---

If you were to ask what snack the knights of Winterhome prefer the most, all but a select few would utter the same word.

Ice cream.

Unmanaged weapons are bound to rust.

To prevent this, the knights train diligently every single day unless a special occasion arises.

By the end of such training, a knight’s body emits white steam like sulfur fumes from a dormant volcano, even in the heart of winter.

The moment cold ice cream enters such a heated body, the soft, sweet frozen cream melts in an instant, seeping through various parts of the stomach.

You feel the sensation of dipping a hot iron ingot into water to cool it down.

In addition to that, there’s the cream, butter, and sugar used in the ice cream.

The lavish ingredients satisfy the knights’ vanity.

The wizards in the Wizard’s Tower are no different.

They just lean a bit more towards the former than the knights.

Orders from their sponsor, the Duke.

Various requests coming into the Mage Tower.

The personal research projects of the wizards.

Common projects carried out in the Mage Tower.

In such a heated situation where their heads are steaming from sitting, the only wizards who manage their tasks surprisingly well are Catherine, with her astonishing efficiency, and Olivier, who deftly piles tasks onto his subordinates.

Both are the head and deputy of the Mage Tower, so it’s quite natural.

Anyway, thanks to this, wizards often call for something sweet several times a day, begging for fuel to cool their boiling heads.

According to Catherine’s sly experience, ice cream takes up a significant portion of their desserts.

The ice cream currently in my mouth was very little.

Specifically, just about the size of a thumbprint.

However, the flavor condensed within it was as rich as the variety of ingredients.

The first thing I tasted was the cold cream melting, wrapping my tongue with the freshness of lemon.

Before I could get used to that flavor, a scorching sensation invaded me.

Ment’s Affair, which you simply can’t overlook when made with cold desserts.

The lemon flavor was limited to just my tongue.

The aroma merely brushed the tip of my nose.

However, true to its name, Ment’s Affair ruthlessly intruded upon the territory previously claimed by the lemon and exerted its influence even further.

A taste that bordered on fragrance, the stinging mint invaded.

Tap! Tap-tap-tap! Tap!

And finally, the Fairy Dust hidden within the ice cream began to bounce off my oral mucosa.

Taste-less, existing merely as a texture, it added an intriguing sensory layer to the preceding ice cream.

But affairs can never remain secret forever.

There are various methods to extinguish a fire.

Sprinkling with water or sand, cutting off the air, removing combustible materials, and so on.

Among these, driving away the influence of mint felt equivalent to the greatest method of fire suppression.

Like setting a counterfire, it was covered with intensely flavored chocolate, Amadeus.

Unlike the suppressed fire colliding together, mint is light in flavor, while Amadeus, true to its rich chocolate taste, is heavy.

In an instant, it completely draped over the flavors and scents I had just felt in my mouth, firmly holding the peak of my palate and nose.

In stark contrast to the previously light taste was the overwhelmingly heavy flavor of Amadeus, digging into every papilla on my tongue.

Tap-tap-tap! Tap! Tap-tap!

The Fairy Dust, having resurfaced from the ice cream, exploded violently, alleviating the heaviness.

Catherine, having cleared away the doubts, couldn’t suppress a moan that slipped out unconsciously.

“Um. I thought mixing two or more flavors of ice cream would end up being inconclusive.”

“If it had completely mixed, then that would have been the case.”

However, because it was frozen before it could fully mix, each flavor of the added ingredients was entirely preserved.

This was a feat that normally requires the power of machines.

Yet Karem accomplished it effortlessly by using the powers of Mary and Divine Power, conveniences of civilization.

Just as the weightiness of Amadeus, which seemed like it would last forever, began to wash away with the flavor of vanilla, Catherine took another spoonful.

This time, the taste of raspberry jam was the first to hit.

“Freezing it while mixing the cream could easily turn it into plain ice if you’re not careful. Have you become quite adept at using Divine Power?”

“Maybe it’s because of that pot.”

“Pot? Oh, the Eranos one.”

“I’m not sure if cola was the trigger, but since then, it feels like operating Divine Power has become easier.”

Karem, who had been casually replying, stuffed his mouth full of Fairy Popping Ice Cream.

Tap-tap-tap! Tap! Tap-tap!

As the ice cream smoothly melted away, sensations popped all over his mouth, tongue, and throat.

Five flavors including vanilla.

The taste of different ingredients that bore no resemblance to each other repeatedly mixed around the central cream before scattering apart again.

“By the way, Catherine didn’t say much, so I was ready to let it pass, but nothing serious happened, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“The Fairy Dust. You said it’s used as an enhancement in various ways, right?”

“Were you worried about that? Well, you’re not wrong. If you think about it calmly, I should be conducting a detailed analysis before this.”

Catherine merely scooped the ice cream served on the approaching spoon into her mouth, swiping at it with her tongue.

“Um, this bouncing sensation. Anyway, there should be someone verifying its effects, so we are fine.”

“Verifying… huh.”

Karem turned his head in the direction Catherine pointed with her finger as she bent her wrist back, lightly chuckling.

“Porong? Pororong~♩”

“This bouncing sensation. Fairy Dust is tasteless and odorless, yet exactly because of that, it seems to greatly lessen the rejections of the other flavored ice creams.”

