Ice Cream
While Luke was busy playing with Deana, Dighton could barely keep his racing heart under control.
This is basically a date, isn't it?
They'd only gone out to buy ice cream, but the important thing was that he was alone with Yerna.
Dighton looked down at the elf walking beside him.
Her lustrous golden hair, those violet eyes that seemed lost in thought. Skin so pale and fair it made her look fragile, belying her years of experience as a forest ranger.
Honestly, she was more than enough to make a man lose himself staring. Far too much so…
"What kind of ice cream do you think Lu likes, Dighton?"
"Ah— huh?"
Dighton snapped back to his senses and looked around.
When did we—!
When on earth had they arrived at the ice cream shop?!
He must have lost track of time staring at Yerna.
Dighton scratched his head and said,
"What did you just say?"
Yerna tilted her head as if finding him strange.
Even that was so pretty…
"I asked what kind of ice cream Lu might like."
"Ah, right, you did."
Whew, get it together already.
Keeping his mind from wandering elsewhere seemed like a distant prospect. He was just that elated.
Dighton quickly reoriented his thoughts, figuring that if he kept this up, Yerna's puzzled gaze might turn to contempt.
"Flavor, huh…"
Vanilla? Safe choice. Chocolate? Kids love that too. Strawberry? Sweet and tart, delicious. Mint chocolate? A bit divisive, but not bad.
His little sister hated it, saying it tasted like toothpaste.
Mint chocolate is toothpaste? Coming from a kid who uses children's toothpaste — what an insolent little sister.
Redirecting his thoughts had sent them careening off in a completely different direction. He simply wasn't the type to dwell long on any one problem.
Ugh, my head hurts.
Dighton pressed his fingers to his brow and gave up on thinking. He was never suited for this kind of deliberation to begin with.
Dighton's philosophy was that knots tied too tight should just be cut, and anything too bothersome should simply be bulldozed through.
"I'll place an order."
"Have you decided, sir?"
"Yes."
Luke was playing along as Deana acted out a doll game with a teddy bear she'd brought from her room.
As long as Luke manipulated the illusion of Pai and played along reasonably well, Deana would giggle and entertain herself just fine. Simply being able to see a spirit's illusion was already more than enough fun for her.
Thanks to that, Luke could sit comfortably and read a book.
"But why's it taking so long?"
After playing for quite a while, the thought seemed to strike her. Deana held up the teddy bear and asked the doll,
"Nina, why aren't they back yet?"
That was the moment.
"Oppa's home."
The moment Deana had been waiting and waiting for had finally arrived.
Deana practically flung the doll she was holding and dashed toward the front door with a rapid-fire patter of footsteps.
"Wow! Ice cream!"
Luke smiled faintly at the corners of his mouth toward Deana, who had already bolted out, shook his head, and stood up. He picked up the doll that had been called "Nina," set it upright on the sofa, and walked to the entrance to greet them.
"Welcome back. It took rather a long while."
When Luke stood beside Deana, Yerna smiled and said,
"Lu, were you playing nicely with Deana?"
"Of course."
Playing with children was an easy task for Luke. He had experience entertaining the children of his village, and he himself didn't dislike kids.
"So, did you have fun?"
When Dighton looked at Deana, she beamed and shouted at him,
"It was super fun!"
"Great, then let's hurry inside. The ice cream's gonna melt."
"Okay!! But Oppa, what did you buy?"
Dighton grinned slyly, lifting a large bag as he said,
"Feast your eyes on this."
"Huuuh!!"
Deana stared at the bag, clutching her cheeks in disbelief. She drew in a huge breath, then screamed at the top of her lungs,
"It's ice cream cake!!!"
What Dighton had ultimately ordered was an ice cream cake. Since he didn't know what flavor anyone would like, he'd simply picked one with as many different flavors as possible.
"Cake?"
Luke nodded.
If it's cake, I should be familiar with that.
That sweet, fluffy sensation of bread and cream was a type of dessert he'd eaten any number of times in the past, so he could easily recall the taste. Children certainly loved sweet things, so young Deana was bound to be thrilled.
Unlike the surprisingly calm Luke, Deana had already gone past excitement into a state of pure frenzy. She'd been thinking of the ice cream sold at a supermarket for maybe a thousand gil at most. But ice cream cake?!
"Is it my birthday today?!"
"No. Don't you even know your own birthday? Let go of my leg and go sit down."
"Okay!!"
Was cake really that wonderful? Luke chuckled as he watched Deana's exaggerated antics.
"Lu, you go sit down too. Oh, and wash your hands."
"Understood, Yerna."
"This is… cake?"
Luke was slightly bewildered. The texture of the cake was so different from what he remembered.
The cakes of this era are truly peculiar…
Wasn't cake supposed to be bread? But this was cold, and rather viscous. Just as the name suggested, it was like frozen cream.
Well, a similar food had existed in the past, actually. A dessert called sherbet, made by shaving ice into snow-like flakes and topping it with fruit juice, nuts, honey, and the like. It was refreshing and delicious, but ice was hard to come by, so in summer, only nobles could really get their hands on it.
