Chapter 64

"…………"

That gentle smile—was it an illusion, a figment of my imagination? There stood the usual... no, an even more disgruntled king.

"You can't just pretend to scold Lina and then run away, you know?"

"……Tch"

King Felix clicked his tongue.

Huh?

What's going on?

Did he use "that" as an excuse to escape, using me as a cover?

Hey!! Hey!!

Give me back my blush, you damn king!!

"……Please?"

Lina smiled and, in a deliberately polite gesture, offered the wooden spatula to King Felix with both hands.

"………………"

"………………"

"……Tch"

Clicking his tongue, King Felix finally took the wooden spatula this time. It was the moment Lina won the second silent battle against King Felix.

Yes!! Lina made a victory pose.

*Tap.*

Huh? Another gentle tap on Lina's head. She turned around, but she couldn't tell who had done it.

"Alright!! Let's make the ice cream we've been dreaming of!!"

Because there, Prince Schueler's face was beaming with a smile so bright, it could have sent the message flying.

"……You're really consistent, aren't you?"

Lina muttered with a sigh. She was impressed by his determination.

"Do I need to waver?"

Prince Schueler smiled.

"………………"

No, he doesn't.

Lina felt her energy drained by Prince Schueler, who had picked up on her mutterings again.

"……So, we cool the surface... the edge, right?"

Prince Schueler, having grasped the method in just one try, had cooled and solidified the edge beautifully.

"……That's right... You need to scrape off the slightly cooled and solidified ice cream... Your Majesty... using that wooden spatula, please stir it carefully."

"……Tch"

King Felix clicked his tongue again, looking disgruntled. However, this time he used the wooden spatula as instructed and carefully scraped off the solidified ice cream.

"Hmm, you're doing well, Your Majesty."

Lina praised him, but she was glared at.

"What do we do from here?"

"Continue this process... until it becomes a firm cream consistency."

Normally, this tedious and labor-intensive task would be done with tools or machinery.

"……Huh?"

"「「「…………Eh?」」」"

King Felix and Prince Schueler froze like ice cream, perhaps imagining how long it would take for the liquid to turn into a cream consistency.

"……Um... How long does that take...?"

Tal, feeling uneasy, asked.

"……I don't know."

Lina said casually.

"……Huh!?"

"「「「…………Eh!?」」」"

King Felix glared, and Prince Schueler and the others froze even more.

"Because I have no idea. I've never made it with magic before."

Lina said nonchalantly. Besides, she didn't think it was something you'd make with "magic" in the first place. Fundamentally, making this amount by "human power" was impossible. On the contrary, she wanted to know why they had to make it with magic.

"「「「「………………」」」」"

Everyone fell silent.