The three of them continued gaping at the ice in awe before Dwarf Shaman started to swat at their faces to get them to stop poking their heads over the medium-sized pot containing a few pieces of ice and a bit of well water. They managed to get some ice thanks to Rhea Chef, and just moments ago Goblin Slayer sprinkled a handful of fire powder—or saltpetre—over the ice water, as told to them by the man they met in water town. So obviously, all of them were curious to see as to how the powder could make the ice water colder... enough to freeze other things with it.

High Elf Archer scrunched her nose at Goblin Slayer before giving the man a sceptical look. "Are you sure that you're supposed to do it this way? Could it be possible that you misheard what you've been told?"

Priestess hastily waved her hands at her. "No, Goblin Slayer was not mistaken. I was there also with him at the time, and I remembered exactly what the vendor said on how he made his ice creme!"

"Just stop yammering and sit quietly as we complete the steps one after the other. Y'can't expect for the treat to magically create itself b'fore all th' processes 'r done," scolded Dwarf Shaman as he gently stir the water and the ice inside the pot.

It had seemed as if the ice had started to melt even faster after Goblin Slayer had added the saltpetre. "Interesting...," the man had muttered under his breath as Priestess giggled at him softly. It was exactly as he had reacted back at the water town but this time Priestess was able to see the man's face as he observed the pot with all of his attention.

"Here's the fresh milk!" exclaimed a new voice as Cow Girl walked into the stable, carrying a much smaller pot with her. They ended up having to move to the stable since the shed was not big enough to accommodate everyone inside, including Lizard Priest.

"I warmed the milk as you asked, and added some sugar and honey to make it sweeter," said the girl again as Dwarf Shaman took the pot from her and placed it onto the other pot with the ice water.

"Thank ya... m'lass," said the dwarf before he start to install an odd-looking frame with a small wheel over the bigger pot. He also had a steel rod with some branches poked into the smaller pot before securing it on the small wheel.

Cow Girl wondered if the branches rod was supposed to act as a kind of a stirrer, as she joined Goblin Slayer, Priestess and High Elf Archer at gawking at the ice pot like a bunch of children.

Lizard Priest started to laugh aloud as he started to clap his hands and slap his tail onto the ground behind him. "How exciting! I can't wait to see what kind of delightfulness we would end up making! Certainly, this in itself would lead to a new adventure and discovery..."

Dwarf Shaman snorted at the way everyone was acting as he started to turn the wheel around. And as he did it, the metal branch also started on its own spinning motion as Dwarf Shaman continued to operate the wheeled stirrer. The dwarf smiled as he began to notice some ice particles forming from inside the smaller pot.

"How intriguing..." he muttered to himself before letting off a sigh of relief. "Guess there was no need for me to use a spell to get the pot to become cold."

xxx

"Here... help yourselves!" said Priestess as she opened her bag to reveal some sweet buns she had made much earlier. It had been just a minor inconvenience to borrow the use of the tavern kitchen for a while, but it was worth it. She used to bake the sweet buns with her other acolytes back at the Temple of Earth Mother when she was younger after all, and she was excited to share it with her new friends.

Lizard Priest picked up a small knife to cut his bun into two before adding a slice of cheese in between and stuffing it all into his mouth. "Ah! Sweet nectar!" exclaimed the lizardman as Priestess giggled at him.

"This is pretty good!" exclaimed Cow Girl as Priestess sneaked a glance towards Goblin Slayer to hear him muttering "Not bad..." under his breath. Priestess smiled bashfully at the compliments.

"I think that's it—!" Dwarf Shaman suddenly exclaimed as he carefully removed the frame from on top of the ice pot and set it aside. "Betcha think this is like the ice treat you saw back at the water town?"

Priestess took a brief peek at the pot. High Elf Archer passed her a small spoon as the girl scooped some of the frozen milk and popped it into her mouth. The sweetened milk from earlier was partially in a solid state now and because of the constant stirring earlier, it was very soft and smooth and not quite a big block of frozen milk. The girl blushed again as the sweetness of the ice particles spreads all over her mouth.

"Hmm! This is so good!"

"Yeah..." said the Goblin Slayer took a spoonful into his mouth as well. "Not bad... for a first try."

"This is delightful!" Cried High Elf Archer as her long ears kept bobbing up and down with every spoonful of ice.

"Careful... if you ate too quick you may get a headache!"

"Aah... that hit me suddenly!"

"I have to say that this would be a refreshing treat to enjoy during a hot summer's day..."

Cow Girl stared at the different adventurers' reactions before taking out her own spoon and dipping it into the frozen milk. She took a spoonful of the milky ice and stuffed it into her mouth and immediately her expression started to change.

What a surprise! She thought that she might have made the milk she prepared earlier to be a tad too sweet but now after it being cooled and turned into something like crushed snow, the taste was actually just perfect! She never thought that she could enjoy milk in this form!