Even if you made it with ice magic, basic authority over the ice attribute only opened at the third circle, so outside of winter, only nobles who kept at least a third-circle mage on hand could indulge in that luxurious snack.
Truly… no matter how many times I experience it, to think even an ordinary household can casually enjoy such luxuries…
It was a truly moving testament to humanity's progress. Magic given to everyone had, quite literally, created a magical world.
"What a wondrous world has come to pass. Truly."
Luke said with a deep smile.
"You don't have to go that far."
Dighton scratched the back of his head, feeling oddly embarrassed. For a kid to react to ice cream like that — just what kind of life had this one been living?
Well, at least she's not crying this time.
Last time she'd taken one bite of a skewer and burst into tears. Maybe this time wasn't quite that extreme. Well, this little one crying was always startling, so it was good she wasn't.
But Deana's patience seemed to have reached its limit — she looked ready to start drooling.
"Hurry, I wanna eat it already!"
"Hey, just wait a sec."
At Deana's urging, Dighton scooped some ice cream into a bowl and handed it to her. But seeing the portion she'd been given, Deana immediately pouted her lips and cried out,
"That's too little!"
"If you eat too much at once you might get a stomachache. Just eat this much."
"Hiiing…"
With this much ice cream, and she only got this tiny bit. Deana looked at Dighton with a disappointed expression, then turned to Yerna. It was a gesture asking the guest to exercise a little authority on her behalf.
Yerna looked at those eyes full of desperate longing and said,
"Dighton, I think a little more would be fine."
"Haa, fine. I'll give her a bit more."
As if reluctantly doing it only because Yerna asked, Dighton exaggeratedly moved the spoon to add more ice cream to the bowl. Only then satisfied with the amount, Deana accepted the ice cream with a beaming face.
"Here. Lu, you take some too."
"Thank you, Yerna."
Luke carefully examined the ice cream he'd received.
The viscosity is considerably stickier than sherbet. What ingredients went into this?
This wasn't magic, so he couldn't read it with Mana Sight, and he wasn't a cook either, so he couldn't tell exactly what ingredients had been used.
"Is it that delicious, Deana?"
"Yeah!! It's totally yummy!"
"I see."
It certainly seemed tasty. Deana's openly happy expression was quite impressive, after all.
Luke finally set aside his analytical gaze and scooped up a small spoonful of ice cream.
"Mm."
It was sweet. Sweetness and creaminess. A clean harmony. A fine dessert that stayed true to the basics, just like its white color.
Luke, ……?
Pai made a sound like a chirping cricket. As if asking if it was really that good.
But opening one's mouth during a meal wasn't proper etiquette, and since spirits couldn't directly interfere with the material world anyway, Pai couldn't eat the ice cream either. Truly a pity, but Pai could only watch.
Ignoring Pai's continued cricket-like sounds, Luke immediately took another spoonful. This time with a bit more. Holding a slightly larger spoonful in his mouth for a moment, he found the way it melted softly from his body heat quite impressive.
Is this chocolate? Far sweeter than the first.
A stickier, more intensely lingering sweetness befitting its black color. It was delicious, but the way it clung to the inside of his mouth wasn't to Luke's taste.
The third scoop was yet another color. Sweetness — that fundamental flavor — and this time a new tartness as well. This was definitely…
Cherry? This one's rather nice.
Of everything so far, this was the best. Excessive sweetness wasn't to Luke's liking.
"Hm?"
As Luke continued working his spoon, he cocked his head at a taste he casually noticed. It was sweet, yes. But it wasn't only sweet. Would "refreshing" be the right word?
Ice cream was cold by nature, but this was a sensory coolness different from that physical cold. Like…
Hmm, peppermint?
The peculiar flavor was quite striking. Of course, it was so different from the dessert flavors Luke had known that it was disorienting…
Interesting…
To a mage like Luke, the new was always the "right" thing. Unfamiliarity always provided a clue to a new perspective. Between the familiar and the new, Luke would generally always choose the new.
Just as Luke was inwardly nurturing his curiosity about that flavor, Deana shrieked,
"Aaaah! Oppa, you put mint chocolate in mine!"
"Hahaha! Isn't it good?"
"I really hate you, Oppa!"
"What? Then don't eat it."
"Ah— no. Oppa's the best…!"
The moment Dighton pretended to snatch Deana's bowl, she quickly hid it behind her back and awkwardly gave a thumbs-up with a forced smile — and Luke thought they really were a close pair of siblings.
"If you don't like it, give it to me. I'll trade you for a different flavor."
"Really? Thanks, Luke-unni!"
Seeing that, Yerna chuckled softly and thought,
They've already gotten so close.
She'd worried Luke might not be able to properly get along with kids her own age, but contrary to expectations, Luke was a truly good child — sociable and deeply considerate.
She's so precious…
When Luke happened to meet Yerna's gaze, he slightly averted his eyes. The emotion in that look was far too overwhelming.