a different topic altogether. He simply wasn’t the type to worry about one thing for long.
‘Argh, this is giving me a headache.’
Dayton pressed his fingers against his temples and gave up on pondering.
From the start, he wasn’t the type of person suited for such dilemmas. He was the kind of guy who’d rather cut through a tightly tied knot than spend too long on it, and he would just smash through anything too bothersome.
“I’ll order.”
“Customer, have you decided?”
“Yes.”
——
Luke was indulging Diana, who was playing with the teddy bear she had brought from her room.
While Luke manipulated a pie made of illusions, Diana happily giggled and played on her own.
Just watching the spirit’s illusion was enough to bring her joy.
Thanks to that, Luke was able to sit comfortably and read a book.
“But why haven’t they come yet?”
After playing for a while, Diana suddenly wondered aloud, lifting her teddy bear.
“Nina, why aren’t they here?”
At that moment.
“Big brother is here.”
The moment Diana had been waiting for finally arrived. She almost tossed her teddy bear aside as she dashed towards the entrance.
“Wow! Ice cream!”
Luke stood up, shaking his head with a smile at the sight of Diana racing out first.
He picked up the doll that had been called ‘Nina’ and sat it on the couch before walking to greet them at the entrance.
“Welcome back. You took quite a while.”
As Luke stood next to Diana, Yerna said with a smile.
“Did you have fun playing with Diana, Lu?”
“Of course.”
Playing with children was easy for Luke. He had experience entertaining the village kids, and he didn’t dislike children either.
“So, did you have fun?”
Dayton looked at Diana, and she beamed widely as she shouted at him.
“It was super fun!”
“Alright, then let’s hurry inside. The ice cream is going to melt.”
“Okay!! But, big brother, what did you buy?”
Dayton grinned mischievously as he lifted a large bag.
“Take a look at this.”
“Huh?!”
Diana gasped in disbelief, clutching her cheeks.
Taking a deep breath, she soon yelled at the top of her lungs.
“Ice cream cake!!!”
In the end, what Dayton had ordered was an ice cream cake. Not knowing what flavor she’d like, he had chosen one with as diverse a variety of flavors as possible.
“A cake?”
Luke nodded.
‘If it’s a cake, I should be familiar with it.’
The sweet and fluffy sensation created from bread and cream was a type of dessert he had eaten several times in the past, so he could quickly recall the taste.
Children certainly liked sweet things, so it’s no surprise that young Diana would be thrilled.
In contrast to Luke, who was somewhat calm, Diana was already beyond excited, practically ecstatic.
She had only thought about the ice creams sold at the nearby market, not expecting an ice cream cake!
“Is today my birthday?!”
“No. Don’t you know your own birthday? Now stop hanging on my legs and sit down.”
“Okay!!”
Was the cake that wonderful? Luke chuckled as he watched Diana’s exaggerated gestures.
“Lu, come and sit down too. Oh, and wash your hands.”
“Got it, Yerna.”
——-
“Is this a cake…?”
Luke was slightly puzzled. The texture of the cake felt too different from his recollection.
‘This cake in this era is really peculiar…’
Isn’t a cake supposed to be bread?
However, what he had was cold and quite sticky. It was, as the name suggested, like frozen cream.
Well, to be fair, there had been similar foods in the past.
A dessert called sorbet, which was made by shaving ice like snow and then drizzling it with fruit juice or nuts.
While it was refreshing and delicious, the problem was that finding ice was difficult, so unless one was noble, they couldn’t really enjoy it in summer.
Even if made with ice magic, the basic authority over ice properties only opened at the 3rd circle, meaning that outside of winter, only nobles with at least a 3rd circle mage could have access to such luxurious treats.
‘Wow… Each time I think about it, the fact that even ordinary households can casually indulge in such luxuries is truly remarkable…’
It was a genuinely touching advancement for humanity.
The magic given to everyone had truly created a magical world.
“Amazing times have arrived indeed.”
Luke said with a deep smile.
“What’s with that?”
Dayton scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
To see a child’s reaction like this to ice cream was surprising; what life has he led?
‘Well, at least he’s not crying this time.’
Last time, he had burst into tears after one bite of a skewer.
It seemed like he wasn’t to that point this time.
Well, it was good that Diana wasn’t crying, as it would be quite alarming.