"Whoa! What a surprise!" Cow Girl exclaimed as Goblin Slayer responded with his usual "Is that so?"

Cow Girl kept nodding her head as she savoured the pleasant taste of the ice-cold sweetness. "I never thought I'd be able to taste a delicacy from a faraway town here!" She turned towards her old friend again. "I never thought that you'd be interested in sweet things like this."

"It's thanks to her..." answered the man simply, turning his attention towards Priestess who sat beside him. The girl blushed anew as everyone shifted their attention to her.

Priestess hastily waved her hand at them. "It's really nothing... I-I was just curious at the dessert that drew the attention of so many children..."

Cow Girl smiled meaningfully at the younger girl before sneaking another glance at the man beside her.

To think that the small girl could make him become interested in other things besides goblins... that's really amazing. Yet somehow that realization made her feel sad... for a little bit.

Dwarf Shaman had a small taste of the ice creme that he helped make before silently nodding to himself. "Hmm... I can see why this would be popular with children, though I have to say that this ice creme was a bit tad too sweet for my liking."

Dwarf Shaman tore a small bit of his sweet bun and slather some of the ice creme over it, before stuffing it into his mouth. He smiled. "Still, a sweet treat once in a while shouldn't be a bad thing."

"Ah!"

Priestess let out a gasp as she was reminded of something suddenly. "That reminds me... back at the water town, the man served the ice creme inside these crispy biscuits that served as a serving bowl." She shrugged bashfully. "But one needs to finish the ice creme quickly or else if you wait too long the ice creme would make the biscuit turn soggy."

Priestess chuckled in embarrassment as she recalled the memory. "I ended up having to eat it in a rush and got a painful headache afterwards because of the cold!"

"Still, that sounded like a great idea!" Cow Girl exclaimed as she jumped excitedly. "Next time we're making this treat, we should also bake some crispy biscuits to enjoy with it!"

"Woo... I like that idea!" chirped High Elf Archer as well before grabbing another sweet bun and copying Dwarf Shaman's actions earlier to eat it with the ice creme...

xxx

His old friend seemed to be enjoying herself a lot, but perhaps that made sense... because she seldom had any chance to get out of the farm to make some friends. Suppose that this should be good.

As Goblin Slayer continued to eye his old friend silently, naturally, his eyes ended up getting drawn towards Priestess again. As usual, the young girl shone brightly amongst everyone inside this stable. No matter where they are, Priestess always seemed to be able to get along with everyone. And that's what he admired the most about her.

"If you'd asked me to help, I would have definitely have helped! Not only me, but the rest of the adventurers in this town."

"Everyone's the same, no matter whether it's this time or the next, no matter how many times... if you wanted our help, we would have helped you."

"That's why, this is not about luck. I'm sure of it!"

Her words from back then were still fresh inside his mind. As if she had said those words just yesterday.

He still believed that it was pure luck, for him to be able to meet her. Because the two of them had met, for the past few months, he had been able to do many things that he wouldn't have imagined he could do had he still worked alone.

She really was a beacon of light. At least, for him.

Should he really be thankful to the Gods, for letting him meet her?

Now that he thought of it, ever since he had Priestess with him every time he went off for some goblin hunt, there was never a day that he stopped feeling grateful to have her by his side. Even if at times he got annoyed at her nagging at him over trivial things; like the way he talks to people, or how he can't think of any other way to mask their scent whenever they need to sneak into a goblin's nest. Having her by his side lately, had always given him a sense of relief. Just like that time...

That time when he tried to ask for help to fight against that goblin hoard that was about to attack his farm... that time he had wished to have her with him to support and give him strength. So when she did appear after all the other adventurers started to rally themselves to help him, that immense relief that he felt that time... there was no way that he could ever forget about it.

He almost lost her... back there down at the sewers. Because of his carelessness, the two of them had almost died. Yet right now, all of them were here to eat and laugh together.

It was really a blessing... for him to have her by his side. The girl he never expected he needed, yet this was the same girl whom he has grown to trust with his life. Just like that small canary...

What kind of adventures will they encounter in the future together?

.

Priestess turned her head towards Goblin Slayer as if she had sensed him staring at her for too long. She cocked her head at him. "Is something wrong, Goblin Slayer, sir?"

He hurriedly turned his eyes away from her, suddenly wishing that he had his helmet on. The motion made him notice that the pot containing the frozen milk was almost half empty.

"Did you like it... the ice treat?", he asked her instead, trying to divert her attention from asking for the reason why he had been staring at her.

The girl smiled at him. Gosh, he could never be tired of seeing that smile.

"Yes, I loved it. It was really good!"

"Is that so? I'm glad..."

Priestess then turned back towards her—their?—friends as Goblin Slayer let out a soft sigh of relief.

One day...

One day he'll tell her how much he appreciates her being by his side. One day he'll tell her how much he valued having her as his friend. One day...

...he'll tell her how much he looks forward to having more adventures with her.

Surely. Definitely.

He'll tell her one day.