“Porororong~♪ Pororong, pororong♬”

“Flora. That’s incorrect. I have never once said I wouldn’t eat ice cream… Oh.”

Our eyes met.

“Karem, why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, I just—how should I put it?”

“Don’t hide your thoughts, just say it as it is. Right now.”

“I was wondering where the house fairy who used to detest Fairy Dust went.”

“That statement contains a serious and unacceptable error as a house fairy. Although Fairy Dust is in it, that ingredient cannot be entirely referred to as Fairy Dust because it is only a fraction by Flora. Moreover, the thought of abandoning ice cream ladened with cream and butter simply because it contains Fairy Dust is an outrageous provocation that a house fairy could never imagine—”

Karem quietly listened to all that and pointed to Mary, who was subtly attempting to take the pot of ice cream away.

“Flora.”

“Porong.”

Mary’s curiosity and vigilance turned towards Flora, who wore a blissful smile, half-hidden from any suspicion, and was circling the pot that contained the remaining ice cream.

“Fairies appear in spring, overflowing with life and vitality, and Fairy Dust is the material left by such fairies.”

Catherine, who called Karem back to his senses by tapping the table with her fingernail, indicated towards the ice cream again.

“Adding a bit of life force to the crystals of life, and the effect is just that life force escapes into your mouth and bounces out.”

“So, you’re saying that no matter how much I eat, there won’t be any side effects?”

“Even if there were, they’d be gone thanks to you.”

Nom. Catherine savored a spoonful of the ice cream, rolling the popping sensation and flavor in her mouth while turning to Karem.

“Do you remember the materials for Holy Water?”

“Without Divine Power, it’s water and salt?”

“Right. Water is a liquid, and salt was added when making ice cream.”

Thus, the solution containing salt was frozen into ice cream due to the abundant Divine Power Karem poured in.

And the cleansing properties of Holy Water and Divine Power—

Even the nefarious side effects would be wiped away.

“Though it lacks the burning sensation that comes with consuming Holy Water, that’s likely due to the rich flavors of Ment’s Affair and Amadeus overshadowing it.”

“So, are you saying that this Fairy Popping Ice Cream itself is a perfect antidote against the Undead?”

“Exactly. Considering the materials and the Divine Power you poured in…”

Catherine looked down at her palm, curling her fingers into a fist and wriggling them.

“Quite a lot—”

Catherine’s sentence was interrupted. In that brief moment, a booming sound and a slight vibration were felt. The dome-shaped barrier that seemed to cover the entire Armsport could be seen momentarily.

‘What is it? An earthquake?’

Yet, it was too mild to be called an earthquake. It felt more like the soft vibration of someone somewhat heavy jumping lightly.

“…So, the three days of overnight work paid off.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Fairy Circle.”

“…What the heck is that?”

Karem’s question was answered by the uproar and emergency bells beginning to ring from the castle walls of Armsport.

“Hunter Drake has appeared! Hunter Drake has appeared!”

“What the hell were you doing until it approached the castle?!”

“It just showed up ahead!”

“You damn fool! Are you saying it teleported?!”

“Are you deaf? It’s the Fairy Circle!!!”

The guards’ signals, the commotion on the castle walls, and the tremors of the barrier. The sounds of knights stationed at Armsport equipping their armor could be faintly heard even in the heart of Bolton Forest.

“When a region where fairies occur has a rare naturally occurring magic circle made of mushrooms, known as a Fairy Circle, it emerges.”

“And what does that have to do with the current situation?”

“The being that steps on it will ‘go somewhere.'”

“It moves, you say?”

“Randomly, too.”

Catherine’s expression was one of nostalgia. Every year, there are many victims in Europa who unwittingly step onto a Fairy Circle, getting transported as narrowly as to the next village or as broadly as to another country.

“Originally, it’s rare to form one, and since the shape is distinct, the number of victims is low, but with the Twinkle Tide incident, there should be quite a few victims now. Not to mention, this is Iceland.”

“What would make it disappear?”

“That’s simple.”

Mary successfully scooped the ice cream from the pot and refilled her own bowl, taking a bite.

“Fairy Circles do not appear if the number of fairies decreases.”

“But isn’t the number of fairies the problem?”

Twinkle Tide.

They were numerous enough to be named as a flood of fairies. When viewed from the castle walls, they were buzzing about like bees in spring. Though they couldn’t fly too high, the sky remained clear.

“Well, we have no reason to worry.”

If it was a serious problem, they would have swung into action already. Karem figured that Catherine must have had a reason for her calmness.

“Thanks to the barrier, both the fairies and whatever else steps on the circle can’t enter the castle. There won’t be significant issues outside.”

Twinkle Tide is a monumental event that would require alliances among territories—or even nations to address.

“But this is Seophone Island, and it’s Iceland. The situation remains confined to the Bolton Baron’s Territory.”

“So it means the damage will be contained?”

“Moreover, adventurers and others from other territories will flock here since they already heard that Fairy materials can be quite valuable. The situation will resolve quickly.”

“Then let’s go take a look around the village.”

“Arms Town? That sounds good too. But more importantly—”

Catherine spoke casually, her eyes spinning to look at Flora.

“Leave that ice cream pot where it is. I intend to eat more too.”

“Porong…”

Creaking—

Flora sulkily returned the pot to its original position.

 

---