Nevertheless, it seemed that Diana, having reached her limit of patience, was practically drooling.
“Hurry, I want to eat!”
“Hey, wait a bit.”
In response to Diana’s urging, Dayton scooped some ice cream into a bowl and handed it to her.
But looking at the amount she received, Diana pouted and said.
“This is too little!”
“If you eat too much at once, you might get a stomach ache. Just eat this much.”
“Hmph…”
With this much ice cream available, she was only given such a tiny amount.
Diana looked disappointedly at Dayton and then at Yerna.
It was a gesture suggesting to try flexing a bit of authority because she was a guest.
Seeing that eager glint in her youthful eyes, Yerna spoke.
“Dayton, I think you could give her a little more.”
“Alright, fine. I’ll give her a bit more.”
Dayton, seemingly reluctantly agreeing to Yerna’s words, exaggeratedly moved the spoon to serve more ice cream into the bowl.
Finally satisfied with the amount, Diana accepted the ice cream with a beaming smile.
“Here. Lu, take some too.”
“Thank you, Yerna.”
Luke examined the ice cream he had received closely.
‘It feels stickier compared to sorbet. What ingredients are used in this?’
This wasn’t magic, so he couldn’t read it with magic sight, and since he wasn’t a chef, he didn’t really know the exact ingredients.
“Is it really that delicious, Diana?”
“Yup!! It’s super good!”
“Is that so?”
It seemed that it really was tasty.
Diana’s openly happy expression left a deep impression.
Luke finally lowered his analytical gaze and took a small spoonful of ice cream.
“Um.”
It was sweet.
A pleasant harmony of sweetness and softness.
It could be said to be a splendid dessert that was true to the basics as much as its white color.
– Luke, ….?
The pie made a sound reminiscent of a cricket chirping.
It seemed to be asking if it was truly delicious.
However, it isn’t polite to open one’s mouth while eating, and besides, spirits cannot directly interfere in the Material Plane, so they couldn’t eat the ice cream either.
It was really unfortunate, but Luke had to only watch.
Ignoring the pie, which continued to make insect-like noises, Luke took another spoonful now, a bit more generously.
At that very moment, the slightly larger scoop melted gently in his mouth, a pleasant sensation as it warmed to his body temperature.
‘Is this chocolate? It’s much sweeter than before.’
A more sticky and intense sweetness that matched the black color.
It was tasty, but the sensation of it sticking to his mouth wasn’t really to Luke’s liking.
The third scoop brought another flavor to mind.
Amid the sweetness of basic flavors, a new tanginess emerged this time.
This was definitely…
‘Is that cherry? This is quite nice.’
This was, by far, the best so far.
Excessively sweet flavors weren’t really to Luke’s taste.
“Uh?”
Continuing to stir the spoon, Luke tilted his head at the flavor he had just experienced.
It was sweet. But strangely, not entirely sweet.
Could it be described as refreshing?
Ice cream is originally cold, but there was a sensory coolness that felt different from that physical coldness. It felt like…
‘Hmm, peppermint?’
It was an impressively peculiar taste.
Although it was quite different from the flavors he had experienced in desserts, making it bewildering…
‘Interesting…’
For a mage like Luke, new things were always ‘right.’
The unfamiliar was always a clue to a new perspective.
Generally, Luke always chose the new over the familiar.
As Luke ignited his curiosity about that flavor, Diana cried out like she was in despair.
“Ah! Big brother, you put mint chocolate in mine!”
“Hahaha! Isn’t it delicious?”
“I really hate it!”
“What? Then don’t eat it.”
“Ah, no. You’re the best…!”
Just when Dayton pretended to snatch away Diana’s bowl, she quickly hid the bowl behind her back, awkwardly raised her thumb, and forced a smile, which made Luke truly think they were a good pair of siblings.
“If you don’t like it, just give it to me. I’ll exchange it for another flavor.”
“Really? Thank you, Sister Luke!”
Seeing that, Yerna thought with a chuckle.
‘They’ve already gotten along so well.’
She had worried that he wouldn’t be able to fit in with his peers, but contrary to her expectations, Luke was sociable and caring; a good kid indeed.
‘So impressive…’
When Luke met Yerna’s gaze, he slightly averted his eyes.
The emotions reflected in that gaze were too overwhelming.
